Mr J C Torr
Mr. J. C. Torr. Mr. James Cotton Torr, who died at his home, Roseneath, Mitcham, on March 24, was horn at Tavistock, Devonshire, on December 28, 1840, and came to South Australia by the Hooghly in 1855. He married Miss Rhoda Gullidge, of Mintaro, in 1864. For many years he farmed at Mintaro, Blyth’s Plains, Redhill, and Crystal Brook. In 1896 he retired and went to Mitcham to reside. He was an enthusiastic worker in the Mitcham Methodist Church. On New Year’s Day the late Mr. Torr and his three brothers, Messrs. John, Thomas, and William, met, and their united ages were then 294 years. The deceased has left a widow and three daughters—Mrs. Philip Wbeaton, of Red hill, Mr.=. A. ‘M. Gilbert, of Mitcham, and Mrs. Lien Alien, of Mitcham. Mr. Torr was a foundation member of Way College, cf which his brother, Dr. Torr, of Brighton, was formerly principal.
Conference Notes
CONFERENCE NOTES. (Continued from page 759). succession of doubters in thinking a man under forty too young for the task of superintendency. Those of us who knew him assured them that in wisdom he was older than his years, that youth was not a bug-bear, and that he possessed a heart perennially young. We pleaded and they were persuaded; result—he captured all classes at the Hill and left it infinitely better than he found it. In 1911 the writer was asked, whilst visiting England and America, to look out an ideal man for organising secretary of the Sunday-school Department. The task was difficult and on his return he reported that we had the man here in our midst. He recommended W. J. Mortimer, to whom the recommendation came as a great surprise. Wise man that he was, he said he would like to pray over it and have a talk with his wife about it. The next day it was clear to him that it was a call to “Follow the Gleam” and all his specialising was devoted that year to the work of preparation for the church’s greatest task. And it came about that in 1913, he took up the work to which his gifts and his graces so well qualified him. His success is established. Of all the organising secretaries in the Commonwealth he stands first and his knowledge of his work, his devotion to the young, his breezy optimism, his sanity, and his enthusiasm should result in stimulating the Sunday schools to do great things this year. Let his presidential year be opened with the record of a thousand increase in scholars, every school an observer of Decision Day and the members of the church doubled. In all his work he has been greatly helped by his devoted wife. Well done, Mintaro!
Merildin
“DIN” NOT “DEN.” A correspondent writes:—” ‘Merildin’— the name of the railway station formerly known as Mintaro—is often misspelt. I should like business people to note the terminal syllable. Several business firms must have the name improperly recorded in their books. I may add that it is usual to place the accent on the second syllable.
Snowfall
FALLS OF SNOW. … —A White Countryside — Reports were received in The Register Office on Tuesday that a light fall of snow had occurred at Angaston, and that at Clare it had been falling steadily since 6.30 a.m. Mr. C. J. H. Wright, of Merildin, called and reported that snow fell heavily between Merildin and Manoora on Tuesday morning. The telegraph poles and fencing posts were white, black horses had adopted a magpie colour, and the backs of sheep were covered with snow. There was not a vestige of green to be seen any where, and so dense was the fall that one could not see more than 100 yards in front of him. The snow hanging to the dry stinkwort in the paddocks and on the tufts of grass along the railway line presented a picturesque stereoscopic effect. Animals evidently felt the cold very much, for horses were herded together in the corners of paddocks. Sheep did not feel the weather so keenly, although there was a likelihood of mortality among the younger lambs. Mr. Wright did not expect that the snowstorm would cause more damage to the crops than would frost. Seeding in the district had been protracted on account of wet weather, and the crops were backward. He pointed out that Broken Hill people on the train journey to Adelaide were greatly interested in the snow, as only on Monday they had had a dust storm, and evidence of it was on one of the passengers’ hats. As regarded the snow, thousands of acres were one mass of white, and in many places it was a couple of inches deep. Considerable interest was aroused in the city on Tuesday by the presence of a large snowball, which a gardener from Forest Range displayed at various places.
Mintaro Merildin
“MINTARO-MERILDIN.” From ALEX. J. MELROSE, Kadlunga, Mintaro: — I agree with Mr. M. A. Kelly that, if there is anything at all puzzling about this Mintaro-Merildin business, it is not that the railway station for the Mintaro district, the Mintaro township, and the famous Mintaro slate quarries, should be known as Mintaro, but that it should ever have been changed. The prime cause of the whole trouble is Mr. C. J. H. Wright, whose complaint is that, through being wrongly addressed, his letters occasionally were sent to Mintaro Central instead of to the Mintaro Railway P.O. In endeavouring to have the name of the latter changed he has apparently been at work in the wrong direction, with the result that the railway has been renamed Merildin, while the post office in the railway yard is still called the Mintaro Railway P.O. There must exist an extraordinary state of affairs when, at the instigation of a single unauthorized person, a name can be changed, while the concerted efforts of a large body of ratepayers are of no avail to change it back again. In justice to the residents of the Mintaro district, the matter should be given an official ventilation and explanation, and, if we cannot have the old name reinstated by any other means, will Mr. Wright, seeing that he has not obtained what he really wanted, use his influence with whatever powers there be to obtain this result?
Station Name
General News. … The railway station at Mintaro has been renamed Merilden (sic). The township of Mintaro is over four miles west of the railway line.
Station Name
MINTARO, May 30.— The name of the station which serves us for railway facilities has been altered by the railway authorities from that of Mintaro to Merilden (sic). The township of Mintaro is situated four miles from the railway station of the same name, and many intending visitors to this place have experienced disappointment on reaching the station to find that a distance of four miles separated them from their desired destination. It is many years since a mail contractor made two trips a day to carry mails between the local post office and railway station, the morning mail from here to the city which leaves at 5.35 a.m. being the only one dispatched during the day, and the morning mail from Adelaide the only one received. Why the railway station was ever named Mintaro is not understood, and why it has retained the name for so many years is still more puzzling.
Changing Station Name
CHANGING A STATION’S NAME. Mintaro, the place whence comes some of the finest flagstone in the world, is situated some four or five miles from the railway, yet until within the last few days a railway station known as Mintaro has been in existence for the past 40 years. The name of Merilden (sic) has been substituted for Mintaro by the railway authorities, and so far as the post office and railways are concerned their will be but one Mintaro in South Australia in future.
Merilden Railway Station
GENERAL NEWS. MERILDEN RAILWAY-STATION. The railway-station at Mintaro has been renamed Merilden (sic). The township of Mintaro is over four miles west of the railway line.
An Altered Name
AN ALTERED NAME. . From “Rachael”:- I was astonished when calling, at Mintaro Railway to notice that the name on the lamp had been altered to Merilden (sic). None of the old residents was consulted about the change, nor did they even get a hint that it was contemplated. Who is responsible for this absurd alteration? The commission appointed some time ago to go through the various names which it was desirable to change did not include our station in the list, recognising that there was no reason for interfering. Some years ago, after the Commonwealth took over the post office, there was some confusion between Mintaro Central and the railway, but postal efficiency has quite overcome any difficulty which had existed. As a native of Mintaro Railway, who has lived, over 40 years here, I enter a strong protest against being robbed of our name without a chance to defend it. Have we no redress?