FIRST HUTT BOY HONOURED BY THE KING.

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 3, 12 June 1930, Page 6

FIRST HUTT BOY HONOURED BY THE KING.

On the 2u (3 in St., an announcement was nrado by t;ic Governor-General tihat the King had bcven graciously pleased,, on the occasion ocf his birthday, to confer'the honour of Knight Commander-.'of the Most - Distinguished Order of St. Michael aiicl St. George (K.C.M.G.), on Thomas Mason Wilford, K.C., High Coiiwuissiorier for New Zealand in London. . . - •'. "■■.;■ , -.;- ■■„•■•■■ .•'>■'.■.-"■ •:

Sir Thomas, his had a k>hg career in puibli<j life> Hie was born at Lower Hutt in ISTQ/of Quaker parentage, nis mother-being the ilaughter of the lato Thomap Mason, ex-pSI.P. fox t'h-e district .'in'J t^« faf-baek' days- His father was t>r. jr.. G;. F. Wilfqirdj who, Jike his jnobher's-parents, was from Yorkshire. Aft6r receiving his early education at a private school near 'his ho-nie. Sir Tttwnnas was a papid in turn,'a't. Wellington College and Christ's. College. At the age of seventeen years, having completed his eduction by matriculating, he joinad the \ Jfegal krva. of . BraJxdon and S.du in 'Weriin.gton, and at eigiteon he, passed his final examinations as a jfoli-.., citor, but had to wait"tiirhe was twenty one before;/he could be-admitted to practice.. He entered into pjjrtncrshij> with ,MtC W.^.T. TTaverSj^bTit; after aib6.u,t throe years went into, practice on his fcrtyn acjepunt, being veined •subsequently; .by Mr. R Lc^i jiifd: !Mr. P. yv. Jaeksoqa.? T^Jjis partnership was continued tiiitil.his appointnient as_a King 's CoiJtiisel in^Octotier 1929, '".. ; '.-

Apart irpm pculities/ w-liich have eon«ti.t¥ted aa. iiuportant phase of his activitie.s during the past thirty 'years/ Sir Thomas Wilford'has played his part in municipal lifo in Wellngton. y For tiweive years he was a member of the WeWington Harbour Board, and for two years chairman of that body. He. was Mayor of Wellington in v l9lO and^ 1911, being re-elected for the second term unopposed. Ou hte retirement from the Mayoralty he was appointed, with the late Hon. J G. W. A.itkeji, Sinking Fund Commissioner for the city, a position

which he held for eleven years. He was ad'so appointed a permanent trustee of the St. Jo-iin Ambulance Association of Neiw Zealand.

-Entering tin c field ol: national politics, Sir Thomas in 1893, unsuccessfully contested the Wellington ; Suburbs seat against the late Dr. A. K. Newman, but •was returned as that. constituency's represostative seven years late?. He won the Hutt seat in 1903, and retained it at every eleeti6ii until his retirement in November last. For two years he, &eld the poltfoJdo of Justice in the National Government, and upon the defeat of Sir Joseph Ward, assumed the leadership of the Liberal Party. He was responsible for its change of nann during the 1925 session, before he re* linquished control on account of ill* health. 3 Ho undertook an extended &ealtih-recruiting trip abroad, and hia 1925 election campaign was conducted by some of his parliamentary colleagiiea in his absence. He retained the' seat by over 1700 votes. At the 1928 ©Use-. •,tiou\Sir Thomas held his seat by a subI stantial majority. .

Joining the Ware! Ministry after th« return to power of the United Party on Dbeem'beT.lO, 1928, Sir Tihomas xeeoiveel t&e portfolios of Justice and Defence. In October 1929, he was mad* a King's Counsel, and,'■ on-'November 12 of the year he wa« appointed Higih

Oommiasioner for New Zealand in Lon-

don. Sir Thomas was the "Father" «f •the. Hou r .so of • Representatives at the time of hiss retirement to go to England.

On tihe field of spoTt Sit -hoinas al-' ways piliayed an active part, and there are not many phases, of outdoor life he -has not been associated with. He gained his cap as a Welliugton'rcpresentatjye foot*aller in 1888, and in the same year lie was-local tennis cihanipion in thp Hutt district. Ho -has been an entihu'iiuistie golfer ail his- life, has hunted^regularly fo;r years, and for over tAventy years has been a regular devotee of the sport of fishing. He was a member of the Star Boating Club, and has also been president and an active mem•ber of the New' Zealand Gun Cluib. He has always been keenly interested yin horse Taeing, and has had some sueeess as a breeder. Sir Thomas is-a life meanber of the Wellington Racing dub, the ißoxing Association, the Savage Club, and the Weßington Eugby Union. In the yrar years Sir. Thomas did much to assist.war ohariities^ raising by means of lectures throughout the Dominion a sum of £20,000 for tihe Red Cross. _

Sir Thomas has always acknowledg-

Ed his success largely to the devoted ass«istance of his wif-o (nee Miss Georgia Constance McLean), a dnugihter of the laite Sir George McLean.