Councillor George Ross, J.P., for some time Chairman of the Whangarei County Council and Whangarei Harbour Board, was first elected to the former body in 1885. He retired in 1887 and did not again seek re-election till 1893, and he was chairman for 1896-97-98. Mr. Ross now (1901) represents Manaia riding on the council, and he is also a member of the North Auckland Hospital and Charitable Aid Board, and of the Marsden Licensing Board. In conjunction with Mr. Mason (ex-chairman) and others. Mr. Ross worked unceasingly to obtain the bridge across the Whangarei river, being successful in their endeayours through Mr. Robert Thompson, M.H.R., who secured a subsidy from the Government for that purpose. For eleven years Mr. Ross was chairman of the Parua Bay Road Board, and in 1885 received his commission as a Justice of the Peace. Mr. Ross was born in London in 1831 and is self-educated. He arrived in Victoria with his parents in 1842 per barque “Samuel Boddington,” was four years in Melbourne, then went to South Adelaide, where he was employed in the Burra Burra copper mines for three years. In 1840 Mr. Ross left South Australia for Auckland, where he soon found employment with the Ben Accord Company at the copper mines at Kawau—Sir George Grey's island. At the outbreak of the New South Wales diggings in 1852 Mr. Ross was smitten with the gold fever, but returned to New Zealand twelve months later, and subsequently lived at Whangarei where his father owned some property. He now resides at Taranui, Parua Bay, on a property of 340 acres, which is pleasantly situated and suitable alike for grazing and agricultural purposes. Mr. Ross has been a deputy returning officer for the electoral district of Marsden since 1858. He is an amateur photographer and very enthusiastic in sporting matters. As an amateur book-binder he turns out work that would do credit to some of the leading establishments of Auckland. Mrs. Ross died in 1887 leaving one daughter and four sons, one of whom assists his father on the farm.