Obituaries Australia

Mr. George Herron, a very old identity of the municipality, passed away very suddenly on Sunday last. He was in his usual health on Saturday, and was in the store yard of the Newcastle and Suburban store when he was suddenly taken ill with a stroke. Medical aid was summoned, but notwithstanding all that was done he died the following day, at the age of 72 years. The funeral, took place on Monday last, and the large concourse of people who assembled spoke eloquently of the esteem in which deceased and his family are held. The Rev. T. K. Taylor, Methodist minister, held a service at the home and at the graveside. The chief Mourners were Mrs. Herron (widow), and Messrs; Ralph, Robert, John, George, and Thomas Herron (sons of the deceased) together with their wives and children. The pall-bearers were Messrs. T. Ramhaw, C. Collins; G. Gill, and the Mayor of Wickham, Alderman R. J. Bond, and Aldermen A. F. Toll and S. Brown. Wreaths were forwarded by the staff of the Newcastle and Suburban Co-operative Society, Meldrum family, Mrs. Winn, Mr. and Mrs. C. McNaughton, and Mrs. and Mr.Holloway. The family also received many telegrams, cards, and letters of sympathy.

The late Mr. Herron was favourably known throughout the Newcastle district for over 30 years past. For number of years he worked as a miner in the old Wickham and Bullock Island Colliery, and later was in business for lengthy period as carrier and milk vendor. For a number of years he was in the hotel business in Wickham, but for the last ten years or more he had lived privately in Smedmore. Mr. Herron took a very active part in the Labour movement in its early days, and was one of the first movers in the establishment of the Wickham Labour League. At the time of the Borehole disaster, Mr. Herron was one of the three appointed by the Government to take charge in the rescue work of the entombed miners. Mr. Herron was one of the pioneers, of the Newcastle and Suburban Co-operative Society, being one of those to go round and collect money for the purchase of the ground on which the present extensive premises are built upon. He was one of the first directors on the board of management and up to the time of his death he was keenly interested in co-operation. Mr. Herron will also be missed from the Wickham Council meetings, at which he was always a regular attendant, so much so that he was christened "The Thirteenth Alderman." Mr. Herron is survived by his widow and the four sons named above, for whom much sympathy has been expressed.