OTAGO ANNIVERSARY

Evening Star, Issue 20132, 23 March 1929, Page 9

OTAGO ANNIVERSARY

CELEBRATIONS TO-DAY AND IWDAY INTEREST GREATER THAN EVER There wore hravc men before Agamomnon. There were adventurous men in Otago before the settlement of 1848—the missionaries, of whom the Rev. James Wntkin was. the pioneer in these parts; the whalers, who scoured the coastal waters so effectively that in 1840 Messrs G. and E. Waller's whaling station at Otago Heads was abandoned owing.to the disappearance of the -fish; and some ■of the pure reamers made good in their own uncanonical way. But it is with “ the, I'orty-eighters ”- that we are chiefly concerned to-day at the eighty-first, anniversary of thw arrival of the John Wickliffe, the first/ of the two Otago settlement ships to reach Port .Chalmers. She dropped, anchor within Tairoa Heads on March 22, 1848, and moved up to Port Chalmers the following day. The John Wickliffe was a smallish ship as size was reckoned in those days, being of C 62 tons measurement.Mr John Sands, of Greenock, her, owner; received 2,()00gs for the charter.' She sailed from Gravesend-on November 24, 1847, in command of Bartholomew Daly, an Irish master of lengthy experience in the East Indies trade.She made land off Stewart Island, and felt her way up the coast, firing guns to attract attention, and scanning every point to find the entrance, lb was a relief to all on hoard when a boat containing Mr Kettle and a Maori) crew and another, also maimed by, Maoris, conveying the pilot, Richard Driver, to the ship; shot out from the bluffs. That was on the 21st, and the vessel came to her anehoarge on tho morning of tho 22nd. The John Wieklilfo brought twenty-four persons in' the cabin—Dr Hoeken's indispensable history gives the tally as thirteen adults adults and ■ eleven children—whilst the fore-cabin and steerage passengers, mostly English, , numbered seventy-two. Captain Cargill came with this ship as the company’s resident agent, at a salary of £51)0 peg year. Of (hat total of ninety-six passengers the sole, survivor to-day is Mrs Griffiths, of Stirling, then Miss Elizabeth Mosley. Unfortunately this lady is not able to be present at this year's celebrations.' * The authentic list of the survivors or those who may. lie termed tho earliest settlers, in distinction from other, persons who came to evangelise or to make money (jniekly, is as follows: — MAGNET. Arrived at AVaikouaiti. in March, 1840.Mrs WOLSEY (Mary Coleman), Port Chalmers. JOHN WICK LI FEE. Arrived at Port Chalmers on March 2J, iB4B. M.rs GRIFFITHS (Elizaboth Mosley),Stirling. PHILIP LAING. Arrived at Port Chalmers on April 15,-18-18. Miss AGNES BURNS. Dunedin. Mrs WILLIAM. ALLAN (Marion Seaton), Dunedin. ADAM: ROBERT DUFF, Waihola. Airs J. L. SOFTER (Marion Dull), Svdncy (sister of Adam Du ft). THOMAS'M‘KAY. Wiugatui. WALTER WATSON, Invercargill. Mrs M. STEWART (nee Sinclair),Papaknrn, Auckland-. BLUNDELL. Arrived at Port Chalmers on Septem- ’ her 21, 1848. J. A. J). ADAMS, Roslyn.. Airs ROBERT LAW (Jcaii Harrison), Alosgicl. Airs JAAIE.S PARLANE (Alary Harrison), Mosgiel. Miss ELIZA I3ETJI SOVEIiViELE, Hangiatea. JAMES ANDERSON.'Auckland. Airs ERASER (Ami Black), Timarn. Airs H ENDED SON (Eliza belli A. PopplewellL Wellington. JOHN JOHNSTON, Wellington. BERN I Cl A. Arrived at Port Chalmers on December

22, 1848. DAVID _ ANDEIISON, AVairoa, Hawke's Hay. Serene and ..shiny .weather blessed the reunion to-day, and it was a great pleasure, to Mr. If’. W. Knight (president of the Otago Early Settlors’ Association). Mr W. Paterson (secretary), and all of their colleagues who organised the affair, to find that tho day was generally observed as a holiday, flags freely displayed, also that the .spirit of the anniversary was fully maintained by not only local residents but visitors i'rom far and near. Airs Wolsey was expected to he of the party. Airs ■ Griffiths and Airs Fraser sent apologies. The hall was profusely and artistically decorated for tho reunion this afternoon. Mr E. W. Knight was in. the chair. The Pev. John Kilpatrick gave out tho hymn and offered prayer. Tho chief speakers were Sir Thomas Mackenzie and Dr Herrington. Songs and music wore provided and lea served. This evening the concert is the chief thing. At it the Hon. James Craigia is to deliver an address. For •certain there will ho a, memorable muster of old identities and their descendants at First Church to-morrow, Tho services are to he conducted by tbo Pcv. G. U. Gibb. Tho old folks’ meeting on Monday afternoon 'will, as usual, bo rid of formalitl, tho company being made to feel quite at home as at a family parly. Tho real inwardness of old identityism is always manifested at this wiiyj-up meeting, tho aced folk providinb their own entertainment in their own way, tho assocV'tion mostly concerned about the tea, frul other arrangements that prum oto sociability.