VALEDICTORY

Grey River Argus, 9 August 1919, Page 3

VALEDICTORY

* 1 MR AND MKS J. MARTIN. 1 Last evening there was a full attendance of the Greyntouth Post and Telegraph Office Staff at p valedictory i; gathering in the mailroonx the occas-'^' ion beinj.; that of a farewell to Mr Ji '£ T. Martin (officer in charge of the : 'H. mailroom) who, having beUn promoted;^ to the post of head of the niajJroom , staff at the Christchurch Branch of th c Department, is now severing a very ■£ long association with the local office -^ dating back to the days when the staff here numbered less than a dozen -1 officers. •,.; The Chief Postmaster, Mr Bourke, '% who presided, in making a. presentation. .; to Mr Martin, spoke at some- length * Paying n high -tribute to the recipient- ' for his efficiency, courtesy and very -i creditable servic c record during the 'i lengthy period for which he had been •■ identified with the Greymouth office. ' The speaker had gained a favourable knowledge of Mr Martin before he ' 'i came here, having learned of his ca- : pacity when in Napier ant", had been aware that with ,*,ucti r|n officer ho : would be free from difficulties in mailroom matters. Mr Bourke briefly al- , ; luded to the rc-classificatibn of the Postal a,nd Telegraph staft\ stating that the arrangements made constituted „ fair amd honest attempt to reach. ', „ satisfactory settlement The Sccre- •• tary to the Department." Mr W K. -,_ Morris, was a conscientious and; c "apa- 4 ble officer, who was doing his best for ,J the service, and though there naturally, i3 were some cases where good rea- A son for dissatisfaction existed, he was ,j fiure that if due patience were shown M all inequalities would eventually be * rectified. In asking Mr Martin "to ac- i; ccpt as a. small token of their 'united Ji good wishes and; esteem a travelling ;^ rug and shaving outfit, Mr Bourke as- '1 sured him that while he would be mis- } sed from the office, ais well a s by many .^ friends, they all would be glad to hear I of his conti-nucd advancement in the service. anr\ be glad to meet him from : ; cm c to time in days tocme ••.is Mr Anson. Chief Clerk, voiced the ? feelings of the upstairs members of the '■'' staff, who regretted. the Idas of Mr '■ -t Martin, a s h e had always proved an efficidnt officer and an admirable collea- ' gue. while they were glad that he was advancing in the service and wished \ him every future success. " Mr V. C. Lawn, on behalf of th. Money Order Staff, expressed -their • goo«Y wishes towards the departing * guest. i<nd referred to the very friend- i ly relations aiway existing between • '] him and his fellow-officers. On behalf i of the local branch of the Post and ' ' Telegraph Officers' Association, he '■ also wished to say that Mr Martin, as i President of the local branch, had been 1 a painstaking and valuable officer, and J had been specially noted for the great assistance which lie had always rendered to the junior members. Mr Bowman, on behalf of the mailroom section, "said that they greatly regretted losing their chief, with whom their relations had been uniformly . most frienc'jiy, ho having been a most considerate superior, never exercising his authority with severity, and al- x ways assisting anyone needing a helpVig hand. They recognised that their .^ loss was the Christchurch mailroom's gain. 4 Mr Martin, who was received with much applause, gave an outline of the history of the' Greymouth Post Office, with which he had been connected for the best part of a lifetime ever since tlie time when the number of the staff totalled eleven. H e had always found his fellow-officers most obliging and courteous, and during his six years' charge of the mailrooiu, had found his duties a pleasure. Beginning as a messenger, he had pleasure in looking back over the period he had been on j the local staff, which had seen his duties change from that of tlie junior "1 to the third officer of the office, which he was leaving not without feelings of regret. Mr Martin, who leaves here for his new locale* on Tuesday, was. heartily applauded by the gatheiing at the conclusion. On Thursday evening some fifty odd : friends of Mrs Martin paid a surprise visit to her home, for the purpose of spending with her an evening a;nd of making her before her departure a presentation •as • a token of their friendship and esteem. The evening was devoted to euchre, music and dancing, four ofthe rooms being occupied until the "wee snia,' oors>" During the evening Mr W: B. Gilbert was called upon to make the presentation, which consisted of a "Lady Stewart" bangle ■ beautifully engraved, and in doing so "he expressed the regret of a|ll present at Mrs, Martin's -deprature, but on behalf of the large assemblage, ■ which sufficiently demonstrated the high respect in Which she was hel<\, -.. he;-wished her long life and every prosperity in her future liome. Mr Mar- . tin responded on behalf of his wite and said both regretted that they ■< were leaving the Coast and *o many f riitnds but as it was promotiion he could not turn it iW He sincerely thanked them for the present and kind wishes. * v