OBITUARY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 81876, 29 October 1906, Page 3

OBITUARY.

MR. ERASMUS ARMITAGE. Mr Erasmus Armitage, one of the colony : s pioneers, died at the New Plymouth Hospital on Saturday morning. Mr Armitage, who had entered his 87th year, was hale and hearty up to a few weeks ago, when partial paralysis caused him to fall on alighting from a bus. On Friday he over-exerted himself in walk-

ing, and fell unconscious. Ho was taken to the Hospital, and died without recovering consciousness. Tho deceased was a Yorkshireman, and came to Taranaki in the ship Cashmere in 1854, after spending a year m the United Stales. Whilst there he had offered to volunteer for the Mex can Rangers at the time of the Mexican War, but loyalty to his Sovereign and country forbade his signing the Declaration of Independence. At the beginning of the Maori War he joined ihe Taranaki

Rifle Volunteers, and saw .service throughout the trouble, being present at the battle of Waireka. at Ma hoetahi. and several other engagements. Although often under fire, he escaped being wounded. lie was alwavs recognised as a good rifle shot, and one of his old comrades tells of his exploits with the rifle. Prior to the war, he had started in business ' in New I'lvmcuih as a shoemaker, and also had a tannery at the cornei ' of King and Dawson streets. I hi;

he moved it> Tc Hcnui, and conductj ed it for sum'' vcars. but no success attended hi. efforts,' and the enterprise was a profitless un<'. Closing the tannery, lie retained his bootmaking connection, ami u[> till but a few w-eks ago attended regularly to baseness with his son in Currie street, a *D'ii of the virility which was quite a remarkable feature about the old man, with his upright, firm military bear nc Mr A™ :ta * e foun l tme to engage in local affairs, and was for\ *en,l years carman .« f he J - nui R-.:.d Hoard. Old m ,t,er= will remember h:m as a fine ••»'•' ■ ' ' many a long distance x'. 1 witling, or boxing eontest rcsu,. •« in his favour. Quae a lu-tonc event was his match with a local runner ui'-bin a wek or two of his arrival. ,h,'. course being from the present Urtl Ro-ise corner to the old I'rimi,ve Methodist Chapel. His standing long jump «f nft »n was for many local rccrd. Th

late Mr'Armitag" was a 'I-,, reader and thinker, and in ih'; onncctton H i, interesting to not,- that he got ■> K o»d inHi-inrtoy-liU.sv.livn an, hcv by reading to fifteen miners who subscribed to a journal but could n" read a word f«r themselves Thus hi- pav-'o TUfb "f hi* "ducat on 11,.' toed had, finn will of his own. and would brook Imle int.-rforen.c. H!-. dealing wrre Mmsht and , est, and h<> was trustful to i...t. In religion he was a I nitarinn. I h-wctl-iaformrt! old gentleman will be mueh mi-srd anvngs' a i,.ig'-' <ir- ' of friends, to whom he used to rc'Jt.,;s interesting remmi-craces. lie ; ~,,s an adult family of fout ,0 '; -rsF.. and 11. Armitage, of New „, ' th Mrs Bishop, of IngUPlvntou (| Mrs ]);ivVi ~f |.-ii Zrl ,y). ,-vr.od an. ,j ai ! dr ,, n , ; ,nd ten great ..,,.-r.il gran s dav was ~ fit . The fan-ral on . n „ m „ n . ,„- th( , in; trib. ,: ;' l ,° '"' '" • r„ UK h those man w».r.h«l come '• A , s „. ..ear< of strife! . The Mna ri;,ri,.n. of v.hicll < V V ' ; ' S '' '" u, -ulu-ed upwards "f sisly sire. •" ~t.l|H.'il ujm.n Until tIP r.ludne- >evn of>v,- liotli t.iP Taranaki Rift-- :,n(1 , =Y r „, lr( ls were ri .„r,-.. l :tH .the firftnamed rompancy supp. V in^ r "" hr ,ng l-artv. The Ga, 'J .»« "and plaved to the grave, and a dirge in the .-mctery. The Rev. Dohcrty performed the funeral Qjjic-

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