His Worship The Mayor, Mr. William Rollitt, is a member of the well-known family of engineers and iron-founders of Thorne. Yorkshire, England. He was born in 1856, and educated at Brooke's Grammar School, of which his father was one of the governors. After passing through his father's works he came to Lyttelton by the s.s. “Norfolk” in 1874, and took up land at Hororata, where he had a mill and farm for some years. Mr. Rollitt is one of the founders of the well-known milling firm at Ashburton, which still bears his name and from which he retired in 1896. He was connected with the Sumner Borough Council for some time before being elected to the civic chair, and has always taken an interest in educational matters; he was chairman of the Hororata School Committee for some years, and is at present chairman of the Sumner School Committee. Mr. Rollitt has long been connected with racing matters and has been a breeder of horses, the well-known hurdle racer “Mammoe” having been bred by him. He was an active member of the Ashburton Racing Club, and now holds office as secretary of the New Zealand Trotting Association, of which he was at one time chairman. He is secretary of the Al and Hokitika River Gold Dredging Companies, and as a Freemason he was initiated in Lodge St. John, E.C., Ashburton. Mr. Rollitt was married in 1885 to a daughter of Mr. J. S. Woodhouse of Hursley, Amberley, and has one daughter and four sons.