A “GRAND OLD MAN”
CENTENARIAN’S DEATH
MR ROMANS OF ARROWTOWN
Mr George Henry Romans, who was known throughout the district as the "Grand Old Man of Central Otago,” died yesterday at Arrowtown in his 103rd year. Mr Romans had resided in Arrowtown for nearly 70 years, and his association with the township went back to the days when, known as Fox’s, it was a busy, cosmopolitan settlement flourishing under the impetus of the mining boom. Since those times he had seen many changes, and his activities had been varied and widespread, but the years had not staled him, and he still enjoyed comparitively good health.
Mr Romans was the son of George Henry Romans, of Yorkshire, and Anne Gillingham, of Bristol, England, and he was born on February 9, 1843, at Avoca, Tasmania, where his parents had taken up land. In his younger days he worked for his father for a time, but the desire to see new places seized him, and in the course of a roving career he travelled widely in Australia, principally as a shearer. In his later years he used to tell how as a young man, before the days of wire, he had assisted in erecting mallee sheep-proof fencing, and he also recalled the wool being carted to the ports of shipment in bullock drays which lumbered along at between six and eight miles a day.
An Ocean Experience
He came to New Zealand in 1873, and, landing at Bluff, walked from there over the Lindis Pass to Morven Hills. During the next two years he covered many hundreds of miles in Central Otago on foot and on horseback, and at that time he thought nothing of walking from Bluff to Central Otago. In the succeeding years he returned on many occasions to Australia for the shearing season, and it was on one of these trips that he met with an experience which he looked on as one of the outstanding incidents in his life. When returning to Melbourne in the steamer Alhambra, the engines broke down, and for several days the vessel drifted helplessly at the mercy of the wind and waves. The ship was crowded with prospectors bound for the Palmer goldfields, in Queensland, and it was not long before both food and water ran out. Mr Romans, who was possessed of a very fine bass voice, played no small part in preserving order among the passengers, for when the captain saw that they were getting out of hand he would get him to sing to them. Eventually, food and water were obtained from a passing ship, and the Alhambra was towed into Melbourne, the voyage having taken 15 days.
In 1875 Mr Romans decided to settle in Arrowtown, which was then in the throes of a gold boom. The town had been surveyed, and at the time was crowded with miners of every nationality, while the public buildings consisted mainly of dance halls and hotels. On the bed of the Arrow River there existed a flourishing Chinese settlement where several hundred Chinese lived. Mr Romans himself was never particularly interested in the search for gold, although in his spare time he did a little prospecting, and later owned a few claims. For the greater part of the first few years he was in Arrowtown he was engaged in contracting work, mainly on the Crown Range road, but in 1880 he went into business as a butcher and baker in partnership with Mi George Heller, and subsequently with Mr S. McSkimming, and then with Mr J. Thompson.
Early Days of Racing
Apart from his public activities, Mr Romans’s principal interest lay in racing, and for over half a century he was a familiar figure at practically every race meeting held in Otago. Until five years ago, indeed, he had not missed witnessing a Dunedin Cup meeting for 51 years. From his boyhood, he had always been interested in horses, and when in Australia, he missed very few race meetings. In those early days, the big man in racing in New Zealand was Daniel O’Brien, the owner of Carbine, and Mr Romans saw this owner win the New Zealand Cup with Tasman. Among his racing reminiscences, he could tell how he had a half-ticket on Tristan when that horse paid £138 at Cromwell; how he saw Mr H Goodman win the South Canterbury Handicap, then the big race of the year, with Chancellor, and how he saw the mighty Carbine race as a two-year-old before he left New Zealand. He could also recall the performances of such giants of the turf as Royal Stag, Gipsy King, Lochiel, Limerick, and many others. He also raced his own horses in the early days, among some of his best being Lindigo, Walnut, Caliph, If I Can, and Broomsbury. As a sporting writer, he was well known to followers of racing in Central Otago, and under the pen name of "Peeping Tom" he was a regular contributor to the Lake County Press and the Arrow Observer.
For many years, Mr Romans took a keen interest in public life. He served continuously for 35 years on the Arrowtown Borough Council, refusing nomination for the mayoralty on many occasions; he was a member of the Wakatipu Licensing Committee, the Lake County Jockey Club, the Arrowtown Jockey Club, the Vincent Jockey Club, and the Cromwell Jockey Club, and the local Caledonian Society. An enthusiastic cricketer, he was for many years president of the Arrowtown Cricket Club, and he held a similar office in the Arrowtown Football Club and the Wakatipu Bowling Club, of which he was, until a few years ago, an active member. He was also president of the Arrowtown Returned Services Association from its inception, and it is an interesting fact that one of the first soldiers who went from the district to the present war, and to whom, in his capacity as president he bade farewell, was his own son, Sergeant R. G. Romans. Mr Romans was invited to stand for Parliament on many occasions, but he always refused.
Mr Romans had been a member of the Anglican Church in Arrow town for 67 years being vicar's warden for more than 30 years. He was also treasurer of the Church Committee. One of the oldest Freemasons in New Zealand, he had for over 60 years been a member of the Lodge Arrow Kilwinning, in which he had held all the offices.
Fine Family War Record
In 1881, Mr Romans married Miss Christina Jansen, and there was one child of the marriage, Mr George Henry Romans, now chief of the Hansard staff of the Federal Parliament, Canberra. His first wife died in 1884, and three years later he married Miss Mary Elizabeth Travis, a daughter of one of the pioneer settlers of the district. They had a family of ten — Mr A. C. Romans, headmaster of the West School, Timaru; Sergeant R. G. Romans who went overseas with the first echelon of the 2nd N.Z.E.F., was wounded in Crete, and was a prisoner of war in Germany; Lieutenant-colonel R. E. Romans, D.S.O., who died of wounds in Italy in 1944; Sergeant J. McD. Romans, who is in New Zealand after serving with the 2nd N.Z.E.F. in the Pacific; Miss Henrietta Romans (Arrowtown); Mrs T. A. Barstow (Auckland); Mrs L. A. Murtagh (Auckland); Misses Iris Romans (Oamaru), and Mary and Olive Romans (Wellington). Mrs Romans died in 1938. There is one grandson, Sergeant Observer Anthony Romans, at present on active service in Egypt with the Royal Australian Air Force, and five grand-daughters.
It was a singuarly appropriate circumstance that among the soldiers who spoke over the air from the Middle East in February 1943, was Mr Romans's son, Sergeant R. G. Romans, who broadcast greetings to his father on the occasion of his 100th birthday.
Although he retired from business some years ago, Mr Romans continued to lead an active life, and was very proud of his garden. Keenly interested in the affairs of the district and current events further afield, he enjoyed nothing better than a chat with the many friends who visited him from day to day, and he also had an extensive knowledge of literature and music.
Mr Romans was the guest of honour at a public function in the Arrowtown Public Hall on the occasion of his 100th birthday. -Otago Daily Times, 13/9/1945.
LATE GEO. HENRY ROMANS
The last rites
The obsequies of the late George Henry Romans took place at Arrowtown on Saturday last. The attendant ceremonies wore a fitting tribute to the character of this fine old man. Friends poured into Arrowtown from every part of the district and beyond it to pay their last respects to the departed. A Lodge of Sorrow was held in Arrow Kilwinning at 2 p.m. and was conducted by Grand Lodge officers from Invercargill and Gore. Striking eulogies to the life of the late Rt. Wor. Brother were given in the lodge room. At 3 p.m. a service was conducted at St. Paul’s church by the Rev. P. C. Williams assisted by the Rev. Canon Powell in the presence of relatives and a large congregation. A state of reverence pervaded the body of the church as the beautiful ritual was rehearsed and two of the deceased’s favourite hymns were sung, "Sun of My Soul” and "Abide With Me.” Feeling reference was made to deceased by the Rev. Williams. After the service the casket was borne from the church to the strains of the "Dead March” by the organist Mrs Jas. Reid. The pall bearers were Mr H. C. Romans, son, Mr L. Murtagh, son-in-law of deceased, Messrs J. H. Douglas, T. A. Johnston, T. D. Scott and J Fletcher. The very large cortege left the church preceded by over forty members of the Masonic craft. The casket was borne from the cemetery gate by Messrs H. C. Romans, E. C. Paterson, K. Haggitt, C. H. McKay, D. R. Rowe and Sergt. B. L. Schieb. The remainder of the burial service at the graveside was performed by the Rev. P. C. Williams and Canon Powell, Past Grand Chaplain, read a short masonic service.
A large number of beautiful floral tributes were placed on the coffin, among which were wreaths sent by the following organisations: Lake County A. and P. Society, Arrowtown branch W.D.F.U., Junior Waitaki Girls’ High School, St. Peter’s Church Committee, Lodge Arrow Kilwinning, Timaru Rotary Club, Lake County Council, Timaru West School, Public Trust Office, Wellington, Arrowtown School children, St. Paul’s church, Waitaki Girls’ High School.
The Romans family received numerous messages of sympathy among which were telegrams or letters from the Mayors of Wellington, Timaru, Port Chalmers, Queenstown, Arrowtown, the leader of thg Opposition, G. R. Herron and W. A. Bodkin, M.P.s Bishop and Mrs Fitohott, St. Paul’s (Arrowtown) and St. Peter’s (Queenstown) churches and the Bank of N.Z. Memorial Service. The services in St. Paul’s Arrowtown and St. Peter’s Queenstown, both conducted by the Rev. P. O. Williams, were memorial in character in honour of the late Mr Romans. The vicar took as his text the words from the first epistle of St. Peter “He went and preached to the spirits in prison.’’ This proves, he said, that the view that a departed soul goes either straight to heaven or hell is both mistaken and unscriptural. There is the state between earth and Heaven which we call paradise, where the souls of the departed go for cleansing and purification. The Bible urges us to “pray without ceasing’’ and nowhere does it forbid us to pray for the departed. Prayer for the departed has proved to be a consolation and help to many who have been bereaved, and is one of the most natural human reactions. Because a person lives in a far distant country one does not cease to pray for them. Because the real person goes to live in paradise is still no excuse to ceasing to pray for him. He still lives, though not in the human material habitation which we call the body. In every bereavement there is a natural sorrow, for it is the end of an earthly human friendship, but there should also be a rejoicing, that a person has been spared further pain and suffering, and a thanksgiving that we have known and loved the person. In this memorial service we think of our departed friend, George Henry Romans, who has lived a rich and full life. We are saddened at his departure, for we will miss him, his wise counsel and advice, his cheerful and wonderful spirit, his great example, but at the same time we give thanks to Almighty God that he has lived, lived life to the full, and we thank God, too, that we have loved and been loved by him. We pray that God of His mercy will give rest and peace to the soul of this His servant. -Lake Wakatip Mail, 20/9/1945.
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