Athol.
Athol
is a farming district, at the railway siding of the same name, on the Invercargill-Kingston line of railway. The station is sixty-nine miles from Invercargill, and stands 896 feet above the level of the sea. In 1901, Athol had a population of seventy-two. It forms part of the Wakatipu electorate, and is in the Oreti riding of the county of Southland. The Quoich and Eyre creeks join not far from the township. Athol district is progressive and well settled, and the Nokomai mining township is not far away. As a village, Athol contains a store, a saddler's shop, a railway goods shed, two boarding-houses, a public school, and a post office, where a mail is received, and despatched, each way, daily. The district has telephonic connection with the rest of the colony, and the instrument is at the residence of the local railway ganger.
Mr. David Stancombe
, Ganger of No. 9 Section, Invercargill-Kingston line, has his residence at Athol, where he owns about twelve acres of township land. He was born at Evershot, Dorsetshire, England, in 1854, and brought up to general work. In 1872, he came to New Zealand by
the barque “Schiehallion,” and landed at Picton. Up to 1882—when he removed to Southland and entered the railway service—he was engaged in general labouring work. In 1886, he was appointed ganger at Athol, and has ever since been in the same position and district. Mr Stancombe has been several terms on the Athol school committee, and is at present a member of the Cemetery Trust. He is a Master Mason of Lodge Taringatura, No. 100, New Zealand Constitution.
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In 1875, he married a daughter of Mr William Bennison, of Dipton, and has four sons and four daughters. Mr Bennison arrived at Lyttelton in the ship “Captain Cook,” in 1863.
Glenquoich Station And Fairlight Station
, Athol. These two stations, with an aggregate of 2,033 acres of freehold, and about 70,000 acres of leasehold, are a portion of the estate of the late Mr J. Rogers, and are managed from Glenquoich. About 18,000 sheep are carried.
Mr. James Earl
, Manager of the Glenquoich and Fairlight stations, was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1866, and came to New Zealand with his parents, in 1873, by the ship “Invercargill,” which landed at Invercargill. He went to school at Invercargill, and afterwards started shepherding with the New Zealand Agricultural Company. After a long experience amongst sheep, he was appointed manager of Glenquoich and Fairlight stations in 1897.
Price, John Morgan
, Hawthorn Farm, Athol. Mr Price holds 5,600 acres of freehold and 9,000 acres of leasehold, where he carries on sheep farming, and also does a fair amount of cropping. He was born in Breconshire, South Wales, England, in 1836, and was brought up to farming. In
1860, he arrived in Melbourne, and three years later came to New Zealand. Mr Price worked on the diggings for about two years, and afterwards followed station life for some time. He then bought ten acres at Athol—the nucleus of his present property—which he added to, acre by acre. Mr Price has served on the Athol school committee for sixteen years, and is also a member of the Athol Cemetery Trust. He was married, in 1867, to a daughter of the late Mr Alexander McDonald, farmer, Riverton, and has a family of four sons and four daughters.
Soper, Samuel
, Farmer, Riverview Farm, Athol. Riverview Farm was originally a portion of the Glenquoich run, but was was taken up by Mr Soper in 1897, when it was practically in its wild native state. It
has now been brought into cultivation and mixed farming is carried on, but chiefly grain growing. The area of the farm is 503 acres. Mr Soper is a member of a family very well known in the district, and was born at Nokomai in 1874. He was educated at
Garston, and brought up there on his father's farm, where he worked until he took up “Riverview, in 1897. Mr Soper is a member of the Athol school committee. In February, 1895, he married a daughter of Mr John Gibson, farmer, Parawa, and has three sons and one daughter.
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