Obituaries Australia

Henry Curtis, n.d.

from Pastoral Review, 15 November 1924

Reference was made in our last issue to the death of Mr. Henry William Curtis, of Brooklyn Station, Armidale, N.S.W. He was widely known and respected, and a man possessed of a line sense of public duty.

Sixty-two years of age, he was born at Elmstone Court, in Kent, England, and was the eldest son of Frederick Thomas Curtis, who was a barrister in Kent. He came to Australia in 1880, and after spending some time at Thalgarrah Station, Armidale, went to Gara Station, now Herbert Park. Subsequently he was appointed manager of Rockwood Station, owned by Mr. F. R. White.

Thirty-five years ago he went to Brooklyn Station, where he resided till the time of his removal to hospital.

He actively identified himself with sporting bodies, and the Armidale P.A. and H. Association. He joined the Armidale and New England Jockey Club in 1888, and was for eleven years president, resigning in 1922. The P.A. and H. Association he joined in the same year, and from 1914 to 1921 occupied the presidential chair, resigning in the latter year. He was also the first president of the newly-formed Picnic Race Club and a member of the North and Northwestern Racing Association.

The late Mr. Curtis, whose splendid physique commanded attention wherever he went, possessed mental and moral attributes in keeping. He was regarded as a man of the highest principles, one whose word was his bond. He was a great lover of good stock, being skilled with horses and Hereford cattle and a keen judge of Merino wool. His horses on Brooklyn were considered to be some of the finest in New England, if not in the State.

News of his death came as a shock to the district, and expressions of regret were universal. He leaves a widow, two sons (Frederick, of Abbey Green, and Harold, of Brooklyn), and three daughters (Mrs. Harold F. White, Bald Blair, Guyra; Mrs. L. L. Young, Armidale; and Miss Winifred Curtis). Mrs. Curtis is a sister of Mr. A. E. Bigg, of Thalgarrah.