HE MAY BE A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE

NZ Truth, Issue 1205, 3 January 1929, Page 6

HE MAY BE A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE

Aged and Demented Inmate Of Mental Home Said To Be Entitled To A Legacy

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative)

NIMMO has relations m New Zealand who are confident that the unfortunate man's claim could be proved, though their representations to various statesmen have met with very halfhearted response. There remains, however, quite a reasonable suggestion that as William Nimmo is m the charge of the State, the authorities should turn a very attentive ear to the man's relatives, and leave no stone unturned m getting to the bottom of the Nimmo family history. • It is nearly four years ago since the cable-news informed New Zealand that a James Taylor, of Woolwich, had failed m his attempt to establish a claim to the huge fortune eccentrically bequeathed by Pieter Teyler Vanderhulst. , ■ • ■■. Locked-up Millions Taylor's fruitless efforts were the last of a" series of claims by various families from England, . Scotland and America, and m finalizing this case the Amsterdam Supreme Court decided that the rights .of heirs had been superannuated. The story of the Pieter Teyler Vanderhutst (or Peter Taylor, as he , . was correctly named m the land of his birth) fortune and the manner m which it was bequeathed, is one of the strangest among the many amazing histories of locked-up millions. Coupled with "William Nimmo's pwn tragic life since his arrival m New Zealand over fifty .years ago, no author's pen could weave treasuretrove, romance and misfortune into a more astonishing tale. lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllillllllllllllllllllllllJllllllHli

Within the dismal refuge of the Kihi-Kihi Mental Asylum, Waikato, lives an old man named William Nimmo whose history — could it only be told. from his own lips — might be the means of releasing one of the greatest fortunes ever fettered by freak testacy. Is this William Nimmo, aged and demented, the primary heir to £B,ooQ,ooo— the amassed -wealth of Pieter Teyler Vanderluilst, a Scotchman, who migrated to Holland and speculated as a merchant shipper?

About 150 years ago Peter Taylor [died m Haarlem, Holland, after amassing several millions of pounds together with four steel chests of money. Included m his will was a legacy for the erection of an institute m the city of Haarlem, which' building is said to be standing to this day. The greater part of Taylor's wealth was bequeathed to a Scottish nephew, but if his heir predeceased bis uncle the money was to be held for 100 years and then distributed among the male descendants. The object of the will, it seems, was to frustrate a brother's chances of acquiring the wealth, this brother being actually the nearest relation.' As it happened, the nephew died iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiifM

before his uncle, and the fortune was duly placed m trust, the chests never having been opened. •\t the expiry of the century claims were instituted by a host of relatives, but to no avail. At one juncture of the many claims it was pointed out by a London newspaper that, the Dutch Government had passed legislation which would prevent the distribution of the wealth. On the face of eventualities, this seems quite feasible, but at the same time diplomatic influences would-, m the ordinary course of international relationship, be m the background to watch that no ulterior obstacles were placed m the path of claimants. For this reason, it seems, the Taylor fortune remains m trust-f-a hidden treasure, beyond the reach lllirill!l!lllli!l!llllllllli!lllll!llill!!IIIIII!ffl

An Eccentric Bequ&st By Scot | Who Amassed Big I Fortune Has Tied Up Eight Millions

of one and all of the deceased millionaire's descendants, until such time as the question of progeny ultimately can be untangled. At . present there are a number of residents m New Zealand claiming relationship td the deaid shipping merchant. Some of them are m possession of documents and records which have been placed m the hands of Parliamentary Ministers and members with a view to establishing Wdliam Nimmo as the present nearest descendant. The only result of efforts made by the Government to investigate this claim on behalf of the unfortunate man, has been an announcement' that Nimmo has lost his memory. William Nimmo emigrated from Scotland early m the '70s. He was He Was Jilted J then -a. healthy young pioneer fully endowed with hopes of success m the .new colony whence he had sailed to build up a home for the bonnie Wee lassie he. had left m the highlands. But he was doomed to disappointment, for instead of receiving word of the anxious departure of his bride, he had to face the heart-wrenchings of a jilted lover. It was this fallen romance, so says one of his relatives, which laid the seeds of mental decay which were responsible for his present sad state of decrepitude of mind. The claim of William Nimmo's relationship to Peter Taylor emanates .from a marriage of an Agnes Taylor to a WiiliambNiiniiio about five generations ago. . y lll!!ll!lllliilll!!!llll!l!ll!IIII!I!W