Mr A. E. G. LYTTLE Life of service to farm groups

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34151, 12 May 1976, Page 29

Mr A. E. G. LYTTLE Life of service to farm groups

Mr Alfred Ernest Garfield Lyttle, who died in Christchurch on Tuesday at the age of 86 years, gave the best part of a lifetime’s service to farmers’ organisations in North Canterbury.

Before he retired in the mid 1960 s he had served for more than 40 years as provincial secretary for the Farmers’ Union and its successor, Federated Farmers, in North Canterbury’. When he retired the president of North Canterbury Federated Farmers at the time, Mr A. C. Wright, said that no man in North Canterbury had done more for the cause of the farmer than Mr Lyttle. The son of a farmer and schoolteacher, Mr Lyttle was born at Waikaia in Southland. After leaving school he worked on his grandmother’s farm, then from 1905 to 1913 he worked for J. G. Ward and Company, Ltd, grain and seed merchants, of Gore.

Returning to the land, he had a dairy farm at Charlton aear Gore for 10 years before coming to Christchurch n 1923 to join his brother n a public accountancy business. While on his farm Mr Lyttle was a member of the Farmers’ Union in Southland. In Christchurch he became branch manager of the Otago Farmers’ Union Mutual Fire Insurance Association and later of the Farm Accounting Association. In 1955 he gave up these positions and subsequently devoted his energies exclusively to Federated Farmers.

Mr Lyttle became provincial secretary of the Farmers’ Union in July, 1924, and when Federated Farmers was formed in 1945 he carried on in the same position until 1965. For about 20 years from its inception in 1936 Mr Lyttle was secretary of the Canterbury District Pig Council, and during World War II he had the added responsibility of the secretaryship of the North Canter-

bury Primary Production Council.

Because of his deep involvement in farming matters he had little time for outside interests, but for many years he was an employers’ representative on the board of managers of the Christchurch Technical College. For many years he was also honorary treasurer and a member of the board of the Christchurch Young Men’s Christian Association, and'in 1941-42 he was president of the New Zealand Institute of Secretaries. Shortly after his retirement, the Queen honoured Mr Lyttle with an M.B.E. in 1966.

Mr Lyttle’s wife died a number of years ago, and he is survived by a daughter, Mrs Lois Mulholland, of Darfield, and two sons, Messrs A. E. (Bert) Lyttle and D. A. (Derek) Lyttle, both of Christchurch.