Obituary Mr F. J. Kearns
Mr Francis John Kearns, the deputy direc-tor-general / deputy sur-veyor-general of the Department of Survey and Land Information, has died.
Mr Kearns was born in Westport in 1933. He received his secondary school education in Christchurch at St. Bede’s College. He later moved to Hokitika, where he joined the Department of Lands and Survey as a draughting cadet in 1952. Mr Kearns spent the next six years in Wellington and Christchurch as a survey cadet. After registering as a surveyor in 1959, he spent several years in Western Samoa where he was later appointed Director of Lands.
On his return to New Zealand he held senior positions with the department in Whangarei (senior surveyor), Christchurch (inspecting surveyor and land transfer surveyor) and Wellington (chief surveyor and assistant surveyor-general). As deputy director-gen-eral/deputy surveyor-gen-eral, Mr Kearns played a central role in the establishment of the new De-
partment' of Survey and Land Information. He was responsible for a number of initiatives relating to Government policy, including the establishment of land allocation records and the documentation for Maori land claims. Mr Kearns was also a keen sportsman throughout his life. At St. Bede’s College he was a noted long jumper, setting a Canterbury intersecondary school long jumping record in 1951. Later he represented Westland in softball and cricket and also Christchurch in athletics.
More recently, he was a prominent member of the New Zealand Association of Veteran Athletics. In 1987 he competed in the World Veteran Track and Field Championships at Melbourne.' In the 1 ast few months, Mr Kearns set new provincial records in the 100 m and 200 m track events in the Wellington Veteran Athletes Championships, as well as winning the long jump in his age group. Mr Kearns is survived by his wife and eight children.
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Press, 1 June 1989, Page 26
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301Obituary Mr F. J. Kearns Press, 1 June 1989, Page 26
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