NZ's oldest immigrant dies

New Zealand's oldest immigrant, 104-year-old Eric King-Turner, has died in Nelson.

Mr King-Turner was 102 when he left his home near Southampton, England, to move here with his New Zealand-born wife Doris, now 90, with whom he had lived in Britain for 12 years.

The retired dentist arrived in Wellington on the Saga Rose cruise ship in February 2008 to a media frenzy.

Mrs King-Turner met her husband while researching her ancestry. Despite sharing the same last name they were not related, but decided to meet anyway.

Mr King-Turner's first wife Joan died in 1991 and Doris's first husband in 1993.

The couple toured New Zealand together for two weeks when they realised they were in love and decided to marry.

Mr King-Turner suffered a stroke at the Mapua, Nelson, home he shared with his wife, and died in Nelson Hospital on Sunday.

- NZPA