Obituaries Australia

The many friends of Mr. Marks Kozminsky, both in Melbourne and at Nhill (his late place of residence) were shocked to hear early last week that he had died on Monday evening, 6th May. The deceased had been seen about the township during the day, and nothing unusual was noticed about him ; but in the morning he had eaten some mushrooms, which, as the post mortem afterwards showed, acted as a poison on his system and brought on paralysis of the heart, which was the cause of his death. Mr. Kozminsky was a colonist of some thirty years' standing, and a resident of Nhill for the last fourteen years. He was one of the pioneers of the place, where until lately he carried on a large business. He was of a very kindly disposition, and soon gained for himself the respect and good-will of all with whom he was brought into contact. The local paper, the Nhill Mail, says of him :— "Mr. Kozminsky was Nhill's pioneer, that is, commercially. He took an active part in building up the town from its beginning. He identified himself with every movement for the good of the town and district, and was foremost amongst the three or four entitled to claim the honour of founding most of our local institutions. The privileges and conveniences which we now enjoy were not obtained without a great deal of hard work, and nobody did more of this thanMr. Kozminsky. He spared no expense in his endeavours to build up the town, and nothing was looked upon by him as a personal inconvenience. He was one of the founders of the Hospital, Mechanics' Institute, Agricultural and Pastoral Society, Masonic Lodge, fire brigade and, in fact, nearly everything else we have in our midst. In the earlydays he interested himself deeply in providing the town with a supply of water, and it was through his efforts to a lare extent that local land Boards, courts and public buildings were obtained here. Still, though generous-hearted to a fault, and enter- prising to a high degree, it must be said that Mr. Kozminsky was a gentleman of somewhat unassuming habits. This opinion of him is borne out by the fact that he refused to allow himself to be made a Justice of the Peace, and several times declined requests made to him to offer himself for municipal honours. He was one of the best members of the Masonic Lodge, a capital worker and a regular attendant. The deceased was a man of rare social qualities, was straightforward in all business transactions, a gentleman who took an interest in sport as well as everything else, and, in short, a citizen whom Nhill could by no means afford to lose."

The deceased leaves a widow and one child, and in accordance with the wishes of Mrs. Kozminsky and her relatives the body was taken to Melbourne and buried in the Melbourne Cemetery, the Rev. Mr. Saunders having previously proceeded to Nhill to perform the last sad rites. On leaving the town a large number of the townspeople followed the hearse to the railway station, the local band playing the "Dead March in Saul," and the fire brigade being also present. The deceased was a member of the East Melbourne Synagogue, but in the unavoidable absence of the Rev. J. Lenzer the Rev. Dr. Abrahams officiated at the grave.