OBITUARY.

Wairarapa Age, 22 November 1927, Page 5

OBITUARY.

MB. JUSTICE ALPERS. A NOTABLE CAREER. The death occurred at Wellington yesterday of the Hon. Mr. Justice Alpers, at the age of 60 years. Mr. Alpers was born in 1867 at Copenhagen, Denmark, and started his education at Kelskor’s Grammar School in that city. When twelve years of age he came to New Zealand with his parents, and was unable at that time to speak a word of English. His education was continued at Napier, and later at Canterbury College. He was assistant master at the Boys’ High School, under Mr Bevan Brown, and was with the school for fifteen years. Whilst there the law called him, and he was admitted to the Bar in 1904, and practised at Timaru and Christchurch, becoming a member of Garrick, Cowlishaw, Alpers and Cowlishaw.

Mr. Alpers possessed elocutionary attainments of a very high order, and was well-known in theatrical circles as an excellent amateur actor. He was long a valued mfember of the Christchurch Savage Club, where his ready wit and excellence as a raconteur always provided him with an enchanted audience. His remarkable ability in cross-examination led to many successes in sensational jury cases. Mr. Alpers had a most distinguished literary career. He entered Canterbury College on a scholarship, and, in graduating, he won the John Tinline scholarship for English literature. When he obtained his M.A. degree he secured first-class honours in Latin and English literature. He then became assistant to Professor Macmillan Brown, and, on the latter going to Europe, held the Chair as his locum tenens. He was a leader-writer for the Christchurch “Press” for ten years, and wrote for that journal a brilliant column called “Searchlights”; and also contributed articles to a number of other New Zealand periodicals. In 1900, the jubilee of the Canterbury province, Mr. Alpers wrote the “Jubilee Ode,” which, set to music by Mr. Maughan Barnett, now of Auckland, was sung at the opening of the Canterbury Industrial Exhibition in that year. He was also responsible for the Jubilee Book of Canterbury Rhymes, and, in collaboration with Professor Bobert Irvine, M.A., he wrote “New Zealand in the Nineteenth Century,” on the jubilee of Canterbury College in 1923. He also edited the book of poetry produced to commemorate that occasion.

When war broke out, Mr Alpers took up patriotic work with the greatest enthusiasm, and devoted much time to addressing recruiting meetings and other gatherings in different parts of the Canterbury province on behalf of war funds.

In February, 1925, Mr. Alpers was appointed to the Supreme Court Bench to fill the vacancy caused by the retirement of Mr. Justice Hosking, and was being stationed at Wellington. About eighteen months ago his health began to fail, but he fulfilled his judicial duties till a few months ago. Tn 1911, Mr. Alpers married a daughter of the late Mr. Henry Bose, of Dunedin, who is left with two sons and a daughter. Mr. Alpers recently finished writing his memoirs, “Cheerful Yesterdays,” which are to be published shortly-