PERSONAL

Taranaki Daily News, 13 January 1932, Page 6

PERSONAL

Mr. S. Burgess, of New Plymouth, left for the Waikato yesterday. Mr. Trevor Simpson, of the Auckland Herald literary staff, is on a short visit to New Plymouth. Mr. C. N. Taylor will leave New Plymouth this morning for Gisborne and expects to be away about a week. The death of Sir Henry Cowan, exM.P. for North Islington, is reported by cable from London. Sir Roy Lister Robinson has been appointed chairman of the Forestry Commission, reports a London cable. Mr. H. M. S. Dawson, Christchurch, who has been spending the law holidays in New Plymouth, returned south yesterday. Mr. C. P. Smith, officer in charge of the Labour Department at New Plymouth, has returned from Wellington, where he had been spending a holiday. Mr. J. M. Hardcastle, associate-editor of the New Zealand Herald, Auckland, will shortly leave on an extended trip abroad. Mr. Theo. Trezise, theatrical producer, has accepted a post on the producing staff of an Elstree picture company and will leave Auckland by the Port Melbourne on February 4 for London. Mr. B. Hume, late of New Plymouth, and now manager of the Commercial Bank at Raglan, recently received a fractured arm and other injuries as a result of the overturning of the car in which he was travelling. The condition of the Misses Harkness, New Plymouth, who were slightly injured in a motor collision on the Te Kuiti-O.torohanga Road on Wednesday, improved sufficiently for them to be able to continue their journey northwards on Friday, says the King Country Chronicle. Mr. S. G. Smith, M.P., chairman of the Taranaki Education Board, and Mr. W. H. Moyes, principal of the New Plymouth Boys’ High School, left for Dunedin yesterday morning to confer with the Senate of the New Zealand University on matters connected with Taranaki Scholarships. Mr. A. Thomson, for some years director of the observatory at Apia, Samoa, and who for a year was on the staff of the Dominion Meteorological Office, has accepted an appointment in the Canadian Meteorological Service, states a Wellington Press Association message. He was born in Canada and was a graduate of Toronto and Harvard,

The death occurred yesterday of Mr. James Stichlbury, PonsonJby, at the age of 89, states a Press Association message from Auckland. Mr. Stickbury had resided in Auckland for 71 years and served throughout the Maori wars. For many years he was secretary of the King’s Empire Veterans and later commandant. He served on the city council and the harbour board. Mr. Stichbury was a well-known bowler and skipped the winning team in the North Island pairs championship of 1905. He also took a prominent part in other sports. More than 30 years’ service with Wirths’ circus stands to the credit of its transportation officer, Mr. Charlie West. Mr. West is New Zealand born, his birthplace being Inglewood, Taranaki. He is a brother of Alf. West, the notable All Black footballer. His work has taken Mr.. West to many parts of the world, and io him the cities and towns of America, England, Africa and Australia are well known. Roughly 20 visits have been made to New Zealand by Mr. West in his capacity as transportation officer for Wirths’. During the Great War he served with the Australian forces.

The death of the Rev. John Wesley Griffin, aged 78, occurred at Manurewa, Auckland, last week. Born in Dublin in 1854, Mr. Griffin spent his youth in Britain, coming to New Zealand about 57 years ago. Shortly afterwards he entered the ministry of the Methodist Church at Helensville. He was accepted into the full ministry in 1895 and served in eleven different places in New Zealand. He retired on superannuation in 1925, and had lived since then at Manurewa. He was well known in sporting circles as a cricketer. Mr. Griffin was one of the few ministerial survivors of the United Free Methodist Church, which, with the Bible Christians, entered into union with the Wesleyan Church in 1897. He left a widow, five sons and two daughters. One son was killed during the war. The death occurred at his residence, Palmerston North, last Wednesday, of Mr. Joseph Thomas Kilpatrick, at the age of 59 years. An employee of the railway station staff at Palmerston North, Mr. Kilpatrick was on leave at the time of his death prior to retiring on superannuation. He moved to Palmerston North with his family three years ago, after having been stationed at Toko for 24 years. Mr. Kilpatrick was bom at Cincinnati, State of Ohio, United States, in 1872, coming to this Dominion at the age of 17 years after having received his education in the North of Ireland. Ho was a keen enthusiast for athletic sports and in his young days was prominent in the field of athletics, being one of the most noted mile runners of the North Island. A wife, four sons and one daughter are left.

The death occurred recently in the Timaru hospital of Mr. M. G. Williams, after a lengthy illness, at the age of 64 years. Mr. Williams was a ®on of the Very Rev. Dean Williams, of Brecon, and was born in the Wye Valley, South Wales. While at Oxford he won ms “Blue” for athletics, and was a prominent cricketer. On leaving Oxford he went bo Canada, and, after training with the Church Brotherhood, took up a farm at Alberta. For health reasons Mr. Williams left Canada and migrated to New Zealand, where he engaged in journalism. On joining the staff of the Taranaki Herald he lived for some years in New Plymouth, where he took a keen interest in cricket and was a prominent player. Some twenty years ago he acted as umpire in the drawn match between the Australian eleven and the Taranaki team of fifteen men. Later he made his home in South Canterbury, where he continued journalistic work, and was latterly engaged as the representative of the Timaru Post and the Geraldine Guardian at Geraldine. From his early days in Canada he took up bowling, and he was also a good chess player° and had engaged in many matches. He is survived by Mrs. Williams (Geraldine), and two sons, Mr. Cecil Williams (Geraldine) and Mr. Hugh Williams, of the staff of the Bank of New South Wales (Wellington), and a daughter, Miss Ethel 'Williams (Geraldine).