Mr. William Rennie, the Senior Partner, was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, where he served an apprenticeship to the building trade. When nineteen years of age Mr. Rennie left his native country and travelled through England, working at his trade in the principal cities. On reaching Portsmouth he sailed for America, and landed in Halifax in 1869. He was successful in obtaining employment in many towns throughout the States and in the city of Mobile, Carolina, he worked for a firm of coloured men, Messrs Moses and Sons, builders and contractors. This was the only time Mr. Rennie had dark-skinned employers, and he still remembers with pleasure the gentlemanly treatment he received while in their employment. In 1870 Mr. Kennie sailed in the sailing ship “New World” for Liverpool, where he joined, as ship's carpenter, the ship “Eliethie,” bound for the East Indies, whence he went to Mauritius, and thence to Algoa Bay. The diamond fields at Kimberley were at that time attracting attention. Mr. Rennie, with the second officer of the ship, were among the earliest on the field, and during the nine months they spent there they met with some stirring incidents. One of these consisted in an attempt on the part of the Boers to eject fifty miners. Fourteen armed burghers, under Mr Cronje—afterwards the noted General Cronje—had this enterprise in hand. The miners, however, decided to make a stand, and during the night they made preparations to resist a daylight attack. However, with daybreak came a detachment of twenty-five Cape Mounted Police, who decided the point at issue, and Mr. Cronje and his burghers retired from the scene. After leaving the Diamond Fields Mr. Rennie worked at his trade at Grahamstown and other towns in South Africa. He then left Port Natal—now Durban—for Algoa Bay, whence he went to London, where he joined Messrs Green and Wigram's line of sailing ships, and sailed in the “Minerva” for Hong Kong. When 400 miles from her destination, the “Minerva” ran on a coral reef where she stuck fast with a crew of forty-nine hands. After experiencing a cyclone, and being exposed to all weathers for seven days and nights, lashed to the masts and rigging, the survivors, seven in number, were gallantly rescued by a Chinese crew on board a junk, that happened to sight them in their perilous position, and were taken to Hong Kong. Mr. Rennie was not long ashore, but soon shipped as ship's carpenter on a Government merchant vessel trading on the Yellow river, and was in her for nine months. He afterwards joined another junk bound from Foo Chow for Ngasurku. While in Japan he joined the ship “Land O' Cakes” and sailed for London, where he worked at the building trade until he joined the ship “Arabia Castle,” in which he sailed to the West Indies, Brazil, and La Plata. While at the latter place he witnessed a fight between a blockade runner, the “Rio Blanco,” and the Brazilian navy. The “Rio Blanco,” which was carrying stores to Paraguay, sank two men-of-war. On once more returning to London Mr. Rennie gave up seafaring, and went back to Scotland, where he spent twelve months working at his trade as a builder. In 1879 he decided to settle in New Zealand, took a passage in the sailing ship “Waitara,” and after an uneventful voyage, landed in Lyttelton. Since then Mr. Rennie has been engaged in the building trade.