ART UNION WINNER

Taranaki Daily News, 10 February 1934, Page 17 (Supplement)

ART UNION WINNER

HOLDER ON CASUAL WORK. INTENTION TO BUY BUSINESS. The winner of■ the first prize. of, £2OOO in the “Lucky Surprise” art union, which was drawn in Wellington on Wednesday, is an Aucklander, Mr. H. A. Brown, of 11 Vincent Street, City. The winning ticket, M 55327, was purchased from a ticket seller near the intersection of Queen and Customs Street. Mr. Brown is known by his friends as “Knockout Brown,” and he signed the ticket “K. 0.8. 11 Vincent Street. He had four tickets in the art union, two purchased in Auckland and two in Thames, while his wife also had a ticket. Mr. Brown has been buying tickets in art unions for years, but this is the first time he has won a prize. He intends to buy a small business with'the money. Born in Vincent Street, Auckland, Mr. Brown fought for three years in the Great War and was a member of ■ the Diggers’ Concert Party when peace came. For seven years he was an employee of the New Zealand Railways in the outward goods department at Auckland. He later obtained a position as a barman, and after a period of unemployment, was given casual work at the railway goods shed last Monday. When Mr. and Mrs. G. T. Martin, Queen’s Avenue, Frankton Junction, were informed that they- had drawn £5OO in the “Lucky Surprise” art union, they said the money would be very handy, although they had made no definite plans for the future. Mr. Martin has been on the staff of the Frankton railway station for three years.

The ticket was purchased in unusual circumstances. On the closing day Mrs. Martin went into a tobacconist’s shop in Frankton, where she was known, and took a ticket, arranging to pay for it several days later, as she had no change at the time the purchase was made. The payment was made later. The same ticket resulted in the fortunate holders winning a £5 prize as well.