OBITUARY.

Matamata Record, Volume XVI, Issue 1454, 28 August 1933, Page 4

OBITUARY.

MR. W. C. CARGILL.

Founder of Matamata Record.

The death occurred at ; Auckland on Saturday after a brief illness of Mr. William Clement Cargill, iof Morrinsville, managing director of the Cargill Printing and Publishing Company, Ltd., proprietors of the Matamata Record, Morrinsville Star and Putaruru Press.

Mr. Cargill, who was 63 years of age, contracted influenza a fortnight ago, and complications set in. He was removed to an Auckland private hospital on Thursday. His unexpected death came as a great shock to his family and a wide circle of friends throughout New Zealand.

In accordance with deceased’s wish expressed in writing, he was cremated in Auckland after a service had been held at which his widow and family and a few friends were present. The service was conducted by the Rev. F. W. Wilkes, vicar of Northcote, and formerly of Morrinsville.

Born in Kent, England, in 1870, Mr. Cargill was educated at Newport and Dubyich Colleges, and at Heidelberg, Germany, before coming to New Zealand. He married at Masterton Isabella Emily, daughter of the late Mr. J. Nicol, and there are three daughters of the marriage, Mrs. N. J. Howie, and .the Misses Audrey and Doreen Cargill, all of Morrinsville.

For 40 years Mr. Cargill had been connected with New Zealand journalism. For ten years from 1892 to 1902 he was proprietor of the Wairarapa Star, which later became the Wairarapa Age. From 1904 to 1908 he was proprietor of the Patea Press; and in 1911 with a partner he started the Pukekohe Times. In 1915 Mr. Cargill purchased the Morrinsville Star, which had been founded four years previously, and for the past 18 years he has guided its destinies. Two years after establishing himself in Morrinsville Mr. Cargill, with Mr. A. G. Yardley as a junior partner, gave Matamata its own newspaper. The business was formed into the Cargill Prying and Publishing Company, which further extended the activities to the publication of the Putaruru Press.

In his profession and as a printing specialist Mr. Cargill was known throughout the North Island and by many in the South. Perhaps the finest estimation of his worth in the departments of newspaper publishing and printing may be found in the fact that for many years he was on one of the ‘ sub-committees of the New Zealand Newspaper Proprietors’ Association, and in 1928 he was elected president of the New Zealand Master Printers’ Federation, a position he occupied until 1930, when he did not seek re-election. This is the highest office a craftsman printer can obtain in this country.

As an employer he was most highly respected in that he gave no man a job that he could not do himself, and that he knew what was fair. A striking testimony to the man in this respect is that the years of service of his adult staff ranged from 18 years to four. Five employees average 15 years’ service. Mr. W. D. Nicholas, proprietor of the Hauraki Plains Gazette, Paeroa, perhaps sums up this sphere of Mr. Cargill’s personality in a telegram sent to the staff on Saturday, which reads : “ Please accept sympathy In the loss of your grand old chief.” In business he was a deep thinker and creator. When he first came to Morrinsville he was quick to recognise that he had come into a district full of potentialities. It was not long before he placed a man as resident reporter in Matamata, and his aim was to support the farming industry and wherever possible to instruct. He did not confine this to print, but oft-times delivered lec-j tures to organisations, one of which particularly stands out in the memory of many—his lectures on book-keeping for farmers. For these he earned the gratitude of many of the old settlers.

Mr. Cargill was a regular attendant at meetings of the Morrinsville Chamber of Commerce and the Morrinsville branch of the Farmers’ Union, and his advice on subjects discussed at these meetings was freely sought and greatly respected. His last appearance in public was at the August meeting of the Farmers’ Union, when he gave an address, at the invitation of the union, on “ The

Derating Question from the Transport Angle.”

The organising ability of Mr. Cargill was of a high standard, and he was frequently asked to assist in charitable causes. He was unanimously appointed chairman of the carnival committee set up in 1931 to raise funds for the provision of a Plunket room and. children’s playground* £or'Morrinsville, and for the A. and P. Society. The handsome Plunket building and playground will always be a memorial to his organising work. Many thought this scheme would end in nothing but failure, but he infused into his committee such enthusiasm that the launching was only a few days old before it could be seen that success was assured. The sum of £6OO was raised in four months.

Although his business activities were wide they did not absorb all his dynamic energy. As a young man he took part in many forms of sport. He was a tennis player above the average, a Wairarapa representative footballer and cricketer, and attained the honour of being selected to play against P. F. Warner’s team of cricketers on its visit to New Zealand early in this century. He also represented Wanganui and South Taranaki and New Zealand Nomads Club in turn at cricket. When on a visit to England he played for the exclusive Beckenham Club, Gentlemen of Kent, and I. Zingari on a tour of Ireland. On coming North he played for one season for the North Shore (Auckland) Club.

Mr. Cargill’s activities in sport in Morrinsville are so recent as to be very well known. A few years ago he took a great interest in the Terriers Football Club and in the Morrinsville Rugby Union’s representative team. In 1926 he was coach of the first Morrinsville team to win the Finlay Cup, and which produced seven Waikato representatives (A. and C. Cameron, F. Thomas, R. Howard, S. Thomas, M. Anderson and A. W. Robson). He was a pillar of the Morrinsville Tennis Club, and more recently president of the Morrinsville Badminton Club from its inception, and also of the Waikato Badminton Association. He might be termed the founder of both the latter bodies, and he also extended his interests to the New Zealand Badminton Association, whose meeting this week he was looking forward to attending.

For many years Mr. Cargill had been chairman of the Beautifying Committee appointed by the Morrinsville Borough Council to advise on and carry out the work of beautifying the parks and reserves of the borough; in fact the bulk of the work of this nature may be said to have been confined to Messrs. Cargill, D. Coghill and G. F. Oates. He had also occupied the position of president of the Morrinsville Horticultural Society. One other institution to receive his close attention was the Morrinsville Public Library Committee, of which he had been chairman and selector of books for many years. Mr. Cargill was a member of the Wanganui Education Board from 1906 to 1908, and of the Taranaki Education Board in the year 19091910. He was a member of the Masonic Order.

It is generally recognised that the district has lost one of its most valuable personalities in the death of Mr. Cargill. Although he could not be termed a pioneer in point of years, he was certainly a pioneer of institutions and modern commerce.