There is more in this for the New Zealander than meets the eye.
The lady referred to is Mrs McGregor, who resided in New Zealand many years ago, and the acquisition to her fortune reads like a romance.
It was in 1875 that Mr and Mrs McGregor, with their family, left Invercargill on their return to Scotland. Back in Scotland, Mr McGregor came into some property under a will, and, dying not many years later, left it to be administered by his widow.
Meanwhile, her son had taken up land on the Malay Peninsula and planted rubber.
He proved an excellent manager of native labour, and his mother was able to provide the necessary capital from time to time to secure the best Para rubber plants for the property.
In those days rubber was not the desideratum it has since become, and at length, when there were still no signs of the property becoming financially successful.
Though over 70 years of age, she set out to make a personal inspection of the plantation.
Everything was satisfactory except that the world was not using enough rubber.
Hardly had she returned to England, however, when rubber commenced to "move".
People began to look about for properties, to plant feverishly and to buy shares where no rubber was.
Mrs McGregor's day had come.
Her shrewd foresight had been justified, and her shares in the company are now worth about 1,000,000. She is a wonderfully active old lady, looking a quarter of a century less than her age. - ODT, 10.5.1910.
