OBITUARY

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 612, 15 September 1909, Page 4

OBITUARY

i w . J ; FOSTER. ~. ' J The "Towif Hall flag was. flown'at half-mast yesterday Ks aiuark of respect to the late Mr. W. J.' Foster, formerly clerk anil engineer to Ih'e.; Melrose Borough' Council, /and latterly, frinca the incorporation of Molrose-in Greater Wellington, a member of, the staff of the city, corporation,' who 1 died of dropsy, after a- long Illness, ■at ■'.' his;/ residence,' Holloway Eoad, Mitchelltown, yesterday morning, aged 58. Tho deceased gentleman,: who is. survived by a. widow and -family ofjOne son,'andthreo daughters, ,was born at Kensington,''-London, in 1850, and, on leaving school, was trained in tho steam-brick,- manufacturing industry, at which Jio was engaged. i'or ,ten years. Tho following jthreb years were.spent in' the service of the ship-building firms of , J. andW..Dudgeon, and jMaudsley, :-Son, and. Field, iand' the Bessemer ;Steel Company.; Subsequent to his marriage in :18"4, he carried on'the business.of general 1 ( Etorokeeper-in Sussex. for a year,., and then sailed for New Zealand by the ship Mataura, ■landing, at ;Nelson.. l]or. tho ensuing two rears !he was. engaged as a, 1 road contractor'in Bleniheim, and then" came , to' Wellington, where he has 'sirico .resided. Hβ contracted. and, made -bricks, tori a\while,'nnd .later .carried .on a 'dairying- land business, while; at the Same.time, by private- study )and also at the Technical ;he _ quail-. ; Bed- himsolf-f or- the- - construction- ■ antt inspection of engineering works, , Subsequently; he ; became olerfc and engineer to the Melroseßoriough Council; until that district was,absorbed i-by-.the'(Wellington City Council,-when ho bef came a ;ineniber of-the corporation, staff.. For 6ome time;,-Mr. , Foster,was;.a.value.d member' of. the Mitckelltown.School Committee.\

■;■'-■, : ! MR. JOHN VALENTINE. ; _ \: : . • . Mr. : John Valentine, an old soldier and colonist, well known by everyone in.Wellington , in his moro active days, died at his residence,. Oriental Bay, yesterday morning, succumbing to an attack of bronchitis. Bora in England in May, 1823, his momory went back over." a very long period. He'recollected tho death of George IV, and was present at tho funeral'of 1 the succeeding monarch,.William IV,- at which' time he was a bugler in the 65th Regiment. ;Not long after that a rebellion broke out in Canada, and the regiment (and.with it Bugler [Valentine) wero, drafted to the »oafc of tho, disturbance, remaining, there until Lord Durham patched up the , racial difficulty. .After [ the Canadian campaign,'the "65th" was ordersd [to Ireland, to assist in' (ruolling;a disturbance there, and i a year or too .later—in 18J5—orders wore rocoived to embark for New Zealand, the regiment arriving in Wellington' that -year- in. the ship Java, in which also sailed his brother, Mr.: Nathaniel Valentine, who will; _be -re--membered as a well-known publican in Wellington. As bandmaster of the regiment, Mr. I Valentine was.on parado on : the morning , ,of'i January 22,. 18W—the date of one of tho biggest earthnuakes. ever experienced' in " Welliujton' According, to Mr. Janies < McDowell , (who re-; cently published an /acco.nnt of tho .'incident), Mr.-Valentine noticed the. lines of soldiers wavering, and the bandsmen fell sprawling , in all directions. The parado ended abruptly, but the earthquakes' continued at .intervals • Cor some weeks afterwards. In common with'thou sandsof others,' Mr. Valentine-caught tho gold foveri.and took part in the Victorian msh, hut soon returned to Now Zealand, little bettor off in pocket but richer in experionco than when ho left. He was an ablo musician, and did much for band music when this city was in 'its Waddling clothes. He afterwards became proprietor of, tho. Foresters' Arms Hotel, in Ghnznee Strcot. For thirty years past ho has lived in retirement in Oriental Bay, and has. .seen'.that delightful epot grow, from a state of nature into,a' villa-packed siibnrb of.' much , 'natural charm. ~.■.,•...■ ; ■ h.<*. ...-'. : Mr.- Valentino was twice married. Ho leaves a widow, and: four (laughters—HesdameS Simp-' son (Petono), A, Bennett (Palmerston North), J. , S.; Hutchison , (Potono), and S. Ingram (Wallington).' ■ ''.-., ■' .-..- •'.■'.• ■ "■' ; -, ' ■■'■■.-.:'•• '■ .■■■;;;;■'.-vf: mr. c.w. meacham. . •;■ ....- . ifr..Charles William Meachami who-was for many'.years clerk,:in charge of tlie Imporial Pensions: branch' ". of tte Treasury' Bcpartmenti ' nnril his .retirement : on compensation in 1001, died at hisresidoace in Tinakori Eoad yestar. day.. The late, Mr. Meacham' was born 75. years ago, , and'came-to .New Zealand: with tho 40th Regiment during the Maori , War. 'After the war ho'left'the. Army,-and marrietlj and settled down in. Auckland.. Twenty-nine years ago ho entered the; Civil .Servico,''where lio remained until.his retirement: 'His health lfad been bad for some time'previous to his dentil! He a widow, one son, and four married;daughters. The son is: Mr. Charles Meaeham, 1 of Messrs; John Duthie.aniCqi'stetaff, ■ • ' j{'-. '. .' : :