The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]
Captain John L. Simpson
Captain John L. Simpson, Commander of the s.s. “Star of New Zealand,” was born in 1840 in Belfast, Ireland, where he was educated. After a year in a mercantile office, he entered the service of Messrs. J. P. Corry and Co. as an apprentice in 1855. Captain Simpson has continued in that Company's service ever since, having worked his way up to the position he now holds. He is the senior captain in the Company's fleet, and has been master for the past thirty-four years. As a Mason he is attached to the Duke of Abercorn Lodge, one of the oldest extant.