OBITUARY

Southland Times, Issue 23674, 24 November 1938, Page 6

OBITUARY

MR A. T. ELLIOT . ~~ r ' ' / , Mr Archibald Thomson Elliot, who died suddenly recently, was the fifth son in a family of 13. His father, Mr James Elliot, who was a farmer in Bluevale, Canada, was the. grandson of Mr James Elliot who emigrated from his native Scotland in 1795 and with Mr David Thomson was the first white settler in Scarboro, going there in a sledge drawn by oxen. The wife of the first James Elliot who was married in 1802, was known as the “mother” of Scarboro. Their wedding was the first held in the township. .Mr A. T. Elliot was brought up on his father’s farm at Bluevale. At an early age he entered the agricultural college and learned butter making. Some .40 years ago he came out to his uncle, the late Mr R. A. Elliot, of Fortrose, and for a number of years he followed his calling as a butter maker at the creameries of Opunake and Ballance in the North Island. Eventually he was induced to come south and entered into partnership with his uncle in the store-keep-ing business. After a number of years at Fortrose he took over the Waimahaka branch and ran it successfully until eight years ago, when he moved to Lorneville.

Mr Elliot was progressive and enterprising and not slow in sponsoring and helping along any object for the betterment of the district he lived in. He was largely instrumental in having the Lorneville dairy factory built and was a director of it until his death. He also promoted the . public library at Waimahaka. He was an elder in the Presbyterian Church for many years, session clerk at Fortrose for a long period and a Sunday school superintendent. For several years he drove down from Waimahaka each Sunday to keep the school going at Fortrose. In his younger days he was an enthusiastic member of the Christian Endeavour movement,'the "Young Men’s Christian Association and the Murihiku Mounted Rifles.

Mr Elliot’s, first marriage was to Miss Rutherford, of New Plymouth, a sister of the late Lord Rutherford, to whom the following family was born: Mr James Elliot (Lorneville), Mi- Archibald Elliot (Auckland) and Mr Ernest Elliot (Kaitaia). His second marriage took place in 1912 to Mrs W. L. Ross, who was his house keeper after his first wife died. There was one daughter, Mrs Cook (Lorneville), of the second marriage. MR JOHN WILSON The death has occurred of Mr John Wilson, of Waianiwa, who was the first white male child to be born in Southland. The eldest son of the late Mr John Wilson, the original owner of the property known as Argyle, he was born in July 1857. Mr Wilson’s name is on the first role of the Waianiwa school, which was opened in 1863 and he attended the seventieth anniversary celebrations in 1933. After leaving that school he attended a night school conducted by Mr George McLeod. Mr Wilson, who was of a retiring nature and who lived at Argyle all his life, married Miss Eliza Jenkins, of Ringwood, Wallacetown, who died three years ago. The surviving members of the family are Mrs A. R. Johnston (Waikaka Valley), Mrs James: Gray (Invercargill) and Mrs R. Managh (Waianiwa). Of two sons the elder, Mr Bruce Wilson, was killed at the war and the other, Mr Stanley Wilson, died some years ago.