BRAVERY REWARDED.

Otago Witness, Issue 2815, 26 February 1908, Page 30

BRAVERY REWARDED.

A HEROIC MATRON.

OTROst Ova Own Cohrespondent.? CHEISTCHURCH. February 22. Before laying the foundation stone of th» new portion of Christ's College this afternoon, the Governor^ attended *t the OrtJ Council Chambered presented the gold medal of the Royal Humane Society o6 New Zealand to Miss Donaldson, matrom of the Woolston Orpha-nage. Colonel Slater, speaking on behalf ofl the Court of Directors of the society eaid that on October 6, 1906, Miss Donaldson was awakened from sleep at about Z9 minutes past 12 by the breaking of glass and the crackling of wood. She fount* the building full of smote and flames-, darling about around the back staircase, which" leads into the kitchen. _ »no aiouaed the aaistant matron, and immediatel set about getting the children down! safely. There were 13 children sleeping! in the orphanage at the time, and the work of arousing them and marshalling thorn to facilitate the descent was rendered more difficult by reason of the thick: suffooatinsr smoke that filled each room. Tv.el\e of the children were taken down* tho fiont straircase, which had not been touched by the flames, and reached tha outside safolv, but it was then disooveredF that the thirteenth was missing. Miss DonakLon, knowing- where the child wa* to bo found, immediately returned to tho burning building, and at very considerable risk rescued the remaining inmate. His Excellency said it afforded him tho greatest possible pleasure to present Misa Donaldson with the gold medal. Tho greatest reward a man could get for, bravery was the Victoria Cross, and hel believed that the action of Miss Bonald lton on tho occasion reflected more credit •upon her than in many cases where tha Victoria Cross had been won.