Mr. William Gilbert Rees, Inspector of Stock for the Wellington Subdivision of the Wellington and West Coast District, eldest son of W. L. Rees, Commander, R.N., is a native of Wales, where he was born in 1827. Although educated at the Royal Naval School, New Cross, with a view to service in the Royal Marines, he page 1500 turned his attention to engineering, becoming articled in Wales. Ultimately Mr. Rees acted as a tutor at Mount Radford, Exmouth, Devonshire, Mr. Kennaway, C.M.G., of the Agent-General's office, and the Messrs. Teschemaker, runholders of South Canterbury, having been among his pupils. Coming out to New South Wales in 1852, Mr. Rees was successively manager of two stations in Queensland, owned by Mr. R. Tooth. In 1858 he returned to England and married a daughter of Mr. G. M. Gilbert, of Worcester. In the same year he came to New Zealand as working partner of Mr. R. Campbell, senior, of Buscott Park, England. With Mr. Von Tinzelman, he discovered Lake Wakatipu in Central Otago in 1859, and took up 300,000 acres for him. self and partners, in the vicinity of Queenstown. The site of Eichardt's Hotel was occupied by his wool-shed. On gold being discovered on one of his runs in 1862, the Provincial Government cancelled the license of the Arrow Run (100,000 acres) and Mr. Rees removed to “The Falls,” where the house he then built is now standing. In 1867, the partnership having expired, he became manager for the Hon. R. Campbell, a position which he filled till 1883, when he became an inspector under the Stock Department in South Canterbury, being subsequently located in Westland and at Ashburton. He was transferred to Wellington in 1894. Mr. Rees has two sons and four daughters, the eldest of whom is Matron of the Blenheim Hospital. In 1893 he lost a daughter, Miss Isabel, who was a fine horsewoman and lawn-tennis champion of New Zealand. In 1872 Mr. Rees himself (when forty-five years old) was the first amateur champion of the South Canterbury Amateur Athletic Association.