ABOUT PEOPLE

Southland Times, Issue 21848, 27 October 1932, Page 4

ABOUT PEOPLE

Mr A. le H. Hoyles was a passenger for Dunedin by the express yesterday afternoon. The Hon. George Lansbury has been j elected leader of the Parliamentary - Labourites, says a cable from London. | Mr Thomas Golden, chairman of the 3 Southland Hospital Board, and Mr T. t Pryde (secretary) returned yesterday from Dunedin, where they had attended a meeting of the Waipiata Sanatorium Committee. The death occurred at Browns on • Monday of Mr John McEwen, a resit dent of long standing in that district, 5 at the age of 58 years. Of a quiet 1 and retiring disposition, the late Mr r McEwen, who waj born at Aberuthven, 3 Achterader, Fifeshire, Scotland, came to the Browns district at the age of five with his parents, the late John and Isabella McEwen. He carried on > farming pursuits for many years and ; enjoyed the respect of the surround- ! ing communities. Mrs John Maclean, . of Browns, is a sister of Mr McEwen. 5 The funeral took place at the Winton ) Cemetery yesterday. i An old and respected resident of I Wellington, Mr Arthur F. Rattray, died f at his residence, Wadestown, on Saturday morning. Born at Melbourne, the late Mr Rattray, who was aged 66 years, was the son of an officer of the ; Northern Assurance Co., Ltd., which L he joined subsequently. He was at- . tached to the Melbourne office of the r company before coming to New Zca- ! land, and in this country, in his ■ capacity as inspector for the Dominion , for many years, he became well known ’ in insurance circles. During that ■ period his residence was in Dunedin. , Mr Rattray had been living in retire- • ment in Wadestown for a number of years. For some time past he had suffered intermittently from heart trouble. He is survived by his wife. Tire death occurred at Gore on Tuesday at the advanced age of 85 of Mr Frederick Shaw. He was born at Bor-ton-on-the-water, Gloucestershire, England, and followed general labouring work for some years before coming to New Zealand in 1872, by the ship Zealandia. He started work on railway formation with Messrs John and Norman Campbell, in whose service he remained two years and a-half. Mr Shaw first entered the Government railway service in 1880 as a ganger at Athol. He served on the Athol school committee for- two or three terms. About twenty years ago he took up his residence in Gore. Mr Shaw was married in 1872, to a daughter of the late Mr Jesse Lane, carpenter, Borton-on-the-water, Gloucestershire, England. His wife predeceased him but he leaves a grown-up family. Mr William McGregor, who passed away suddenly at Palmerston last Thursday morning, was the fourth son of Mr Alexander McGregor, sen., of Palmerston. He was born at Hawkesbury Bush 44 years ago, and received his education at Flag Swamp School, after which he worked on his father’s farm at Goodwood for some years. He enlisted in the Fifth Reinforcements and served for four years in the army, part of the time as an instructor at Sling Camp. He was wounded and gassed and after returning to his home Mr McGregor took up a farm with his brother, Mr Duncan McGregor, at Waitahuna, but the property was disposed of in 1922. He then went to the North Island as a rabbit inspector for a domain board, which position he held for two years. Later he went to Palmerston and for about six years had been employed by his brother, Mr Alexander McGregor. A well-known businessman of Hastings, Mr J. Catherall, died at Hastings on Friday last. The late Mr Catherall was involved in a motor cycle accident a few days ago, and this led to his death. He took a prominent part in the old Hastings Rifle Volunteers, the Volunteer Fire Brigade, and the town brass band. On the outbreak of the South African War in October, 1899, Mr Catherall volunteered for service, and left New Zealand the same month with the First Contingent in the steamer Waiwcra. He saw considerable service in the field with the contingent, and had the unique experience of being captured by General Christian De Wet at Sanna’s Post on March 31, 1900. He remained a prisoner of war tit Waterval, along with 6000 other British prisoners, for ten weeks, and was released when the British occupied Pretoria in June, 1900. Returning to New Zealand in 1901, Mr Catherall made his way back to South Africa with a later contingent and saw further service. He is survived by his wife. News has been received of the death in London on October 21 of Mr J. Martin Duff, well known in Dunedin musical circles in the years immediately prior to the war as a tenor of unusual quality. Mr Duff was born in Scotland and went to Dunedin in 1910, entering a local drapery establishment as a shop assistant. In the meantime he studied singing under the late Miss Bessie Hume, under whose tuition he attained a proficiency that quickly won him notice. After two or three years in Dunedin he went to Wellington, and for a short time continued with his studies there, finally removing to Auckland, where he carried on his training under the direction of Mr Philip Newbury. Just prior to the outbreak of the war he went on a concert tour of Australia. The reception accorded him in the Commonwealth, coupled with his fortunate participation in two large sweepstakes, induced him to adopt the concert platform as a profession, and it was from Australia that he embarked on the musical career which he pursued until the time of his death. During 15 years on the stage he toured extensively in Great Britain, and several times in Australia, in both of which countries he was known as “the Scottish tenor.” He returned to the Dominion only once, the occasion being about three years ago. Mr Duff’s parents, Mr and Mrs Andrew Duff, reside at 130 Cargill street, Dunedin, and he is survived by an elder brother and two sisters, Mrs O. Garden, of Dunedin, better known as Miss Isa Buff for her work in local theatricals, and Mrs Drummond, of Invercargill.