OBITUARY

Dominion, Volume 33, Issue 98, 19 January 1940, Page 13

OBITUARY

Mr. Joseph E. Widdop The death occurred in Wellington recently of Mr. Joseph Edward Widdop, aged 65, who retired from the Railways Department in 1929 after -10 years' service. He was a brother of the late Mr. F. C. Widdop, a former chief engineer of railways, who died in Wellington it few months ago. Mr. J. E. Widdop-first worked in the Government Insurance Department and from there transferred to the Stamps Department. His first position with the Railways Department was in the locomotive engineer’s office at Petone in 1889, but he was soon transferred to the Head Office, where he had remained till his retirement from the position of chief of the records. Mr. Widdop had a long service in a position which was one of the most confidential in the department. He worked under two sets of Railway Commissioners and then under successive general managers (Messrs. Ronayne, Hiley and McVilley), then under the Railway Board, and finally under Mr. H. H. Sterling. All his life Mr. Widdop was keenly interested in sport, particularly athletics, rowing, football and, later, bowls. • His record in rowing ,was unique. For 36 years he was associated with the Star Boating Club, and he was also a member of the Wellington Football Club. After his rowing days he continued to give-valuable service as a member of the Wellington Rowing Association and of the New Zealand Rowing Council. After his retirement, Mr. Widdop became keenly interested in bowling, and as the popular secretary of the Kelburn Bowling Club was well known among bowlers in the Wellington centre. He was also a member of the Masonic and Oddfellows Lodges. He is survived by his wife and one daughter.

Mr. F. C. Brown

The death occurred in Wellington on Wednesday of Mr. Frederick Charles Brown, formerly chief poultry instructor of the Department of Agriculture, a position from which he retired in 1935. Mr. Brown was in charge of the poultry section at the Seacliff Mental Hospital in the eighties under the late Sir Truby King, under whom he received a good training in practical poultry keeping. He considered that Sir Truby was one of the greatest poultry pioneers in New Zealand.

Mr. Brown joined the Department of Agriculture in 1902, and his first position was the temporary management of the department’s poultry station at Milton, Otago. He was then lent to the Mental Hospitals Department and spent some time at the Porirua Mental Hospital. His duties took him to the Moumahaki, Burnham, and Ruakura poultry’ stations. After being placed in charge of the Milton poultry station again, he was appointed as assistant poultry expert under Mr. D. D. Hyde, who was then chief poultry expert and is still living in Wellington. . In 1904 Mr. Brown was lent by the department to an association at Blenheim, which controlled the first egg-lay-ing competition of 100 pens of six birds each. All this was pioneer work. In the same year a competition was established in Christchurch of about 30 pens. This formed the basis of the present noted New Zealand Utility Poultry Club, which conducts extensive competitions at Papanui, Christchurch. In 1906 Mr. Brown took charge of an extensive poultry exhibit at the Christchurch Exhibition. Two years later he visited Australia and brought back more than 100 utility fowls of various breeds and varieties for the department. Later he revisited Australia and brought back to New Zealand a large consignment of birds, the progeny of which were distributed throughout the Dominion. When Mr. Hyde retired, Mr. Brown was made poultry instructor. In 1915, as the work had increased beyond his capacity to deal with it, Mr. Cusseu was appointed his assistant, and Mr. Brown was appointed chief poultry instructor. He leaves a widow and two sons.