OBITUARY

Southland Times, Issue 24448, 30 May 1941, Page 3

OBITUARY

MR THOMAS TAYLOR The death of Mr Thomas Taylor, an old resident of Eastern Southland, at Christchurch on Tuesday, breaks a link with the days when Waikaia was at the height of its glory as a gold-producing centre. Mr Taylor was manager and gold buyer for the Waikaia branch of the National Bank of New Zealand for 25 years and he gained a great insight into the early days of the gold-mining industry at Waikaia. Mr Taylor was born in July 1851 at Shifnell, in Shropshire, England, and at an early age he attended a dame’s school and then the Shifnell Grammar School. With his father and mother be came to New Zealand in 1863, landing at Bluff. Mr Taylor, after holding about three positions, secured a position in the Invercargill branch of the Bank of Otago and in about 18 months time he was transferred to Riverton, where he gained his first knowledge of gold buying. In 1873 he was transferred to Queenstown and in June of that year the bank was taken over by the National Bank of New Zealand. Shortly after Mr Taylor was sent to Cardrona as manager and gold buyer and was later transferred to the Waikaia branch of the bank. That was in 1877 and at that time Waikaia possessed 16 hotels. Slowly but surely the gold industry at Waikaia declined and in 1902 the National Bank closed its branch there, Mr Taylor being transferred to the position of manager of the Gore branch, where he remained until his retirement in 1918. He continued to live at Gore until 1929, when he moved to Christchurch, where he lived up to the time of his death. During his period of more than 50 years residence in Eastern Southland Mr Taylor took an active interest in many public bodies. He was associated with the Southland War Funds Association and was a member at different times of the Gore High School Board of Governors, the Gore School Committee and the Gore Chamber of Commerce. He was a staunch supporter of the Anglican Church, a playing member of the Gore Bowling Club and a member of the Manchester Unity, Independent Order of Oddfellows. He was also a member of the Gore Club.

Mr Taylor married Miss Sarah Bourke, a native of Cork, Ireland, in 1875. She predeceased him. They had a family of 20, of whom 17 survive. Messrs Roland Taylor (Invercargill) and Stanley Taylor (Gore) are sons.