PERSONAL.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 April 1922, Page 4

PERSONAL.

Mr. A. Crooke, formerly Magistrate at New Plymouth, is visiting New Plymouth. He is accompanied by Mrs. Crooke. The New South Wales Governor, speaking at the official opening of the show yesterday, said his term of office expired in March next, and he would not consider an extension.—Press Assn. Miss Barr, principal of lona College, Havelock North, and formerly head of the New Plymouth Girls’ High School, returned this week from a visit to Great Britain. The Rev. J. Cocker, who is retiring from the pastorate of the Masterton Methodist Church, was born in Calver, Derbyshire, sixty years ago, and came out to New Zealand as a Methodist minister in I'B9o, since when he has been stationed at Ashburton, Feilding, Wanganui, Wellington, Auckland. Christchurch, and Masterton. He vras president of the Primitive Methodist Conference before the union, and for many years has been editor and associate editor of the principal church publications.

The death took place at Christchurch yesterday morning of Mr. William St. George Douglas, in his seventy-third year. Mr. Douglas was born at Adelaide in 1849 and was educated in New Plymouth at Beardsworth’s High School. After spending a few years in a merchant’s office in New Plymouth he joined the Post and Telegraph Department as a clerk in the accountant’s branch in March, 1869. Later in the year he was sent to Hokitika as a clerk in the telegraph office there. In the following year he was placed on relieving duty and during 1870-71 was offi-cer-in-charge of the Westport telegraph office. His first appointment as postmaster was in 1871 at Charleston, where he remained until 1877, when he was appointed postmaster at Ashburton, a position he held for about 20 years. From 1897 to 1900 he was chief postmaster at Hokitika and he occupied a similar position at Westport in 1900-01. In 1902 he was appointed an assistant inspector of post offices until the end of 1906, when he was promoted to the position of chief postmaster at Dunedin, remaining there until he retired a few years ago. He served in the Taranaki Militia and Volunteers from 1865 to 1869 and was captain of the Ashburton Rifles when residing in that town, afterwards becoming senior major of the South Canterbury Rifle Volunteers, eventually being placed on the honorary unattached list. Since his retirement he has lived in Christchurch, but he had a great affection for New Plymouth and frequently visited the town.