CAPTAIN STORKEY, V.C.

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 4, 6 January 1936, Page 9

CAPTAIN STORKEY, V.C.

NATIVE OF NAPIER

FROM SOLDIERING TO LAW

Among those who joined the Australian Imperial Forces and contributed to its might and valour were many distinguished New Zealanders. Notable among this band is Captain P. V. Storkey, V.C., a native of Napier, Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, who served with the 19th Battalion, states a writer in "Reveille," the official organ of the Uew South Wales branch of. the R.S.S.I.L.A. Nowadays in civil life we find him as Crown Prosecutor for the southwestern circuit of New South Wales, whose territory, bounded by Goulburn, Albury. Deniliquin, Hay, Wyalong, and Broken Hill necessitates his travelling aboii'- 30,000 miles a year. But this travel obligation proved no hindrance to him when he was asked to become president of the Vaucluse Sub-branch of the R.S.L., on its formation, about ten years ago. Thus he be-came-its first president, and has remained continuously in that office ever since. His interest in the war veteran movement, particularly in the alleviation of distress among comrades who have fallen on hard times, has prompted him to make considerable self-sacrifices to further its progress. A well-knit figure, clean and clearcut in appearance, always alert and on the job, he looks the real soldier, whether for the parade ground or for the line. A fellow-officer has said of him, "In any emergency he was always as cool as an Arctic iceberg, and always maintained a keen sense of humour—a priceless possession in war as well as in peace." Away from the round of official duties, his outlook on life is rather placid, and a turn in the garden or a caravan holiday sums up his main appetite for pleasure and relaxation. NAPIER'S EARTHQUAKES. The attractions of the New Zealand city of Napier, where Captain Storkey was born in September, 1891, are occasionally enlivened by earthquakes, but these command only minor notice from the locals. "How many shocks had you experienced there," an interrogator once asked Captain Storkey, who had spent not so.many years in that city. "About a dozen; but they were nothing worth bothering about," he replied. This is in proof of the fact that it was not because of earthquakes that Captain Storkey left Napier; any more than of his failure to make a name for himself on the football field. "I was weighted too much to acquire the fleetness of foot necessary for a good footballer," he explained, apologetically. From the Napier Boys' High School, Storkey went to Victoria College, Wellington, where he took his first year arts course, and then set out for Sydney, arriving there about 1911. His first job in Sydney was in the office of the Orient Steamship Co., and then he went to the administrative staff of the Sydney University, meanwhile attending lectures at the law school. His law studies were interrupted by his enlistment, in May, 1913, but on his return he again picked up the threads, and passed his final examination while holding the position of associate to Mr. Justice Wade, of the Supreme Court, who previously had been Premier Of New South Wales. • After a period of private practice, Storkey received the appointment of Crown Prosecutor for the south-western circuit, of which the presiding Judge is his Honour Judge Coyle, one of the most eminent jurists, one of the most lovable personalities, and one of the most eloquent speakers who has ever graced the New South Wales Bench. As the holder of the highest decoration within the gift of the King for bravery in face of the enemy, Captain Storkey has transplanted into his postwar career the ideals and responsibilities which the V.C. denotes.