On, At Great Age of 88
p. 16 · Read in the full issue
Mr. W. W. Bolton Passes On, At Great Age of 88
DEEP regret was expressed among all classes of people in Tahiti when it was known that the scholarly old Englishman, Mr. W. W. Bolton, MA, had passed away, on Sunday, July 28, at the great age of 88. He had lived in retire ment in Tahiti for many years, and had devoted himself to historical research, so that he became an authority on the early history of the Pacific Islands gen erally, and of French Oceania in par-
ticular. Many of Mr.
Bolton’s articles were published in the Paci fic Islands Monthly; and on several occa sions we referred to him, quite success fully, difficult in quiries on Pacific his tory which we had received from learned bodies in other coun tries.
After he had passed 80, Mr. Bolton cele brated his birthdays by going off on a long hike, through the de lightful countryside.
He usually wrote, for us, a cheery message, at the conclusion of his 30 or 40 miles’ tramp. This picture is a snapshot 'taken on his 88th birthday, a few weeks before he died.
Mr. Bolton was loved by all who knew him. One old
friend writes; “The gentle serenity of his spirit commanded the affection of all who came within its companionship. I once asked him: ‘How do you sustain your charity of judgment, your purity of ideal, your serenity, in a world that is crashing about us?’ He replied; ‘Be cause, my dear friend, I have a song in my heart.’ ”