MR. W. F. CRAWFORD.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1699, 15 March 1913, Page 15

MR. W. F. CRAWFORD.

FIRST MAYOR OF GISBORNE, In the year 1877 (eight years after the To' Kooti massacre) Gisborno was proclaimed a municipality. At the first mayoral election Mr. W. ]?. Crawford headed the poll, and from that time up to the present he has continued to take a keen interest in all matters pertaining to the welfare of the town and district. Mr. Crawford, who is a native of ,'i'ipperary, Ireland, arrived in New Zealand in : May, 1861, and took up his residence in Auckland. In '06 lie joined the rush to the goldfields on the West Coast. He had had no previous experience of mining, and found that life on the diggings was not without its unpleasant features. "You can imagine how much I knew about the business," said Mr. Crawford,

"from the fact that when I heard all the talk of gold-digging, and decided to go .to the fieli I bought a spade, and thought I was fully, equipped." Fortunately, he is well endowed with' his native wit and capacity for .viewing matters from the bright and humorous side. In 1868, after a continuous round of misfortune and illluck, he Jeft the diggings, albeit, as lightheartedly asjjhe had journeyed to them two years previously. Shortly afterwards he joined in the Thames rush. This time he did not go in for mining, but opened a small store, and later joined a sharebroking ?onipany, for which he did all the field work, and supplied reports.

He next entered the employ of an Auckland Brewery Company, who some time later decided to open a branch in Gisborne, and' sent him to put up the necessary buildings, and start the industry, running. As an instance of the free and ■oasy manner in which things were done in the early days, Mr. Crawford states that when the principal of the firm decided to send him to Gisborne, he drew a rough: plan on an envelope, and said,

"There, Crawford, go and put up a building like that." Arrival at .Gisborne, Mr. Crawford handed the envelope to a builder, and telling him the rough'sketch was intended to represent a.brewery, instructed him to proceed at once with'its erection, the price agreed upon' being .£SOO. When the principal visited Gisborne same time later, and round that owing to an error 'the. brewery had been built about seven fept over the road line, his only comment was,-"You've done well, Crawford!" Later, a local company was formed to take over the brewery; fine new buildings were erected, and Mr. Crawford was appointed manager, a position which he held for twenty-five years. Although over seventy, years of age, Mr.

Crawford still leads eui active life. He is regarded.by the community as one of the pioneers to whose'courage,'industry, and foresight the prosperous'town to-day owes so much. .1