Final farewell to oldest emigrant (From Daily Echo)
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Britain's oldest emigrant Eric King-Turner dies in New Zealand
3:57pm Friday 6th November 2009 in News
Eric King-Turner and wife Doris
HE made waves around the world by becoming Britain’s oldest emigrant.
But nearly two years after leaving Hampshire for New Zealand at the grand old age of 103, Eric King-Turner has died.
Eric and his wife Doris, who was 87 at the time, made headlines across the globe when they set sail on a luxury cruise from Southampton to start a new life in New Zealand.
After the Daily Echo broke the story, the pair, with a combined age of 189, arrived in Wellington to a tickertape welcome.
From then on Eric became a celebrity in his adopted country and was famous for his love of fly-fishing.
But he suffered a stroke at his South Island home and died in hospital on Sunday aged 104.
New Zealand-born Doris, now 90, called her husband a “thorough English gentleman”.
She said: “He only managed to get his new fishing licence last week. He intended to go fishing in the Motueka River as soon as we got a nice, fine day. Only that was no longer to be.”
The duo, who were both widowed, swapped their retirement flat in Titchfield for a bungalow overlooking Tasman Bay. It took them five months of paperwork before they settled in the South Island.
When they set foot on New Zealand soil in 2008, Eric – a former Royal Navy serviceman and dentist – had entered the record books as the country’s oldest immigrant and Britain’s oldest emigrant.
He later attributed his old age to his family’s history of longevity, a good balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, and a tot of gin a day.
Though he said he missed some aspects of his homeland, he said he had no regrets about moving 12,000 miles for a new life.
Doris, who married Eric in New Zealand 13 years ago, added: “He liked the climate, particularly Nelson, the country and the people.
“ H e was a very lovely-hearted man. He enjoyed life and made the most of it. We were very happy.”
A funeral service took place at a church near Nelson at 2pm New Zealand time – 2am GMT – today.
