“THE HAPPIEST MAN”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 November 1938, Page 6

“THE HAPPIEST MAN”

PONGAROA FARMER WINS £lO,OOO IN TATTERSALL’S SWEEP The happiest man in Pongaroa today is Mi’ J. W. Souness ,a well-known farmer, who has won a cash prize of £lO,OOO in Tattersall’s Melbourne Cup sweep.

When a “Times-Age” reporter told Mr Souness of Ms good fortune over the telephone this afternoon there was a sudden -silence, and then an incredulous “What?” When Mr Souness was assured that J. W. S. was down in the list for a prize of £lO,OOO, delighted chuckles were heard.

“I don’t have a ticket very often,” he said in an excited voice, adding: “Gee, this is great.” He could not describe his feelings, but it was easy to understand his pleasure. He had no idea as yet what he would do in light of his good fortune. He might stop in Pongaroa, where he has farmed 600 acres for 40 years, and then again he migh not. Mr Souness, who is 58 years of age, is a married man with a family of one. He was working on his prosperous farm when a reporter rang him, and he later expressed sincere thanks to the “Times-Age” for telling him the good news. He had no intention, he concluded, with a final excited laugh, of “painting the town red.”