PILOT DAY.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1718, 8 April 1913, Page 9

PILOT DAY.

« ; A LONG CAREER ENDED. ■ In the curly hours of Friday morning (says tine "Lyttelton Times") there passed away, niter a painful illness, Pilot Joseph j Day, one of the. test-known and most | respected residents of Suinner. Since I September 14, ISG7, lie hud' held the posi-J tion of pilot, and for over forty-fivo years ■ rendered faithful and efficient service. To all the residents of the seusido borough his ivas a familiar figure, but hundreds upon hundreds of, the visitors to the place knew him too, and held him ' in ; the highest esteem. Deceased was l»rn in Kent some seveuty-throo years am, and when an infant came to New Zealand with his parents in the ship Arab, which reached Wellington in '1811. Tho family settled at Day's Hay, "Wellington, the bay being .named after tho deceased's father. The late pilot's first work was in assisting his father and brothers in tho trade between Wellington and Day's Bay, which' was carried on by a vessel named file Flirt, owned by tho head of tho family. Later trips were made down, to the South Island, nnd the boat enjoyed tho distinction of being tho first vessel of any size to safely negotiate tho Sumner bar. In tho year 1819 tho family came to reside in Sumner, - Ixing tho first settlers there. There was not a. house in' Christchurch at that time, and Lyttcltou was mostly a town. of canvas. Sumner was tho homo of tho. lato pilot from that timri onward.For u while ho continued to trade! in the Flirt, visiting Kaiapoi and ■ othor" places, i Willi his brothers he built a yacht called the Rod Jacket, which had a great reputation in her day for speedy travelling. In the year 18G7 tho deceased was appointed pilot at Sumner, and for over forty-fivo years he held that position. During that period ho was often called upon to risk his life in order to save people who wero in danger, and his record in this respect is a long and honourable one. ' Last January tho pilot was presented with a special certificate from the Royal Humane Society and a gold medal from tho residents of Sumner. On that occasion it was stated that the recipient had been. instrumental in saving no fewer than twenty-six lives, somo of tliom nt very great peril to himself. Being a man 'of a modest and retiring disposition, the |pilot could not be induced to talk about tlieso things, but his deeds spoke for themselves, and werb not forgotten, by thoso who knew him. 1 For some littlo time the old pilot had been in failing health, but tho illness which proved fatal was not of very long duration. Ho suffered iutensß pain, but his was such it genial disposition that ho boro his sufferings patiently. The end camo on Friday morning. Just before the dawn was ushered in, the pilot crossed his last bar and put out into the open sea,. Deceased leaves a. widow and .three daughters, two of whom are married. His sister, Mrs. E. Wadliam, lives in Cashel Street, Linwood, and a brother, Robert, is in Australia. "Nenrlv nil . deceased's brothers heard tho call of the sea. Two of them, William and George, .became captains of vessels. Another brother, Mr. Alfred Day, who died sud(vnly in Christchurch on January 2 of this year, was a carpenter and builder. All tho brothers, with tho exception of Robert, are dead, and of (lie three sisters only Mrs, Wadham survives.