PASSING OF A PIONEER.

Putaruru Press, Volume IV, Issue 134, 27 May 1926, Page 4

PASSING OF A PIONEER.

MR. R. ALCORN. There passed away peacefully early last Tuesday morning one of New Zealand’s pioneers in the person of Mr. Robert Alcorn, of Putaruru. The late Mr. Alcorn, who was in his BSth year, was born at Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland. In 1860, then a young man of 21, Mr. Alcorn landed at Melbourne. When gold was discovered in Otago the pioneering instinct which swayed him right throughout his life caused him to leave Victoria by the first boat after the news came to hand. Joining the rush to Gabriel’s Gully, Ms-. Alcorn set up in business as a storekeeper, and here he gained the distinction of being the only storekeeper who did not sell liquor. It was owing to his persistent advocacy that licenses were granted to all j stores selling intoxicating liquors on the goldfields, thus placing the busi- ■ ness under the supervision of the Provincial Council and doing away with much of the sly grog selling- then rampant amongst the miners. Later Mr. Alcorn left for the West Coast and had many exciting experiences at the time of the notorious ' Sullivan gang’s operations. Possessed] of fine physique and indomitable courj age, Mr. Alcorn performed many re- ! markable feats in those early wild i days, one of which was the setting up j of a record by walking from Gabriel’s | Gully to Dunedin in one day, a distance of 60 miles. j While on the West Coast Mr. Alcorn became intimate with Mr. “ Dick ” I Seddon and Sir George Grey, remainI ing in close touch with the late Mr. ' Seddon up till the date of his death. From Sir George Grey Mr. Alcorn received his commission as a Justice of the Peace as far back as 1877, and he was thus at the time of iris death holder of one of the oldest commissions in New Zealand. About 50 years ago, hearing of the" possibilities of the Canterbury Plains, Mr. Alcorn settled in Ashburton, then but a very small settlement in the midst of wild tussock country. For 30 years he followed farming and business pursuits in this locality and later became a member of the Ashburton Borough Couincil. Ten years in Christchurch and 1 Wellington followed, and then, attracted by the possibilities of the Tokoroa plains, Mr. Alcorn settled in Putaruru in the year 1916. It is interesting to note that about 25 years ago an area of 10,000 acres at Matamata, bordering the present railway station, was offered to Mr. Alcorn at 15s per acre. Throughout his long life the late Mr. Alcorn was a total abstainer, a strong Liberal and a staunch supporter of the Methodist Church. For the latter connexion in Putaruru Mr. Alcorn made two trips to Auckland to collect funds, and he was largely instrumental in securing the present church and parsonage. A man of wide sympathies, Mr. Alcorn was beloved by all who knew him, his cheery optimism and beautifully-unselfisli character binding those fortunate enough to know him in close ties of friendship. His pioneering instincts, always of a constructive kind, in later years found expression in gardening, to which hobby he devoted much time, and in following which he transformed a teatree paddock into a beautiful garden. The late Mr. Alcorn, who was predeceased by his wife nearly three years ago, lived in recent years with his slcn and daughter in Putaruru.