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Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 21, 25 July 1939, Page 7

Retiring at the end of this month, Dr. J. W. Mcllraith, chief inspector of primary schools, was met by some 160 members of the Education Department in the D.I.C. tearooms yesterday afternoon. Tributes'-to bis work were paid by a number of speakers; and the departmental staff presented him with a handsome canteen of cutlery. .On behalf of the primary school inspectors, a-presentation was made to him of a gold wristlet watch. The Director of Education, Mr. N. T. Lambourne, presided, and among the guests were the Minister of "Education (the Hon. P. Fraser) and Mrs. Fraser, representatives of the Wellington ■ Education Board, the primary and secondary schools' inspectorate, and other branches of the Department. "I feel that in Dr. Mcllraith we have had an unusually able colleague," said Mr. Lambourne. "There has not been any more popular officer in the Department or in the Public Service. Dr. Mcllraith had a very distinguished career as a student in Canterbury University College, and was one of the first New Zealand graduates to be awarded the very high degree of Doctor of Literature. His thesis on 'Forced Prices in Itfew Zealand,' a masterly and scholarly work, won unstinted. praise. Previously he obtained/the degrees of Master of Arts anfl' Bachelor; of Laws. He, has also written a good deal on economics and other subjects." 'Dr. Mcllraith had been senior inspector successively in Hawke's Bay, Wellington, and Auckland, -and in all of those districts he had been a great help to the teachers. In 1933, he came to the Department as chief inspector of primary schools, and for the past six .years had worked without stint in the interest of education. His brilliant' mind,- keen analytical faculty, ability as a writer, and skill in choosing a happy phrase had made him invaluable as an executive officer. Dr. Mcllraith had always been keenly interested ih • the work of the WJiA., and some years ago had been a very much valued and much sought-after lecturer. From its inception, he had also been interested in the Civil Service Institute, and wasa recent president of that body. As a-member of the Road Safety Council, he had shown the keenest interest in doing all he could to protect children from the dangers of road and street traffic. Next week, when he would leave Wellington to live in Auckland, Dr. Mcllraith would take with him the best wishes of every officer of tlie Department for a long and happy, retirement.for himself and Mrs. Mcllraith. ' . . Expressing the good wishes of himself and his colleagues, Mr. E. J. Parr, chief inspector of secondary schools, r^erred to Dr. Mcllraith's early prowess as a debater and his bent for writing. All would missf Dr. Mcllraith, who had always been a very pleasant officer to work for and with, he said. , The chairman of the Wellington Education Board, Mr. W. V. Dyer, expressed the. appreciation of the board and its staff for Dr, Mcllraith's work while senior inspector for the board. MINISTER'S EULOGY. After expressing regret at the inspector's retirement; Mr. Fraser said that during his short period as Minister his previous high opinion of Dr. Mcllraith had .been heightened and strengthened. "His reputation as an economist dates back to 1909 and his work as an educationist is well known," said Mr. Fraser. "As an inspector he did not consider that it was his job to be an inquisitor and from hundreds of teachers has come testimony of the help anc encouragement he gave them." After Mr. Lambourne had presented Dr. Mcllrait^ with a canteen of cutlery Mr. D. Macaskill, senior inspector for the Wellington district, presented him with a golf 1 wristlet watch on behalf of the primary school inspectors of the Dominion. He paid a tribute to Dr. Mcllraith as a facile writer and one of those, rare humorists who had the faculty of enjoying a joke against himself. He had left a defjriite mark on the teaching in the districts in which he had been senior inspector, the only trouble being that he had been about 15 years ahead of his time. Thanking the gathering for the gifts and kind expressions of appreciation, Dr. Mcllraith said that he was only sorry that an unbreakable engagement had prevented his wife being present. His six years in Wellington had been very pleasantly spent and he would carry away with him not one single unpleasant memory! He would be breaking away from the tyranny of the alarm clock and, in fact, he was giving up his living in order to be able to live his, own life. yThe gifts he had received would serveTto recall the time he had spent in co-operation with the finest company of men and women it would be possible to meet and the present gathering would always live in his memory.