MR. O’MEARA RETIRES FROM UNION COMPANY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 59, 1 June 1927, Page 13

MR. O’MEARA RETIRES FROM UNION COMPANY

LONG SERVICE ENDS Last Monday evening the members ®f the Union Company’s staff gathered in the office to farewell Mr. F. j. OMeara, who retired yesterday on •uperannuation, after a service of 43 years with the company. Mr. D. i 'ter, the Auckland manager, pressed, and on behalf of the staff presented Mr. O’Meara with a silver tea ani coffee service, a silver entree dish, a case of fish knives and forks, and a rug. Mr. Carter referred to the long and faithful service Mr. O’Meara had rendered to the company. He first knew Mr. O’Meara as a youth, when they were both young men in the company’s service, and since that time fiey had been associated a great deal, and he had always found Mr. O’Meara to be an energetic employee. Mr. M. Rudd, assistant manager at Auckland, also spoke in eulogistic *rms of Mr. O’Meara’s career with the company. Mr. O’Meara joined the company at Gisborne in 1884. At that time the company owned 32 steamers, the largest being the Rotomahana and the Mararoa, each vessel being less than 0.000 tons. The smallest steamer of the fleet was the Beautiful Star, a steamer of 177 tons, and the first vesse‘ that the company owned. The company now owns 69 steamers, the J*JS e8 t being the Aorangi, which is too times the size of the Beautiful ktar. Of the 32 steamers which comprised the Union Company’s fleet 'yhen Mr. O’Meara joined the service, the Mararoa and the Rotomahana are the only ones afloat. In 1889 Mr. u Meara was transferred to Auckland, ana during the past 36 years he has een attached to the local office. Mr. O Meara resides at Newmarket, and he has been a member of the borough council there for 17 years.