OBITUARY.

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 March 1911, Page 5

OBITUARY.

EDWARD IYEAGH LORD. ; The town of Greymouth has lost an excellent public official, a good friend and a faithful and zealous administrator in the death of Edward Iveagh Lord, who only last week retired from the most trustworthy positions of Borough Engineer, Treasurer and Town Clerk. He passed awa.y quietly last night in the presence of his wife and two sons, who will have the sympathy of the entire -community in their sad bereavement. The late much respected gentleman had. lived a life of usefulness and hard work, his talents as an engineer never having much rest but always being invoked for the good of the community in which he resided. He was born near Hobart in 1843, his grandfather, Captain Edward Lord, R.N., having held the position of Acting Governor of Tasmania for the two years of 1810-12. Mr Lord gained his education at the High School, Hobart, and was subsequently articled to a firm of civil engineers where the distinction he won at the High School stood him in good stead and enabled him to pass his examination in Civil Engineering successfully. He then secured an appointment in Auckland, where lie was engaged in surveying land for the military settlers and continued in this employment till the war interrupted these operations when he returned to his home in Tasmania. Returning to this colony he secured an engagement to survey prospecting, tracks in the Westland province where he was engaged for some time and did excellent work, covering fully two hundred miles of country and thus enabling miners to exploit the bulk of the country.' The Public Works Department were then engaged in laying off several important water-races and were glad to secure the services of so efficient a surveyor and Mr. Lord was engaged on this work till 1875 when he accepted the position of District Surveyor at Greymouth and held the position for ten years, when it was abolished. A few years later he was appointed Borough Engineer for this town, a position he held witli credit to himself and the town for twenty-four years. Seven years subsequently he was given the dual position of Town Clerk and Borough Treasurer, which he held ever since. He also acted as Engineer to the Kanieri Water-race Company and the Greenstone Sluicing Company during that time. He was also a director of the Gas Company till it was taken over by the Borough Council. ■

- Among the many works of a permanent nature that Mr. Lord has designed in Greymouth are the sewerage scheme, the water works and the general scheme of town improvement that has been carried on by degrees as the funds were forthcoming. His architectural knowledge is shown in the Municipal block of buildings, the abattoirs, the State School and many other works which he designed and carried out. He acted as secretary to the Greymouth Fire Board since its inception. In addition to his public duties he was an ardent supporter of primary and secondary education and his services as a member of the Grey Education Board, and on several occasions on the School Committee, were given without fee or reward. At the time of his death he was a member of the High School Board of Governors. He always took a lively interest in the progress of the harbor works and was keenly interested in the proposed deep sea harbor at Point Elizabeth, which he held to be essential to the development of the coal industry. As a private citizen Mr. Lord was ever ready to assist in social matters and no deserving case of charity eve?was passed over by him, the principle of the left hand not knowing what the right did being his entirely. He was a Past Master of the Greymouth Masonic Lodge, E. C., and a distinguished member of the Royal Arch Chapter, in which he formerly took an active part. Generally speaking his life and actions were of a phenomenally busy character. He was a member of the Greymouth High School Board of Governors, a director of the Permanent Building Society and Evening Star Company at the time of his death, each of which bodies will mourn the loss of a wise counsellor and friend.