Obituaries Australia

It is seldom indeed that the people of Warwick have to deplore the decease of a man who was the friend of everybody and the enemy of none, but in the death of Mr. William Houghton Hayes, on Wednesday, it may truly be said we have sustained such a loss. Truth will live for ever, and if Mr. W. H. Hayes' opposition were exercised on any occasion, it was invariably to fight down evil, and support good. He came amongst us in June, 1877, to assume the position of senior partner in the well known steam mills of W. and C. Hayes, at the Railway Station. In his commercial relationship he will ever be remembered for his sterling and upright habit of dealing; in his private capacity as a gentleman and a scholar, he can never be forgotten. Although afflicted with a paralytic affection which would have prostrated most men, his pluck and courage excited him to action whenever occasion arose for his open advocacy and support in any particular direction. And with all his indifferent health, caused latterly by an acute asthmatic affection, Mr. Hayes until recently participated as a Magistrate of the territory in the dispensation of Justice, and also in the administration of affairs connected with our Hospital, in which it is unnecessary to add he faithfully discharged his duties. Previous to taking up his residence in Warwick, Mr. W. H. Hayes passed several years at Gundagai, where his many good qualities were well known and appreciated, and it is somewhat remarkable that he never enjoyed a days good health since his residence in this town. Had it been otherwise the people of Warwick would have had no cause to regret the presence of one who in every respect was a most estimable citizen. The funeral took place on Thursday, so that numerous friends in the country were yet unconscious of the loss they had sustained, otherwise the cortege would have been an unusually long one. As it was, the remains of the deceased were followed to their last resting place by the leading inhabitants of the town and neighborhood; for bad news is wafted quickly, and the unhappy intelligence of Mr. W. H. Hayes' death will be hereby recognised by rich and poor alike, as an irreparable loss to the district.