MR R. B. TENNENT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIV, Issue 157, 4 June 1934, Page 2

MR R. B. TENNENT

TRIBUTE TO SERVICES/ RECOGNITION BY FARMERS’ UNION. Farmers from all parts of Otago took the opportunity at the annual conference of the Otago Farmers’ Union to extend tlieir good wishes to Mr R. B. Tennent (fields superintendent of the Department of Agriculture in Otago and Southland), who has been appointed Director of the Fields Division at Palmerston North. Several speakers referred in glowing terms to the sterling service which Mr Tennent had rendered the province as a whole through his expert advice and wise guidance. A presentation was made on behalf of tlie union, and Mr Tennent was given a rousing and enthusiastic reception when he rose to reply. In moving the resolution Mr E. H. Murney (Tapanni) said that Mr Tennent’s services had been greatly appreciated by. farmers. He never spared himself and had proved himself a very approachable officer. In fact, he was less a departmental officer than a friend and the farming community regarded his departure with a good deal of regret. He would carry away with him the best wishes of farmers in every part of the province. Mr A. Craig (Greenfield) said Mr Tennent had shown himself to be anything but a figurehead. He had achieved a great deal for farmers in Otago, and the speaker knew of many cases in which carrying capacity had been doubled as a result of Mr Tenhent’s advice and guidance. Mr F. Waite said Mr Tennent was not an ordinary civil servant and he would be sorely missed in Otago. It was the earnest hope of all who had come into contact with him that in liis new sphere he would find new scope for his undoubted abilities and eventually rise to still higher things. In the past be bad shown that he was the sort of a man who did everything thoroughly, and there was no question that his duties in future would be well and truly carried out. t Mr J. Ritchie (Bannockburn) referred to Mr Tennent’s wide knowledge and great energy, particularly with respect to Central Otago, where he was widely known and esteemed. Mr A. C. Cameron spoke of the great assistance Mr Tennent had rendered to the Farmers’ Union, and also of_ his work in the development of the Young Farmers’ Club movement. The president (Mr M. A. Kinney) then presented Mr Tennent with a silver tea service as a mark of the esteem in which lie is held by farmers all over Otago. On behalf of the union he wished Mr Tennent prosperity and success in his new' sphere. Mr Tennent, in reply, thanked the members of the conference for the handsome present they had given him. He was very sorry to be leaving Otago. During liis 14 years in the district he had made a large number of friends, and his association with the farmers of Otago had been greatly assisted by the Otago Provincial Council of the Farmers’ Union. One of the. first tilings he had done on arriving in Dunedin from Australia was to get in touch with the Farmers’ Union, and lie would never forget the great assistance that had been given him by .Mr Stuart Cameron and Air Fred Waite. Later on a fundamental change took place in departmental policy in carrying out experimental work on experimental farms. Tlie new policy was to carry out experiments on farmers’ property, and they had received every, co-operation from the farmers. Air Tennent also paid a tribute to the enthusiastic work of Air Alexander Cameron, who had given the department every assistance and co-operation he could. He had been privileged to accept hospitality in the homes of most of those present, and it was with considerable regret 'that he was leaving them. However, tlie one bright spot in his future position was that he would be moving all over New Zealand, and he could assure them that his visits to Otago would far outnumber those to other parts of New Zealand. He deeply appreciated everything they had done in the past and thanked them for the co-operation they had given the department.