Fibre Industry Engineer

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30396, 21 March 1964, Page 1

Fibre Industry Engineer

The civil engineer responsible.for the siting and r construction of 16 lineij . flax. factories- in the South' Island 'during ".thee Second' World '• War ' will -retire from’ the.. Ministry of Works oh March ; 31 after 27’ years’ service. Jle is, Mr F. D. Grant; assistant chief civil - engineer in Wellington since 1963. . ■ ,; ‘ Mr Grant joined the Ministry of Works at 'Balchitha in 1937 after experience as < county engineer in Hawke’s Bay and Otago. ’ . -<g&. .When stationed in Christchurch he did outstanding work developing the New Zealand linen flax industry r

under (he direction of the Department of Agriculture. ; The industry, starting from virtually nothing, produced tqore Itnen fibre for Britain during the war than any other British! country. ’ •' When be returned to' the Ministry of. Works, Mr Grant was ’acting district. engineer in Christchurch "from. 1942 -to 1945, and was concerned withthe - development .of aero, dromes. Then he had to work on the combined irrigation and power scheme at HighbOnk, and the. -Tekapo power pro■jCCt.* -z: ' . .-In 1948 Mr Grant went to': Wellington where he became acting chief engineer to theMain Highways; Board. He returned to ; Christchurch ip "1951 as assistant district engineer for Canter-1 bury and the West Coast. 1b 1955 he became district.

.comhrissioner of' works, in Dunedin. He went to Wellington in 1960 as inspecting enIgineer. -■ <