ARISTOCRATIC SPENDTHRIFT

Otago Witness, Issue 3418, 19 September 1919, Page 60

ARISTOCRATIC SPENDTHRIFT

CAREER IN AUSTRALIA. (Fjqom Ohb Own Co-respondent.) SYDNEY August 27. When Gerald Reviere and his wife Uorothy Vera Reviere applied in Sydney to have set aside an order of the Bankruptcy Court recently made on the application of a money-lending establishment, a somewhat interesting story was told. Gerald Reviere is 26 years of age, and is an Irish baron. His father was King's Messenger to Edward VII.- When he was 20, after a career at Eton and Cambridge, he was sent out to South Africa with £3OOO. He held a highly paid position there for a time, and received about £4OOO from his mother. Some four years ago he turned his face to Australia and landed here to "seek colonial experience" with £6OOO. Five months later ho had reduced the amount of capital to £IBOO. His colonial experience had been gained mostly in Sydney and Melbourne, where he' stayed at the most expensive hotels, and was a. regular visitor to tho race courses. He stated quite naively that his clothes did not cost him less than £IOOO per year. A little later Baron Reviere married Miss Dorothy Allen, daughter of Mr Barney Allen, one of Australia's biggest bookmakers. She told tho court that she had £7OO a year, but they lived at the rate of nearly £2OOO a year. When, a _ fewmonths ago, they decided to visit _ Britain they were in debt in every direction, but Lady Reviere told her Melbourne solicitors to fix things up, and they took steamer from Melbourne. They were arrested on the P. and O. steamer at Adelaide and taker) to Sydney, there to explain matters to their creditors. It was from a subsequent bankruptcy order that they were now seeking relief. The court reserved its decision.