MR. WALTER WHILEY

Chronicle (Levin), 7 January 1949, Page 4

MR. WALTER WHILEY

With the death recently at Muhunoa West, Ohau, of Mr. Walter Whiley, an association with the Manawatu and Horowhenua dis- ■ tricts extending over a period pf ' 70 years was broken' and another of the early" pioneers lost. A son of the late Mr. and Mrs. Robert Whiley, he was born at Wainui-o-Mata 85 yeas ago. As a ; lad.of 14 Mr. Whiley went with, his parents to reside in Longburn, ; then distinguished by only three or four houses amidst virgin bush. There he assisted his father in bush-felling work, part o.f which embraced the site where the Longburn Freezing Works now stand. Mr. Whiley later took part in the survey of the Shannon-Longburn section of the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company's line from Wellington to Longburn, wljile .he also worked on the construction of the railway bridge over the Manawatu River. Subsequent to the opening of the Wellington-Long'burn railway in 1886, Mr. Whiley moved to Manakau, then a thriving settlement. Felling the bush from a property there, h'e helped to farm it for several years before engaging in sawinilling. Some 58 years ago another shift took him to Ohau, where he resided(up to the time of his death, following farming pursuits. Forty-three years ago Mr. Whiley married Miss Julia Roera, who still survives him, along "with one son, Mr. H. Whiley, of Ohau, There are also. seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.