THE LATE MR. HENRY BROWN.

Taranaki Daily News, 26 March 1921, Page 7

THE LATE MR. HENRY BROWN.

HARD TIMES RECALLED. (An Appreciation by the Oldest Inhabitant.) , By the death of Mr. Henry Brown, Inglewood has lost a most valued citizen, and a sturdy pioneer of the best type—one who helped to nurse this district through the most trying years of its infancy. That he was ever ready to shoulder Iris share of the risks that fall to the lot of the pioneers of any new. country, he had proved by his • presence at the battle of Waireka< when he was barely 18 years of age, and he had hardly been one year in New Zealand. ' • The, debt that Inglewood owes to the memory of Mr. Henry Brown i# one of affectionate respect and gratitude, as well for the example that he set of single mindnefis in his public life, as for the active work that he did for the ratepayers of the town, whose' interests he had in charge as chairman of the Town Board, in which capacity he never spared himself, but gave of his best, both in-thought and time, to ensure that the work done was what wa| most needed, was done as well as circumstances would allow and as economically as was consistent with thorough efficiency. When the trouble between the Maori’s under Te Whiti and the Government became acute, it was only natural that those win volunteered for activd service should the need arise, to protect the growing settlements east of Mount Egmont, should elect Mr. Brown their captain, guided .in ‘their choice by his strong personality, as well as his proved capacity in the former troubles with the natives, 1 when he served under Sir Harry (then Major) Atkinson. In his position—captain of the Inglewood Rangers—he gained and held the esteem and respect of all under him. He encouraged the crops to emulation in marksmanship. Himself by no means ja bad shot, he always took keen interest in contests with other corps when matches were arranged and was consistently wall forward in the scoring. There are, no doubt, members of the old Inglewood No 1 Company, living, who will remember the rifle match fired against the Waitara Corps on the beach at Captain J Elliott’s farm, when, owing to the bad train service in those dark ages,i the Inglewood team had to tramp the' whole way»home from the old Sentry Hill Station, a good part of the way in the dark. We did it, and did it cheerfully, but the “Skipper,” as we called him amongst ourselves, was in important factor in keeping up our spirits on the way.

But it is probably in his role of saw-mill-owner that Mr. Brown was most widely known, and there can be no doubt that on him, in her darkest time of depression, Inglewood depended almost for its assistance. Had he given up hope, as many a man would have done, and shut down his sawmill altogether, it is hard to conceive how the place could have pulled through those dead ' days, or what would have been the position to-day of many who are now i able to, pass their declining yeans in, > ease and comfort. In the last few years •so many of the older settlers have left I .the- Moa District, and so many new | people have come in, to whom the name I of Henry Brown is a name only, that it ! is worth while 'to give them, even so small an inkling as is contained in these paragraphs, of the debt the present dwellers here owe to him, and others of the old pioneers, for the smoothing of tlie ways to make their surroundings •and conditions the pleasant ones they are able now to enjoy. The only way to repay that debt is to io always the best each one can to carry forward, unselfishly, with an eye to the general good, not a lurking itching for one’s own advantage, /the honest work that they began, and to pass on to their successors, traditions of public spirit and desire for general, rather than individual welfare.