THE PASSING OF A PIONEER.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XLV, Issue 11820, 3 May 1919, Page 4

THE PASSING OF A PIONEER.

THE LATE MRS JAMES McDONELL. A correspondent writes: — The last of the old settler Rangitikei, Mrs James McDouell, passed away on April Kith at her residence “Inverhoe, ” Lower Rangitikei, at the advanced ago of 90 years. Born at Inverness in Scotland in 1829, Mrs McDonell arrived in New Zealand in 1840 in the “Bleuheim, ” and settled with her parents, the well-known Camerons, at Kaiwarra, Wellington. She married Mr James McDonell in 1849 and rode on horseback (the usual method of travelling in those days) on a four days’ journey along the West Coast beach to her now homo. Mrs McDouell who was the first white woman to set foot on Rangitikei soil, had resided ever since her marriage at ‘‘lnverhoe. ” Her late son, Mr A. M. McDonell. who died last year, was the first white child born in Rangitikei. Many and varied were the experiences related by Mrs McDonell of the early days when our grandparents toiled unceasingly and paved the way for us of to-day. They were, indeed, ideal citizens and Empire-builders in the truest sense of the word. Mrs McDouell's hospitality and kindness won the respect not only of the white people but also of the Maoris of the district, and it was a graceful tribute paid to the deceased lady when a squad of Maori soldiers stood at the salute as the funeral passed through the Parewanni Pa on the way to the Turakina Cemetery. The late Mrs McDonell, whose grandsons have a splendid war record, is survived by three sons and, six daughters, viz., Mr James McDonell (Wairoa), Mr Aeneas McDouell (Lower Rangitikei), and Mr John McDonell (Marton 1, Mrs Hugh Fraser (Fordoli), Mrs J. G. Smith (Palmerston North), Mrs Gray (Wellington), Airs P. E. Daniell (Foxton), Mrs E. Morse (Bulls), and Miss K. McDonell who always lived with her mother.