Obituaries Australia

The death occurred at Warwillah, Wangaratta, Vic., on 28th November, of Mr. James Read Officer, second son of the late Robert Officer, of Rocklands, Balmoral, Vic., and grandson of the late Sir Robert Officer, of Tasmania.

He was born at Rocklands in 1857, and followed pastoral pursuits all his life. His first experience was under the late James Read, of Springhurst, Victoria, in 1874. From there he went to Bedooba Station, in the Cobar district, N.S.W., and later to Roto, in the Hillston district, under the late Evan Evans. In the early eighties he was sent by a Victorian syndicate to the far north-east of South Australia to form a station at Lake Elder, and had the unique experience there of being completely cut off from all outside communication for twelve months by a severe drought.

In 1884 he was engaged to take a large mob of sheep from Queensland to New South Wales in a flood period, and successfully crossed them over the many tributaries of the Upper Darling, which were in high flood, and made a good delivery.

In 1887 he was managing the Hermitage Plains Station, N.S.W., for Messrs. Jas. Turner and Son (later the Union Mortgage and Agency Company Limited), and here he remained till 1892, when he bought Thule Station, in the Cobar district, in conjunction with Messrs. Docker and Smith, of Wangaratta. Having sold Thule, he later bought Yathong Station with the late H. M. Chomley, and after buying out the latter lived there till 1907, when he sold it to the Australian and N.Z. Land Company Limited.

In 1910 he bought a managing interest in Billilla Station, on the Darling River, with Mr. Andrew Chirnside as his partner, and remained there till 1921, when he sold out his interest and retired to Victoria, where he bought the old McKenzie homestead at Worrough, on the Goulburn River, near Seymour, with some 2000 acres of good land. Here he lived until overtaken by his fatal illness. He leaves a host of friends, and was greatly esteemed by all who knew him.