Personal Notes

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIX, Issue 21, 21 May 1913, Page 5

Personal Notes

R JOHN TOWNLEY has been re--1I k elected unopposed .as chairman AI F of the Gisborne Harbour Board, a position which he has filled for twenty-three years in succession, being the first, elected to the position on Dee. 11, 1890; four years atter the board was Constituted. Sir. Townley has occupied li seat on the board over since its inception. Mr. E. F. Warren, who has been for thirty-one years in the service of the JPpblic Trust office, and recently appoint ed deputy Public Trustee in Auckland, was presented by the office staff with a case of pipes as a souvenir of his promotion.

The death lias occurred at New Plymouth of Mr. Charles Autridge Ballot, aged 71 years. Mr. Ballot’s parents arrived in New Plymouth by the Amelia Thompson in 1841, and he was born there in the following year. He took part in the Maori wars, holding the rank of sergeant in the mounted force. On his return from England, where he has been undergoing a course of instruction with the Imperial forces. Captain R. J. S. Seddon. formerly stall Officer to the Adjutant-General at Headquarters. "Wellington, will be posted to the Auckland military district, as area group officer, with headquarters at Paeroa.

Mr. M. Government Statistician. who left on a visit to Australia recently, is at present engaged in inquiring into the methods of compiling statistics in vogue in the Commonwealth ■And in the various Australian States. ■Mr. Frazer is expected to return to New Zealand early next month. Air. T. Wyllie, the I’apaioeto# patriarch, celebrated his ninety-seventh birthday last week. Mr. E. C. Gannaway, assistant-post-master at Wellington, is retiring on Superannuation after nearly forty years i&pent in the service. ißabbi Bernstein, of Christchurch, has been granted several weeks’ leave on jaceount of ill-health, and is spending a holiday in Australia. Mr. David Sturrock, for nineteen years headmaster of Blenheim borough schools, has been appointed inspector for Marlborough from 14 applicants. -Mr. J. H. Dean, of the Government Insurance Department, is retiring at the end of the month, and intends making a trip to the Old Country. Mr. Dean has been stationed in the Hawke’s Bay district.

Mr. C. Pike, who is leaving the firm of Messrs. Ross and Glendining to take up a position with Messrs. Sargood, Son and Ewen at Gisborne, was presented iby a number of his Auckland friends with a gold sovereign case. The presentation was made at the Commercial Travellers’ Club. Mr. Parkin, who died at Leeston, Canterbury, last week, was a well-known miner on the Otago and West Coast fields. He was born in Westmoreland 79 years ago, and worked on the principal fields in Australia. In New Zealand he took part in the Dunstan’s rush, and was also at Gabriel’s Gully. Mr. Parkin changed the pick for the plough forty-six years ago, and lived at Leeston up to the time of his death. The Rev. Robert Ferguson has resigned the charge of the Howick Presbyterian Church with the intention of returning to Scotland. At a meeting of his congregation last week the reverend gentleman explained that he had decided on the step for family reasons. The resignation was received with many expressions of regret, and a resolution was unanimously carried wishing Mr and Mrs Ferguson and their daughter Godspeed on their journey. The date arranged for their departure is June C. (After spending a few months with relatives Mr Ferguson will enter the service of the United Free Church of Scotland. Tie has been granted three years’ leave ~pf absence by the Auckland Presbytery.

Mr 11. E. Moller has l>een elected chairman of the Dunedin Harbour Board for the ensuing year. Dr. J. C. Pabst has been re-elected for * third term as chairman of the honorary medical staff of the Auckland Hospital. Mr. J. M. Mennio has been elected chairman of the Hospital Board for the ensuing two years, and Mr. M. J. Ooyle has been appointed chairman of the Hospital and Fees Committee. Captain P. W. Hull, who has for some

years been Melbourne passenger manager of Huddart, Parker, Ltd., has been .promoted to the position of general manager of the company. Mr. Edward C. Gannaway, assistantpostmaster in Wellington, who is just retiring, can look back over a period of nearly forty years’ service in the ellington Post Office. When he joined the working mail-room staff in February, 1875, it consisted of only four persons, in addition to whom there were two letter-carriers to distribute the letters throughout the town. Now there are over 100 hands in the mailroom, and between GO and 70 letter-carriers. Mr. Gannaway is one of the most popular officers in the Post and Telegraph Department in Wellington. Captain John Gibb, the commodore of the Union Steamship Company’s service, and now in command of R.M.S. Niagara, will relinquish the command of the 13,000-ton liner on her return to Sydney from Vancouver, with the object of retiring from the sea.. Captain Gibb has a splendid record of service in the I nion Company, successfully commanding from time to time the finest boats of the fleet. He was specially commissioned by the directors to proceed to Scotland to bring out the new Niagara, and it is regarded as a crooning finish to his fine record that hb commanded this big liner on her maiden run across the Pacific. His genial disposition has made him extremely popular both afloat and ashore, taptain Gibb will be succeeded in the Niagara by Captain 11. A. G. Morrisby, now in the R.M.S. Makura on the Canadian run. Captain J. D. S. Phillips, from the R.MB. Zealandia, will take command of the Makura. Archbishop Redwood has received an official cablegram from Rome announcing the appointment of Dean O’Shea, S.M., Vicar-General of the Archdiocese, as Coadjutor with the Archbishop of Wellington, with right of succession. A cairn erected in memory of the late Sir Donald McLean was unveiled in McLean Park last week by the Hon J. D Ormond. The cairn is a substantial structure, 20ft by 12ft, and is a replica of that erected on the memorable battlefield of Culloden. McLean Park Recreation Reserve, 10 acres in extent, is also a gift to the people of Napier, in memory of ■the late Sir Donald. The death of Miss Beatrice Richmond, of Wellington, While on a holiday visit to Auckland, cast quite a gloom over the circle in which she moved in Wellington (says the ‘Dominion”). Possessing a keen critical faculty and holding a very high standard of attainment, she helped very considerably to raise the standard of music in the capital •city. Deceased was the elder daughter of Mr. H. R. Richmond, of Kelbunie, and grand-daughter of the late Major Parris, for many years Civil Commissioner of Taranaki. She received the greater part of her education in Christchurch, and became a Master of Arts at Canterbury College, where she had a very successful career. After some years spent in educational work, Miss Richmond, having already reached a high standard in music, decided to visit England and Germany' to continue lieu studies there. On her return to New Zealand she took up the profession of music in Wellington.

Dr. and Mrs Commins, who have been engaged on mission work in Dunedin for the past sixteen years, have gone on a holiday visit to Australia. A large numbe.r of their friends met the other night to present Dr. Commins with a handsome travelling rug, and Mrs Commins with a solid gold cross studded with pearls and a Morocco handbag. Mr Charles Reid, of the money order department of the Government .Savings Bank at Invercargill, has been transferred to Napier. The Rev. Monsignor O’Reilly and the Rev. Monsignor Brodie, who have been on a visit of several months in Australia, returned to Auckland by the Maheno. Mr E. C. Dowling, of New Plymouth, is one of the two successful candidates who sat in Wellington in April for the final examination ns a pharmaceutical chemist. Mr Dowling, who is now 18 years of age, is the youngest chemist in New Zealand to attain this honour. The Rev. Wm. Trotter, who for the last five years has been pastor of the Epsom Presbyterian Church, has accepted n call to Kt. John’s Church, Greymouth. Mr Trotter’s decision to accept the call was received at the meeting of

the Auckland Presbytery last week with expressions of regret by members of the Presbytery, who stated that Mr Trotter’s translation was a very heavy loss to Presbyterianism in Auckland. At the same time, it was recognised that at Greymouth a strong and able Presbyterian was needed, and it was conceded that Mr Trotter was qualified by ability and temperament probably more than any other Presbyterian minister in New Zealand to do the work required by the church in that district. Mr Trotter's decision to depart was made despite a strong effort by his Epsom congregation to keep him in their midst. Mr W. D. Murdoch, second-assistant engineer in the Wellington City Engineer's department, has been granted six months’ leave of absence on full pay. and has also been appointed the accredited representative of the city at the International Road Congress, and at the Imperial Motor Transit Conference, to be held in London shortly. Mr P. W. Burbridge, an old boy of the Mount Cook Boys’ School, has been successful in winning an 1851 Exhibition Scholarship, and will leave for England in July. At the Mount Cook School he gained all three scholarships for which he competed. These carried him to Wei-' lington College, where he was twice dux. At that .institution he won a Senior National Scholarship, heading the list for the Dominion. This scholarship took him to Victoria College. He was afterwards successful in winning the Sir George Grey, Jacob Joseph, and Government Research Scholarships. The Exhibition. Scholarship entitles him to tuition at Cambridge University for a period of two years. Mr. A. Burt, jun., of Auckland, lias been elected a representative of the masters on the Plumbers’ Board for the next three years. Mr Jas. Buttle, general manager of the New Zealand Insurance Company, left by the Maheno on Monday on a visit to Australia. Sister M. Aloysios, a Sister of Mercy, who has laboured for many years among the Roman Catholic children of Otahuhu, passed away at that township last Friday. Captain A. G. Hume lias been promoted to be a major in the New Zealand Field Artillery; and Lieutenant C. IL Matthews to be captain, viee Captain Hume, promoted. Mr. R. Williams, late of the New Zealand Customs Department, was a passenger from Wellington by the lonic on his way to Patagonia. South America, as the representative of the Northern Territory Government. Mr. Williams’s mission is to induce British settlers in Patagonia to migrate to the Northern Territory, Australia. The funeral of the late Mayor of Hastings, Mr. James Gernett, took place on Friday afternoon, when practically the whole town turned out to pay their reispects to the deceased. A funeral service was conducted at the Wesleyan Church by the Rev. J. T. Wallis, after which the procession, led by the Hastings Town Band, left for the cenietery. Scores of wreaths were received from various public bodies and private friends. Amongst numerous messages of condolence sent to Mrs. Gernett was one from • the Prime Minister. The business premises in the town were closed from 2 p.m. till 4 p.m.

Sir .Lunes Carroll. who has lately been confined to :« private hospital. is reported to be row well on the road to recovery, A Veteran Engineer. After nearly 40 years’ service, Mr Robt. McGill, who was the oldest engineer in the I nion Company’s service, has left the engine room for good, and is now on his way back to his native heath. He hat

gone to settle in Scotland, which he left some 37 years ago in the Union Company’s steamer Wanaka, which, with the Taupo and Hawea % made an 18-day cruise from Dunedin to Auckland and back, via ports. The Wanaka was a vessel about the same size as the Penguin. Mr McGill, in the course of an interview with the “Post,” described how the Wanaka came out by way of St. V’incent and the Cape of Good Hope, picking up a cargo of timber at Hobart for New Zealand. The vessel was built on the ( lyde, and her engines were what are known by engineers as “a compound job. ’ She made the first Sounds excursion that the Union Company ever ran. “Those who camo out in the Wanaka,” paid Mr McGill, -are all dead but the cook ami myself. We had no trouble with firemen in those days. They were recruited from the seamen, and were clean, handy, steady men, and worth the £l2 a month they got then. Ah. man! there’s lots I could tell you if 1 could remember it,” Mr McGill went on, '‘but it does not pour out of a man, so to speak, now. Did you know that my grandfather was the first man to build an iron ship? Well, that is so. He call her the Vulcan, and his name was Thomas Wilson. My! didn’t the old women of the place make a to-do about iU They couldn’t for the life of them understand how iron would float, and my grandfother was thought to be a madman, if a harmless one. He said. You doubt if the boat will float, wunen. Very well, bring down your men’s tea flasks, and try them.’ So they brought to the water all their pots ami pans, and proved my grandfather was right for themselves. It must have boon a funny sight to see those old women paddling about in the water with pots and pans alloat. but they did that. • Ihit between my grandfather was a bit uncertain himself, for he would not float the vessel with the angle irens and frames in. He just launched the mere shell of her first. She was really a beautiful model, and if you mind the Jane Douglas, then the Vulcan was like her. She was used on the Forth and Clyde ('anal, and was towed by horses. Well, if you want more ships, it was my father who built the first woddeii brig to trade between Scotland ami Canada, and she took out a large number of emigrants. Fancy that. now. some 200 people stowed away below in a small brig. Also, she carried out a cargo of eight-day clocks. Now, as for New Zealand, well. I have had some bad. very ba<k weather on this coast, but the years went by quickly enough. As for the company, it treated me very well. 1 think. I received a cheque for £IOO as a mark of appreciation of long service. I thought that the time had come when I should leave the sea, so I pent in my papers.”’ This is the plain talc of a plain man, a typical chief engineer of the old school, “the compound job.”