INGLEWOOD.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 March 1921, Page 7

INGLEWOOD.

' THE LATE MR. H. WILSON. (From Our Own Correspondent.) When in 1873-4 the late Mr. Burton, of Taranaki, visited England as a representative Taranaki settler, he addressed numerous gatherings in Lincolnshire. As a result of what he was able to tell his audiences, a considerable number of families migrated from Lincolnshire direct to Taranaki, reaching their destination in various ships. And as it happened that, at the time of their ar-1 rival here, the hinterland of Taranaki, including, amongst others, what was •known as the Moa Block, was then beginning to be opened up, and that employment in road and railway works was readily obtainable to the westward of Mt. Egmont, quite a considerable portion of these new arrivals naturally gravitated to those parts of which Inglewood was then the only established centre. So many, coming from the same part of England, possessed of such distinctive characteristics as they were, have left an indelible impression on the district of their adoption, where they and their descendants are still spoken of with kindly appreciation as “Linkies.” Amongst these hardy representatives of eastern England, one of the earliest to reach Inglewood was the late Mr. Henry Wilson, who reached New Zealand in the ship Chile in 1875, and shortly after came with his family to live here, and remained a settler of the district till his death, winch took place in New Plymouth on February 21. Mr. Wilson, who had been a member of the Ancient Order of Foresters in England, brought the necessary documents with him, and on arrival in Taranaki joined Court Waireka. When the late Mr. J. C. Peach and others decided to form a branch of the Order at Inglewood, (Mr. Wilson was one of the band of Foresters to give support to the-, movement, which has resulted in the present very satisfactory position of Court Inglewood Foresters. For more thaq 56 years a Forester, more than 45 a settler here, his well known figure will surely be missed by very many of the older residents of the district. The ranks of the old “Linky” contingent are gradually thinning, though they have left a goodly number of descendants, and there are still some of the old originals to remind us of old days. Thus one more of the pioneers has passed on. He will long be remembered as “Harry Wilson,” and kindly spoken of by those who will echo thd wish, “May he rest in peace.”