PROPHECY FULFILLED

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIX, Issue 122, 25 May 1945, Page 8

PROPHECY FULFILLED

SIR H. BATTERBEE'S SERVICE:| When paying tribute to the services in New Zealand of Sir Harry Batterbee, the retiring High Commissioner for the United Kingdom, at the RoyaJ Empire Society's luncheon in Wellington yesterday, the president (Mr. L. O. H. Tripp) recalled the words of the late Sir Thomas Wilford when the appointment was made. , Sir Thomas, said Mr. Tripp, had had a close acquaintance with Sir Harry while he was the Dominion's representative in London. Sir Thomas looked upon Britain's first High Commissioner in New Zealand as a wise and capable administrator, a man who could be thoroughly relied upon, and one who would make himself popular wherever he went. "All I can say," added Mr. Tripp, "is that Sir Harry has fulfilled to the letter all that Sir Thomas had to say about him. We regret the departure of both Sir Harry and Lady Batterbee, and they will be assured of the best wishes of New Zealanders wherever they go." Sir Harry, said Mr. W. J. Sim, K.C., had made a great contribution, particularly to cultural values, in the Dominion. When acknowledging the tributes, Sir Harry said that he and Lady Batterbee were leaving New Zealand with much regret, as they had regarded the Dominion as their second home.