MR JAMES MACALISTER

Southland Times, Issue 23634, 8 October 1938, Page 18

MR JAMES MACALISTER

To The Editor

Sir,—As almost a life-long friend of the late Mr James Macalister, I feel I am voicing the sentiments of farmers not only in Southland but all over New Zealand and even further afield. In passing I may say that it was Southland’s good fortune—and Invercargill’s good fortune in particular—when Mr and Mrs Macalister senior came to Invercargill 60 years ago with their clever family of boys and girls. The father possessed many qualities that .were, useful to a young colony, as a geologist and in many other spheres. As for the legal qualifications of the Macalister family they are too well known to require further comment; and we must not forget the late Mrs A. E. Smith, a sister of Mr James Macalister, who was known far and wide as an artist and landscape painter of considerable merit. Southland today owes the late Mr James Macalister a great debt for his energy and splendid mechanical ability in the interests of agriculture. He was a man of expansive mind and great liberality. Many know of his kindness of heart—he helped many a lame dog over a high fence—and his last journey was a splendid tribute, to those who knew and respected him. More recently Mr Macalister had lived among a new generation and was not so well known as in earlier days. He did his part and did it well. His shortcomings were those one could most easily forgive and his virtues were those I . most admired.—Yours, etc., LIFELONG FRIEND. October 7, 1938.