WORK APPRECIATED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 53, Issue 132, 16 March 1933, Page 3

WORK APPRECIATED

SERVICES TO ACCLIMATISATION. i MR T. C. A. HARLE HONOURED. ANGLERS VOICE TRIBUTES. Appreciation of liis services to the Ashburton Acclimatisation Society, of which he is president, and to anglers throughout tiie County was shown to Mr T. G. A. Earle last evening when a complimentary dinner was tendered to him in the Commercial Hotel, the dining-room of which was filled to capacity. It was the instrumentality of Mr Harle that the Society has lately launched out to the hatching of its own stock for rivers and lakes in its district and in the rearing of pheasants which are to be liberated at intervals in cer- ' tain suitable localities to provide sport for guns in the not far distant future. Excellent progress has been made by the Society -under the guidance of Mr Harle, so much so that the work being carried out drew; the 'attention of fhe New Zealand Fresh Water Research Committee, at whose request the Society has collected a great deal of scientific data that will be of inestimable value in years to come. Mr Harle has been president of the Society for two years. He lias been manager of the Ashburton branch of the Union Bank of Australia, and will leave next Wednesday ox* Thursday for Wellington to take up duty as subinspector to the bank. ' As the oldest member of the Society, Mr A. O. Pilbrow presided and he had with him Messrs A. Millichamp, \ J. Donn, and H. G. Kemp (members of the Council), Professor J. Percival (director of the Fresh Water Research Committee) and Mr A. W. Parrott (biologist to the Committee), both of whom have caiTied out & good deal of investigation in Ashburton County. Extraordinary Results. The chairman said the work that had been accomplished under Mr Harle’s presidency would live for ever. He had overcome all manner of difficulties and the results achieved had been extraordinary. Mr Pilbrow said he joined the Society in 1891, when there were not more than a dozen members. He referred to the early days of the Society and said that most of the work now done by the Society was carried out by private people throughout the County. The Society had been born out of the 1 North Canterbury Society in 1886, and, in those days there was great difficulty of access to the rivers, which had fo be reached over private property. The Society had' then carried out negotiations that had led to the formation of roads leading to the mouths of the rivers. The assembly that evening had to offer its congratulations to Mr Harle on his promotion and to thank him for the excellent work he had done for the Society. Zane Grey was known all over the world for his angling exploits, but Ashburton had a “Zane Grey” of its own. (Applause.) Mr Harle’s work was well known. On behalf of his friends the chairman handed to Mr Harle a small token of their esteem and appreciation. Congratulations on Promotion. Mr W. C. Smith said that Mr Harle, as an angler and as a businessman, was one of the best of men to meet, and his friends were proipl of his promotion, which they realised was only'a stepping stone to greater things. Ashburton’s loss would be the gain of the bankmg institutions under his care throughout New Zealand. He had always been ready to give advice to anglers on the rivers. They felt they were losing a friend and a brother. Mr E. W. M. Cole said they were all in agreement with what had been said about Mr Harle. His statements did not have to be put in writing. It was a pleasure to know him. Mr N. L. Wood expressed appreciation of Mr Harle’s work and wished him success in his future work, and similar sentiments were expressed by Mr R. A, Collins. Pleasure in His Work. Replying, Mr Harle said he felt veiy humble after hearing all that had been said. He was .very sorry indeed to have to leave Ashburton, where he had spent 5-i- exceedingly happy years. In pursuit of happiness he had done some fishing and some shooting and what he had done for the Acclimatisation Society he had found a great pleasure. One, at a time like the present, must not overlook the early stalwarts of the Society, and heading the list of these men were Messrs Augustus Shury, J. C. Scldon, J. M. Cambridge, P. Cox and Sir William Steward. They had their fights in those days, no less than, they had in the present day, hut what would happen if they did not have differences of opinion? Mr Harle went on to refer to some of the bright spots in the early days of the Society, and said it had been an honour to follow' in the steps of these men. There were some things that were vex-y dear to his heart, such as the hatchery, the first suggestion regarding which had come from Mr Donn. The propagation of pheasants in the district was another of his visions and thanks to the voluntary w'ork being carried out at Tinwald by Mr Cornish, the Society would soon liberate 400 birds a year in suitable districts. Sporting Facilities. In Ashburton County, ho added, there , were 2500 square miles of wonderful sporting country. The County had fishing waters unparalleled in New Zealand, and he instanced Lakes Clearwater, Emma and Heron. Thero were years of work ahead of the Society before it could say it had completed its programme. Ini the immediate past the Society had concentrated its activities on the Ashburton River, as being the nearest to the Society’s centre. This had been done with the hope that in the future it would attract anglers from all over New Zealand. It could be built up in four or five years to be

the iin'est dry-fly river in the Dominion. Wiclx regard to the larger rivers, he said these would have to be stocked with yearlings rather than kith fry as had been the case with the Ashburton River. The answer to the question as to w'here the large fish of former days had gone was summed up in the fact that in these days, with motoi'-cars and good roads giving greater accessibility, there were many more anglers and the fish were not allowed to grow. He concluded by expressing his thanks for the kindly wishes that had been voiced that night and for their present, which would travel round New Zealand with him. Proposing the toast of the work of acclimatisation, Air G. H. Hefford said the thanks of the anglers were due to the Council for its interest in the research side of the work. „ Replying, Professor Percival paid a tribute to the work of Mr Harle, and said this work had played a very big part in the programme of the Research Committee, whose aim in the first place was to interest anglers individually in the work, and the sympathy of these people had been increasing steadily. The Committee had jumped at the opportunity of assisting the Society in its hatchery work. The part played by the Ashburton Society already had been of great value and it had given a lead to other societies. The example it had set would be followed by others, especially in the North Island. The work of investigation rested largely on the support given by individual anglers, a portion of whose license fee went to assist the Committee. The aim was to set a scheme of management for fishing rivers so that there would be a large nunibei* of small fish for a large number of anglers, which, in his opinion, was much better than a small number of'large fish for a small nunibei of anglers. It had amazed him at fiist to find how little the angler knew about the fish he was chasing, but knowledge was rapidly increasing. He had been greatly interested in the wonderful fish which ran up to Lake Heron to spawn. That lake was one that would haye to be properly stocked in the near future and care would have to be exercised. Societies elsewhere had been amazed at the success of the Ashburton Society in transporting fish, work which had previously been held to he impossible. With the start that had been made, the Ashburton area should ere long he one of the finest fishing areas in New Zealand. Air Parrott said the work started by Air Harle was on the right lines and he hoped sincerely that it would be carried on. It had been of the greatestassistance to the Committee. Items on the,programme were given by Alessrs J. Browne, C. Aloller, G. d’Auvergne, and A. C. Wilson.