LONG LIFE ENDS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 23, 11 February 1937, Page 9

LONG LIFE ENDS

Owh Correspondent.)

Man Born the Year Victoria Ascended Throne MR JOSEPH SIMCOCK

(By Telegraph—

AUCKLAND, Last night To be born in the year Queen Victoria ascended the Throne and to have Iived in the reigns of five British Sovereigns was the unique record of Mr. J oseph Simcock, of Helensville, whose death occurred yesterday morning at the age of 100 years. He celebrated his 100th birthday on December 1 last. Mr. Simcock was one of the original settlers of the Kaukapakapa district, and spent the autumn of his life in Helensville. His brother, the late Mr. Charles Simcock, came to New Zealand in the Phoenix in 1860. Mr. Joseph Simcock wanted to come, too; but on the advice of his father in Ne3t.on, Oheshire, England, he waited till he was 23 years old. He then booked a passage on the Northeru Briton, and arrived in Auckland nearly 80 years ago. Those were the days when people who paid their passage received e grant of 40 acres, Mr. Simcock determlned. to join his brother at a place in the far backblocks known as Kaukapakapa. He travelled to Riverhead in a boat running to Mr. John Lamb's flour mill. From Riverhead Mr. Simcock tramped ncross to a place which was afterwards to be Helensville, subsequently arrivIng at Kaukapakapa.- Incidentally, some time later Mr. John McLeod arrived with his brothers and started a timber mill where the Grand Hotel is situated in Helensville. Mr. McLeod called the settlement Helensville nftcr

his wife, Helen McLeod. When he first arrived in Kaukapakapa Mr Simcock remembered he had to sleep on the floor of a little wooden ihack, aa he had no mattress. His first home on his Crown grant was made of split kauri, and was not very comfortable. He sold 550,000 square feet of kauri off his holding. And on that holding he spent 59 years, going to live in Helensville in 1919. Often he used to send butter to Sydney for a market by the sailing vessels leaving Helensville. Mr. Simcock could tell many ond varied stories of happenings amongst the Maoris in the early days, his inemoiy being remarkable. He had vivid recollections of incidents that occurred 80 or 90 years ago, and also remembered details of a murder by a Maori of the wife and child of Mr. Thompson, the mail cariier to Auckland. At a aubsequent identification parade of over 100 Maoris, held at Helensville, one of the surviving children identified the guilty man, who was convicted and eventually executed. Up till the time of his death, Mr. Simcock, who was a great agriculturist, continued to attend to his garden and fruit trees. He and his brother married two sisters, and the double wedding was held at Auckland on December 11. 1862.