PERSONAL

Taranaki Daily News, 17 January 1933, Page 6

PERSONAL

Mr. H. E. Blyde, chairman of the North Taranaki Farmers’ Union, is attending a meeting of the Dominion executive of the union at Wellington.

Mr. Sydney Leeson, of Westcliff-on-Sea, England, has been visiting Mr. and Mrs. J. Negus, New Plymouth, formerly of Westcliff-on-Sea.

The Rev. J. J, North, D.D., principal of the Baptist Theological Training College, Auckland, visited New Plymouth during the week-end and occupied the pulpit of the local Baptist Church.

A long record of conscientious public service was closed by the death on Sunday of Mr. John Burton, Auckland, at the age of 83. Mr. Burton, who had been a resident of Auckland for more than half a century, was for long a leading figure in the bakery industry.

Mrs. Jessie Lewis, widow of Mr. Charles Lewis, member of the House of Representatives for Courtenay from 1896 to 1898 J and for Christchurch in succession to the Hon. W. Pember Reeves, died at Waipukurau, last week. She was bom in Ireland 79 years ago and lived for many years at Christchurch. She is survived by three sons and a daughter.

A claim to be the first white girl born at Auckland is made by Mrs. E. Inkster, who celebrated her 92nd birthday at Auckland last week. “I was bom at Mechanics Bay on January 10,1841,” said Mrs. Inkster. “Two children were bom about the same time, Willie Regan and myself. My parents came to New Zealand in the ship London in 1840 and I was bom in the following year.”

Mr. W. C. Hankinson, M.A., one of the principals of the Dominion’s Office in London, who has been acting as representative of the Imperial Government in Australia, is to pay* a visit to New Zealand and will arrive at New Plymouth on Wednesday, January 25, leaving the following Friday morning. He will be accompanied by Mr. D. Ardell, of the Internal Affairs Department. The Taranaki Chamber of Commerce will make arrangements for the visit.

Mr. William Alfred Waters died in the Wellington hospital early on Saturday morning at the age of 81 years. Born in Wellington in 1851, Mr. Waters entered the legal profession, and in his younger days was a member of the staffs of the legal firms of Moorhouse and Stafford, Barton arid Fitzherberi, Travers and 01liver, and Buckley, Stafford and Fitzherbert. Afterward Mr. Waters was for twelve years employed as a clerk in the Legislative Council, and subsequently he joined the Lands and Deeds Department. He retired on superannuation in 1909. The death occurred at the Thames hospital on Saturday of Mr. William Henry Bunting, of Paeroa, . aged 74 years. Mr. Bunting waS born in Auckland in 1858. He went to sea at an early age, and became a captain of coastal boats trading to Whangarei, Thames and the Waihou River. Leaving the sea, Mr. Bunting went in search of gold in the Te Aroha district, - and pegged the first claim after the field there had been thrown open to the public. Mr. Bunting is survived by Mrs. Bunting, three sons and 'three daughters. The sons are Messrs. C. Bunting, Thames, J. Bunting, Karangahake, and T. C. Bunting, Stratford, and the daughters are Mesdames Keating, Pukekohe, and Vinnicombe and Lindsay, Paeroa. Mr. •Walter Wright, Auckland, a gifted artist who devoted his skill to reproducing New Zealand life and scenes, died last week at the age of 67. Mr. Wright was born in Nottinghamshire in 1866, and reached New Zealand with his parents when he was 11 years of age. He first exhibited with the Auckland Society of Arts in 1888, and thereafter was a consistent exhibitor for many years. With his brother Frank he studied in England, and there came under the influence of the Newlyn School. Frank Wright confined himself to water colours, but Walter Wright used botn water colours and oils. Mr. Wright laboured as a teacher of painting until failing health recently compelled him to lay this work aside. He is survived by a widow.

The Governor-General and Lady Bledisloe, who, during the past week paid official visits to Taihape, Hunterville, Raetihi, Ohakune and Flock House, Bulls, and who also made the journey down the Wanganui River, meeting officially at various points on the route the Maori people settled on land bordering the river banks, returned to Wellington on Saturday. On Friday their Excellencies will pay an official visit to Napier in order “to associate themselves with the residents during the carnival which has been arranged to mark the restoration of the town after the earthquake of 1931. Their Excellencies will also pay official visits to Waipukurau, Woodville, Pahiatua, Eketahuna and Greytown, and will return to Wellington on January 28. The death has occurred at Dunedin last week of Mr. Thomas Sherwood Tomlinson, manager of the Invercargill branch of the Bank of New Zealand. He was born at Dunedin in May, 1877, and joined the Bank of New Zealand in 1894. He remained at the Dunedin office of the bank until ,1914. when he was appointed manager of the South Dunedin branch. He was then appointed accountant at Invercargill, and from there, in 1920, he went to Auckland as accountant. He was appointed manager at Feilding in 1923, and in 1926 he took over the managership of the bank at Invercargill. Mr. Tomlinson was a leading member of the Invercargill Rotary Club. He was a prominent athlete in his younger days and was an excellent gymnast. He was a member of the Otago Rowing Club. Mr. Tomlinson, in 1912, married the second daughter of Mr. Robinson Bentham, a former well-known business man of Dunedin. He leaves a widow, a son and two daughters.