GOLDEN WEDDING CELEBRATIONS.

Otago Witness, Volume 23, Issue 2684, 23 August 1905, Page 22

GOLDEN WEDDING CELEBRATIONS.

Wedding festivities were very much m cviV dence at Kaitanlata on Wednesday, but they were the far-off echo of the wedding bells thaiJ rang at Silverstream, near Wellington, 50 c years ago — the peal was probably not a full one, — when Mr Wilhani Aitchison led to the 3 altar Miss E'izabeth Smith on 16th August, s 1855. Since then the world lias gone weil with a the happy pair, who on Wednesday, together y with a host of friends, celebrated the end of half a century of married life. Mr Aitchison's i career discloses the usual shifting phases char- . actpristic of the life of the early colonists. He 1 arrived at Port Chalmers on Boxing Day, i 1849, by the ship Mooltan. and remained by tho ship for some days as there were then no I boarding-houses at the Port, until he got an engagement with Mr Pillans (of Inchclutha), ? that gentleman at the lime being occupied, m conjunction with Mr Ferguson, in a whaling 1 i»ioject. They chartered the schooner Otago to take provisions, implements, drays, and i other property to Wilsher'a Bay. On arriving there the schooner's heavy cargo was landed - in whale boats, and the lighter was « carried 1 over Kaka Point to the Molyneux River, and f thence to their destination by the help of the , Maoris. Mr Aitcliison afterwards returned to * the Hutt, where he remained some time, and there met his destiny in the person of his I future wife. Giving rein to his spirit of i adventure, he vi&ited the Australian goldfield i rushes at Tarrengowen, Forest Creek, Mary- • borough, and elsewhere in 3854-5. But there > was at Silverstream an attraction stronger . than the aiiriforous one, and so the wanderer i returned to New Zealand, and the union came : about. In 1857 Mr Ait-chison first took up 1 | land at Kaitangata and put stock on it, ins lucky selections then comprising one section of 50 and one of 70 acres, both of which he : held in his wise and tenacious grasx>. Part 13 ■ still in cultivation, and part has been turned into building sites that have had a yearly . increasing value. At Jiaitangata- he built the : first house, and although his trade was that of a gardener ha turned sawyer, and in a pit cut most of the timber ÜBed in the earlierbuilt residences in the township. He was not the kind of man to go about with his eyes shut, and soon discovered the outcrops of coal that have since yielded him a handsome income from royalties and have caused the rise of Kaitangata to its present importance. It was in 1872 he purchased from Mr John Douglas (of Mount Roya!) 850 acres of land showing coal-bearing strata, and subsequently, in partnership with others, acquired 56» adjacent acres of the same kind of country. Since those early days Mr Aitchison has resided on his property, and has erected a commodious two-storeyed dwelling on the banks of the creek near its junction with the Molyneux. The site is a fertile and pleasant one, although in the great flood of 1878 the whole of the river fiats thereabout wera flooded, and the house had several inches of water covering its lower floor. During these 50 years a family of five sons and two daughters had added to the joys of Mr and jSra Aitchison's domesticity. The family cannot however, say " we are seven," for one daughter * "\ the churchyard hes," and the other is Mrs William M'Laren, wife of the first assistant of the Albany Street School. The five sonsRobert, Wiliiam Alfred, George, John, and*-* Stephen— are all settled in life, and wit-bin, easy reach of the family roof tree, the eldest son oemg 49 years of age and the others, have brrtndayfe following with unfaiimg regularity every two years. Mr Aitchison is in his seventy-fourth year, and is a native of Edinburgh. Mrs Aitchison is five years younger and hails from Montiose. She" came "to Wei- • imgton in 1811 in tho ship Arab, and neithor lias paid a retain visit to bonny Scotland; not that they love the lrfind o' Cakes less, but that they love Ivaitangata more. lfc can readily be understood that Mr and Mrs Aitchison have troops of friends outside the .amily circle. He has taken no prominent part m public affairs, but has been a liberal contributor to local institutions, and has reoeived the title of the ■ laird " of Kaitengata. As such he has sjiven wise counsel and friendly aid to those of his neighbours who sought and needed it. At mid-day there was a. family dinner, attended by all the sons and their wives, and all the grandchildren, except a boy Wio was unfortunately, unable to be present Ihe guests not of tho family were the Rev. W 1 Currie (thie Presbyterian minister stationed at Kaita-nga.ta) and Mrs Currie, Dr and MrsFitzgerald, and Mr and Mrs T. Barclay (the former being the manager of the coal mine), Mr Langlands, secretary 01 the Early Settlers Association, and Mr W. Aitchison-SmLth, a nephew of Mr and Mrs Aitchison. Durino- ihe clay Mr Robert Aitohison, the eldest son, oa bch*lf of the members of the family presented their father with a gold sovereign caso a !v eir moi]jfe i- with a gold ohain and a i medallion as a golden wedding souvenir j both cas-3 and medallion being suit- \ ab.y inscribed. These giits were accom- [ panied by congratulations and good ; wishes, which were also offered by M* Lan°I lands on behalf of the Early Settlers' Association. The three generations of the family— 24 in number — were grouped on the lawn in the afternoon, and photographs were taken, as mementos of the happy family gathering. ■ A a " ernoon visitors dropjaed in to join in tne congratulations, and these were cordially welcomed by Mr and Mrs Aitchison. - Later on the Mayor (Mr O. E. Yates) and fha borough councillors past and present came in a body to swell the chorus of greetings. Me rates, on their behalf, hoped "the laird and his lady ' would long be spared to the enjoyment of health and prosperity, and thanked Mr Aitchison for the kindly interest he had taken in the affairs of Kaitangata during his long residence there. Mr A. N-. Hislop, one of the first mayors of the borough, referred to; the kindness he had received from their host and hostess ever since he came to the town 35 years ago, and opened the first school. Ha had always felt that he received a cordial welcome whenever he visited their house. He was sure Mr and Mrs Aitchison must ba proud' and happy to see so large a gathering to express its congratulations and good wishes. Similar good wishes were also expressed by Mr F. T. PooJe, Dr Fitzgerald, W. Wilson, W. Kelly, John Johnstone, and W. 'Duncan, one and all bearing testinKaiey to the sterling qualities of the honoured couple. The visitors wore nios'l hospitably, entertained by Mr and Mrs Aitchison and members of the family. Congratulations poured in all day by letters and telegrams, amongst them being the following: — Mrs J. Whiting (Balciutha), Mr and Miss Thomson (Clinton), Mrs Fairniaid (Taieri), Mns M'Donalct (■Stirling), Mr and Mrs Downes (Mataura), Rev. and Mrs Scott-Allen (Lawrence), Mrs C. Stewart (Milton). Mr J. Robertson (Ngapara), Mr and Mrs Mitchell (Naseby), Mr F. Thomson (Milton), tho Misses Barr <Balolutha), Mrs Smith (Martinborough). The Dunedin congratulations were from Mr and Mra W. Scott, Miss M'George, Mr and Mrs A. James, Mrs J. Capstick, Messrs Lilburne, J. B. Hisloo, J. O. Short, John Reid, J. Hislop, J. M'George, R. H. Scott, J. Nimmo. and G. M. Barr. In the evening a number of th« younger generation put in an appearance, and an enjoyable d&roe was held.

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