A Long Life, Well Lived

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28650, 29 July 1958, Page 10

A Long Life, Well Lived

By the death of Mr William Hugh Montgomery, C.8.E., of Little River, Canterbury has lost one of the last among the dwindling company of its pioneers; and a link is breached with the formative years of New Zealand’s national history. Mr Montgomery’s was a long, full life, encompassing most of the outstanding events and social movements that have made the country what it is today. He exemplified one of the finest traditions that his forbears translated from the Old World to the Antipodes: the use of individual talents and materia] advantages not solely for personal benefit, hut rather for the welfare of the community at large. In accordance with this tradition, Mr Montgomery, after being grounded in the best type of liberal English university education, returned to his parents’ adoptive land to contribute to the leadership that meant so much to the young colony’s development Because of his capacities and opportunities, he was able to participate prominently in both local and national

government; and he survived to enjoy the distinction of being

the Dominion’s oldest former Parliamentarian. Gifted with considerable foresight, he was an early advocate of a pensions system; of the subdivision of large estates in the interests of closer settlement and increased production; of the preservation of natural beauty; and of afforestation schemes. His interests were so wide that, in addition to politics, education, public health, art, natural history, and young people’s welfare were enriched by his experience and ability. He enjoyed the personal acquaintance of many whose names are imperishably written in the national history; and he outlived his political contemporaries to see many of his dreams materialise. Within his heme district, his name will be perpetuated by Montgomery Park, a fine tract of native bush which he presented to the Wairewa County Council. In a much wider context, however, it can be said that Canterbury and New Zealand are the better for his having lived. Indeed, without men of his calibre and vision, New Zealand could have achieved little of the remarkable progress maintained during the last 120 years.