PERSONAL ITEMS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2707, 31 January 1906, Page 36

PERSONAL ITEMS.

On Friday, 19th inst., Mr and Mrs Adam Cruickshanks, of Oakdale, Chatton (South1 land), celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of j their wedding day. I Miss Lousley, of Balclutha, has received notification of appointment aa assistant cookery teacher to the Hawke'a Bay Education Board. Sir James Robertson, railway guard at Clinton, has been transferred to Dunedin. Mr and Mrs H. Blaikie, of Heriot, were last week, on the occasion of their leaving the district, presented; with tokens of esteem by the residents, Mr Blaikie receiving a gold albert and Maltese cross, and Mrs Blaikie a chaste silver teapot. Mr James Goro, District Grand Master, New Zealand South, has received a letter from Mr D. Reid, secretary of the Grand Lodge of Scotland, informing him that on St. Andrew's day the W.W. Grand Master of Scotch Freemasonry conferred on him the honorary rank of Junior Grand Warden of the Grand Lodge of Scotland. We understand this is the highest honour the M.W. Grand Master has conferred on anyone in New Zealand. Our Waikouaiti correspondent writes: — Mr D. T. Kelly, who for the last 81 years has been st&tionmaster and postmaster here, has been appointed to Culverden, the terminus for Hammer Springs, and will leave fox that station on the Ist prox. Mr Thomas Murray has been appointed manager of the State coal mine at Seddonville. Mr W. F. Abel, of Lowburn School, has been recommended for the position of head master of Cromwell School. Mr E. Blow, of Chxistchurch, left for Milford Sound on Monday, 22nd inst., where he will transact some special business for the Government, and return by way of Tnvercargill to Christchurch before beiug permanently transferred to Invercargill. I Dr A. J. Hall is leaving by the s.s. Moray- j shire on a short trip to London prior to commencing practice in Dunedin. Mr and Mrs W. B. Lawson, of London, who, with their two daughters, are making < a tour of New Zealand, have just completed | their trip through the North Island. They i left Wellington on Wednesday for the south (writes oui Wellington correspondent), and will visit Mount Cook and Lakes Wanaka , and Wakatipu before returning to Wellington to catch the Sydney boat on the return voyage Home. Guard John Johnstone, who is being transferred from Omakau to Inverca-rgill, was entertained at Oruakan on Friday evening last at a smoke social. Mr R. J. Mitchell , presided, and referred to Mr Johnstone's many good qualities asi a public officer, his I never-failing courtesy, and his willingness to oblige on every occasion, and during the evening presented hini with a purse of sovereigns on behalf of the people of the place. Mr Johnstone suitably responded. The function took the form of a social, which j was followed by a dance, and a very pleasant evening was spent by all present. j l£r J. S. W. M'Neale, a special correspondent of the St. James's Gazette, London, is in New Zealand, writing a series of descriptive articles for his paper. Special attention is being paid by the writer to the ! thermal district. Mr Frank Hyde, who recently sold his two Southland newspapers (the Wmton Record and the Otautau Standard) has purchased the Northern Advocate, a daily paper published at Whangarei. Mr G. D. Delprat, general manager of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company, lias been elected president of the Australasian Institute of Mining Engineers for the year 1906. Mr D. B. Waters, of Dunedin, has been elected a member of the council. Our Omakau correspondent writes : " Day by day and year by year the ranks of the old identities oi the Otago goldfields grow smaller. On Fiiday, the sth January, death claimed another in the person oi Mrs Michael Prendergast, of Hyde, ut the ripe age of 76. Mrs Prendergast's husband, who still survives her, is one oi the oldest lesidents of the place. He arrived there in the early gold-digging days, and not only has he been a resident of the p!ace for over 40 years, but so attached, has he been to it that he scarcely ever left it during all that time. Some years after Mr Prendergast's settling m Hyde his wife and family came from the Old Land to join him, and Mrs Prendergast will alwaj's be remembered by those who had the pleasure of h«r acquaintance for her genial, kindly manner and sterling qualities. She was in every sense a typical old identity, a good wife, an ideal mother, and a trusted friend. Mrs Prendergast leaves behind her, in addition to her husband, two sons (Mr Thomas Prendergast, of Wright. Stephenson, and Co.. Invercargill, and Mr M. B. Prendergast, of Hyde) and two daughters, of whom the eldest is married to Mr Patrick Kinney, of Hyde, and' the youngest to Mr Owen Lavertv, of the =iune place. The Wellington banquet to Sir J. G. Ward, prior to his departure for Rome, has been fixed for the Bth prox. Mr Percy Braithwaite has been appointed fcon. treasurer of the Otago Football Association, vice Mr C. R Martin, who is leaving Dunedin to take up his residence in the Noiiii Island. Miss A. S de Longueville Graham has been lecommeaded for the inis.ress-ship of ike Southbridge School. A private cable received in town on Fiiclay morning announced the death at JohannesLurg ihut day from enteric fever of Mr Charles Peake, eldest =on of Mr J F. Peake. of this city. Deceased, who was well kno^n known m musical and ath'ttic circles, went to South Africa as a member of the Eighth Contingent, and it vail b? remembered that he almost miraculously escaped s-enous mjuiy i.i tile railway accident which Uefel that coijtiugent at llacha\ le (Transvaal). Of lat-* ycitrs be had leaided at Johannesbuig, where hi- business pro->pect^ were exceedmgly briglit. He had been twice previously attacked by the dreaded enteric Much svmijathy will be extended to the family m its ?Jere?veni;mt. Xews has been received by the San Fraacipco mail just to hand of the marriage of an old Dunedin boy now practising as a consulting, cm 1 , and mining engineer in London. Mr Nonran M. Kijkcaldy, A.M.lnst., C E., F.G.S.. and M.A.In«F.M.E , was to be married on 4th January, at Berne, Switzerland, to Miss Marguerite Nancy Niggli, daughter of Professor Niggli, of Kirchenfeld, Berne. Mr Clement L. Wragge., F.R.G.S., is contemplating another tour of New Zesland this year, and according to a communication wo have received from him he brings " The latest and most beautiful pictures of tlia heavens." etc., in existence. A Christchurch telegram states that th* Rev. Isaac Zachariah, who recently resigned the position of Senior Rabbi there owing to fmliua health, died somewhat suddenly vi

Sunday from valvular trouble of the heart. He had been connected with the Synagogue there for 36 years. The following candidates have passed the examination for the M.B. degree: — A. T. M. Blair, W. Carswell, G. M. East, T. Gilray, H. Jeffreys, E. Marchant, W. Neil, T. C. Patterson, Miss Paterson, H. E. Webb, and T. Wukin. Our Wellington correspondent wires • — Captain Braithwaite, A.D C. to the Governor, is still confined to hi 3 bed in consequence cf an attack of pleurisy, but he is making steady progress towards recovery. The Righi Rev. Dr Cairns, Moderator of the Presbyterian Ghurch of Victoria, was a passerger by the Moeraki, which arrived at ike Bluff on. Mondaq. Accompanied by Mrs Cairns, he purposes spending an extended holida-y* in New Zealand. It is the intention of Vice-admiral Sir Wilmot Fswkes, commander-in-chief of the Australian station, to spend five or six weeks in New Zealand. He will be accompanied (writes our Wellington correspondent) by Lady Fawkes, and will arrive at Wellington in H.M.S. Powerful on the 7lh prox. The I Governor will meet him here on the following 1 day. At the Lands and Survey Department on Monday afternoon Mr A. H. Saunders, draughtsman, en the eve of his marriage, was presented by his brother officers with a handseme clock and two easy-chairs. ' Captain Robertson, pay and quartermaster of tbo third battalion Volunteers, who is being transferred to the Christchurch branch of the Bank of New Zealnd, was presented on Moni day (writes our Oamarn correspondent) with j a complete set of cased cutlery and a handscn» oak and silver salver by his brother j officers, and the Non-coms, of the head- ' quarters companies. Very appreciative remarks were niade by Lieutenant-colonel Head- , land (who made the presentation), Major Mahan, and Captains Forrester and Morris. ' On Friday evening last he was also presented with a walking-stick and a pipe in recognition of his services to the Oamaru Defence Cadet Corps, of which he was captain foj- some time. Mr Robertson, who will be well remembered in Palmerston, will be much missed m Volunteer circles in North Otago. | A London message advises the death of the , Rev. Haskett Smith, who some years ago toured Australasia lecturing on Palestine. Mr James Allen, M.H.R., is paying a visit to Chiistchurch. Golden Wedding. A few days ago, Mr and Mrs A. G. Allan, of Green Island, celebrated their golden wedding. In addition to the visitation of their sons and daughters and grand-children from New South Wales, Nelson, and the Taieri side, there were present immediate relations from the surrounding districts and citiee, who congratulated the aged couple on this golden occasion, and iipon attaining so respectable an age. Among tlie visitors, there came our energetic and populai minister of the district, the Rev. Mr Kilpatrick, who heartily expressed his pleasure of having the opportunity of wishing Mr and Mrs Allan many long years of health and happiness. Several of Mr Allan's old pupils, now grave and prosperous fathers and mothers of stout and healthy families, also sent kind and hearty congratulations. In the early days of the province, it will be remembered by old identities that Mr Allan, honorary secretary of the Highlanders of Otago, agitated and strongly recommended the introduction of Highlanders and Islanders to Otago, aJid especially so to Stewart Island, then almost uninhabited. At the earnest request of the Provincial Government, particularly so by the late Mr James Macandrew, Mr Allan wrote out a Gaelic pamphlet, or rather a circular letter, which was published by the Government — viz., "Litir luil gu Muinntir Gaidhealtach agus nan Ileineann," which was circulated in the Highlands aid Islands and largely contributed to introduce a good many stalwart Highland settlers into Otago and other parts of the colony. On account of severe illness and deafness Mr Allan, much to hie regret, was unable to be present at the popular annual gathering of Highlanders whick recently took place in the city. i