OTAGO CENTENARIAN

Taranaki Daily News, 1 August 1931, Page 3

OTAGO CENTENARIAN

IOsND BIRTHDAY YESTERDAY. MR. JOSIAH KEYS’ CAREER. To ha ve lived through the reign of five British Sovereigns is the distinction which belongs to Mr. Josiah Keys, of Toiro, South . Otago, who yesterday celebrated his 102nd birthday. In spite of his wealth of years Mr. Keys is still in good health and has an alert bearing, states a Dunedin writer. He had a career full oi adventure durimr his younger days in America and Cuba,° A native of Ireland, Air. Keys recalls the stirring days of the great.famine and remembers incidents which are becoming dim:in historical record.

The son of, a farmer, Mr. Keys was born in Donemana, County Tyrone, on July 30, 1829. He was sent to the church school,, but the principal part of his education was received at home under the tuition of his parents. Air. .Keys looks back with a kind of naive pleasure on his religious upbringing. His father, was a strict Presbyterian and required him to read 10 chapters of the Bible every day and 20 on. Sundays. To-this day Mr. Keys continues a firm observance of the Sabbath and always appears on Sundays dressed in. black broadcloth and wearing yellow kid gloves. In the days of Mr. Keys’ youth Ireland was in a bad way. The terrible potato “rot” of 1846 and the disastrous famine which came in its wake, are well remembered. by him. In 1847 Air. Keys decided to go to America and went to Philadelphia, where he had an uncle. The city then boasted a population of 200,000, which had doubled itself by the time he left 15 years later. Beginning as an engineering apprentice, the young migrant became in due time foreman in a machine shop. ■ Mi;. Keys , was a resident of the States during the troublous and momentous years of the Civil War. An offer of a job took him to Cuba to fit up mach-inery,-and later he accepted a situation as superintendent of sugar-boiling operations and engineer on. the Santa Fe plantation. After six years he returned to Ireland on a visit and on going back to Cuba found the island in a state of civil war, a powerful party having revolted against the Spanish authorities. Having had enough of Cuba, Air. Keys returned to Ireland in 1872 and took a position with the- Irish North-western Railway Company at 28s a week. But the spirit of movement was in his btood and in 1877. he came to New Zealand in the ship Nelson, which reached the colony on Christmas "Day. A search for land in Southland occupied Mr. Keys, but ill-health in his family prevented him from acquiring a block of 500 acres. He finally settled at Toiro jn the Clutha district.

Eventually, when the Caterhope estate was subdivided, Mr. Keys purchased 224 acres adjoining his original farm, which he leased to his son William some years later. After his wife's death Mr. Keys lived at Toiro for some time, then moved to Balclutha, leaving the farm in the care of his son. He returned there after some years in Balclutha, where he had been an active member of the local bowling club, in spite of his advancing years. For 48 years. Mr. Keys was a member of the Clutha County Council.