RETIREMENT REGRETTED

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 March 1939, Page 4

RETIREMENT REGRETTED

L TRIBUTE TO MR. G. MeNAMARA ; [PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, March 9. The retirement of Mr. G. McNamara, ; Director-General of the Post and Tele- . graph Department, has been announced by the Postmaster-General, Mr. Jones. Mr. McNamara will begin his leave on retirement on March 31. when he will have completed 42i’ years’ service. “I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my appreciation of the action of Mr. McNamara in agreei ing to the Government’s request to continue in his position after giving notice of his intention to retire on completion of 40 years’ service.” said Mi-. Jones, in an interview. “It was felt that his long and varied experience would be of great benefit to the Government in connection with his own Department, and that he would also be able to render helpful advice on other departmental and allied matters. At his own request the position was again reviewed in August last, and he was asked to retain his position till the end of this month. “Since my appointment as Post-master-General, 1 have been in close personal touch with Mr. McNamara, and I can testify without hesitation to his organising ability and to his possession of a wonderful knowledge of the various branches of the great department of which he has been permanent head for so many years. It is to me a matter of regret that the Government and the. country arc soon to lose his valuable services in an official capacity, and 1 trust that he will long enjoy his retirement.” Till the expiration of the leave on retirement of Mr. McNamara, his position will be automatically filled under the law by the Deputy-DirectoJ-General. Mr. J. G. Young, who was appointed to his present position on November J last.

Mr. McNamara was born in Invercargill in 1881. He was educated tit Park School, and on the conclusion of his primary course he studied for some time under Rev. James Henry. He entered the Post and Telegraph Department in 189(1 and has served in every branch of the service. After a year on the counter side in Dunedin. he was transferred in 1908 to the General Post Office in Wellington, where he was associated with Mr. A. T. Markman, the former secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department, in staff work till 1920. when he was appointed second assistant secretary. On Mr. Markman’s retirement Mr. McNamara succeeded him as secretary. The title of the office was later changed to that of director-general. Mr. McNamara accompanied Mr.

Adam Hamilton, then Postmaster- ! General, to Sydney in 1935 to discuss the preliminaries of the Empire air | mail scheme, and subsequently attendled a conference in Wellington at (which Britain and Australia were repI resented. Mr. McNamara was New 1 Zealand’s representative at the IniI perial Cables and 'Wireless conference I in Loudon in 1937, when the opportun- J ity was taken of advancing the Em- ( pirc air service between England and , New Zealand.