THE LATE MR. MORRIS ASHER.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 659, 9 November 1909, Page 6

THE LATE MR. MORRIS ASHER.

! _» AN INTERESTING CABEEE. «i i Particulars came to hand by last evening's , ( Australian mail of tho f death at Sydney of Mr 'Morris Asher, an erstwhile resident of ,' Wellington, at tlje age of 92 years Mr. Asher ' had had an all-round experwnio of Anstralasia, having fit one tune or other had an acquaintance with most of the colonics He had lived under. fi\e British Sovereigns—George > 111, George IV., William, IV, Queen Vic,i, tona, and King' Edward He came to Aus tralia in the first, merchant vessel that sailed to Port Adelaide, ,and was the first membor for the Hume in the first Parliament in 1859, ■■ under the new Electoral Act There were ' l scarcely a dozen houses in" Adelaide when Mr " Ll Ashor first visited it,'over 75 years ago Tho '' deceased afterwards came to Sydney, and at that time the present site of the Town Hall 7 m was a cemetery. Some few mvths a f ter reaching Sydney ho engaged to take charge of a number, of bullock teams, with a view toibrmg- , ing a quantity of merchandise to Melbourne , « He got as far 'as Gundagai witii six assigned eervants, but just about that time tho blacks had been particularly busy, and hnd killed t, a number of Mr Chisholm's men. In tho circumstances it was considered rather risky ' ' to push ahead , Indeed) while Mr. Asher and his party waited, the blacks came np and v<i ordered them back. After fivtf monfhs of waiting, and the endurance of many hardships, tho ; , party returned tojSydney , s N*v Zealand was subsequently visited by Mr Asher. 'lit took 18 days *o cover tho dis tance in a EOton schooner The deceased was ' the first man to build a brick hou°e in 'Wel- / ' liugton On tho outbreak of tho Maori ivar he helped to form a town puatd, and he was one , of the 50 militiamen dispatched to captuie a chief named Eobwlla, (Te Eauparaha) The t- mission was successful, and Robulla was <r placed on board BUS Calliope Upon his return to Albury 62 'yeus ago, ho erected the first steam (lourmill, ,V 'boiling down ostablishment, a tanner), a store, and a wool-washinr business Mr Asher Ta 3 the father of Eons and four daughteis, and his descendants include 34 grandchildren, and a nnmbc of gieat-grandchildren. Hβ took part in tho ceremony attending the Parliamentary jubilee of New South Wales, when he made a speech tbat was remarkable for its clearness and t - force. > I