BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 1, 3 January 1933, Page 3

BIOGRAPHICAL DETAILS.

SIR ALEXANDER GRAY. One of the most distinguished members of the New Zealand Bar, Sir Alexander Gray, was educated at Wellington College, and was articled to the Rt. Hon. Sir Francis Bell (then Mr. F. H. D. Bell) at the start of his legal career. After being admitted to the Bar in 1881, he first practised at Oreytown, and subsequently I returned to Wellington, with the establishment of the legal firm of Campbell and Gray. Sir Alexander was president of the Wellington Law Society, and in 1920, on the elevation of the late Sir Charles Skerrett to the Chief Justiceship, he was appointed president of the New Zealand Law Society. Chairman on three occasions of the Legal Conference, Sir Alexander was also a member of the Auckland Hospital Inquiry Commission, and lias been counsel in a long list of prominent eases in Wellington for many years pa6t. He is tlie youngest son of the late Mr. William Gray, sen., one time secretary of the Post Office. SIR WILLIAM PERRY. Born at Penrose, Masterton, 69 yeai-s ago, Sir William Perry has for 46 years been a prominent sheepfarmcr and breeder in the Wairarapa. He is an authority on Lineolns and Romneys, and has written a book on sheepfarming in New Zealand. A past-president of the Masterton A. and P. Association, lie has been president of the Royal Agricultural Society since its inception in 1924, and is also a member of the Meat Board, the Board of Agriculture, "the Agricultural College Council and a director of the Masterton Frozen Meat Co. For 16 years he was chairman of the Wairarapa County Council. Educated at Masterton, Sir William, in his younger days was a prominent Rugby footballer, and gained provincial representative honours. MR. R. S. FORSYTH. A long and successful business experience in Xew Zealand with the National Mortgage and Agency Co. stands to the credit of Mr. R. S. Forsyth, C.M.G., who has now spent about nine years in London on behalf of the New Zealand Meat Producers' Board. As a result of his knowledge of the meat trade and overseas conditions, he was appointed a member of the Imperial Economic Committee, and his work in that connection prompted his appointment by the British Government

as New Zealand representative in London on the Empire Marketing Board. It is generally recognised that the meat producers of New Zealand owe much to the efficient manlier in which Mr. Forsyth performed his duties on their behalf. MR. JAMES MARCHBANKS. Expert knowledge on commissions and association with railway construction work in New Zealand, have gained prominence for Mr. James Marchbanks, C.M.G., who in May last retired from the position of general manager of the Wellington Harbour Board after 23 years' service. Mr. Marchbanks was born in Dunedin, and joined the Public Works i Department in 1878, becoming six years later, assistant engineer in the Otago district. Much railway construction work, 1 especially tunnelling,, came under his supervision. Joining the now defunct Weilington-Manawatii Railway Co. in IS9O. he eventually rose to the position of manager. Subsequently Mr. Marchbanks became associated with the Wellington Harbour Board. His services have been utilised on several commissions in recent years, including that which investigated Palmerstoil North railway facilities in 1.921. Ho was chairman of the Auckland Harbour Bridge Commission iti 1930. MR. G. P. NEWTON. Up to the time of his retirement, Mr. G. P. Newton, C.8.E., was one of the most popular and efficient heads of the Public Service. Born in Victoria he came to New Zealand in 1803, and joined the Public Service at an early age, being first associated with the Education and then the Legislative Departments. Mr. Newton was subsequently appointed a temporary clerk in the Internal Affairs Department, then known as the Colonial Secretary's Office, and rose to the position of Assistant Under-Secretary and Deputy Clerk of Writs in 1912. "From 1928 until his retirement in 1931 he held the position of Under-Secretary and Clerk of Writs. Mr. Newton was also a member of the Town Planning Board.