Former agricultural officer dead

Press, 10 May 1979, Page 14

Former agricultural officer dead

The death occurred on Tuesday of a well known former officer of the Ministry of Agriculture in Christchurch, Mr Alan Richard Dingwall. He was 70.

Mr Dingwall was regional advisory officer of the Ministry in Christchurch when he retired at the end of August, 1973, after serving in the province since 1949.

He was highly regarded both inside and outside the Ministry as a quiet and unassuming but efficient officer.

Graduating bachelor of agricultural science from Massey College in 1931 at a time of depression, Mr Dingwall worked on farms and spent a year selling and servicing radios until in 1936 he joined the old Department of Agriculture as assistant instructor at the Ruakura farming training school, which is now the site of the Rua kura Agricultural Research Centre in Waikato.

In March, 1938, he was appointed instructor in agriculture at Wanganui and remained there until he moved to Christchurch in 1949 as assistant fields superintendent, except for a period during World War II when he was in charge of a services vegetable production area between Ohakune and Raw tahi. After the death of Mr C.

C. Leitch, Mr Dingwall became fields superintendent in the department in Christchurch in November, ,1955, and in September, 1972, after the amalgamation of the farm advisory and horticultural divisions of the Ministry he became regional advisory officer in Canterbury. From 1955 to 1971, Mr Dingwall was departmental representative on the North Canterbury Nassella Tussock Board and on the North Canterbury Catchment Board from 1965 until 1971. He was also chairman of the interdepartmental committee on nassella for a number of years and served on the inter-departmental com-

mittee on irrigation in Canterbury, He had been president of both the Grasslands’ Association and the Weed and Pest Control Society and served on the executives of both organisations. From 1966 to 1970, he was also a member of the Grasslands Memorial Trust and in 1968 he was made a fellow of the Institute of Agricultural Science.

On the day that illness overtook him at the beginning of last week, Mr Dingwall was working on behalf of the institute, having been asked to set up a committee to oversee the raising of funds for an award for secondary school agricultural projects. He was driving to Lincoln at the time.

He is survived by his wife, a son, and two daughters.