CONSISTENT SERVICE.

Northern Advocate, 30 July 1924, Page 4

CONSISTENT SERVICE.

MR E. E. GILLON RETIRING,

FORMER WHANGAREI OFFICIAL.

Mr E. E. Gillon, chief mechanical engineer of the New Zealand Eailways. who "has just notified the Government of his intention to retire on superannuation- joined the service when a boy of 16 as an apprentice in the Hill-. side workshops, Dunedin, in August, 1884, under the late Mr A. L. Beattie, who was at that time the manager. Iα 188S Mr Gillon was transferred from Hillside to the locomotive drawing" office at Addington. In 1889, when tha locomotive drawing office was moved to Wellington, Mr Gillon was also trang- J ferred with it, in order to gain ex-_.' perience in locomotive running work. In 1892 he left the drawing office and went out on the road as fireman for five months and engine-driver for seven

mpnths. Upon the completion of 12 months practical work on the footplate of an engine, he returned for a short period to the drawing office, and was then appointed relieving-officer for the locomotive branch and later on a draughtsman. In August, 1899, "he was transferred to traffic management and appointed to the position of district manager of the Kaihu section, with headquarters at Dargaville. After successfully work* ing the log timber traffic secfcion, Mr Gillon was transferred to a similar position on the Whangarei sec* tion, where he controlled both the locomotive and traffic branches. Timbei and coal traffic were booming at that time, and Mr Gillon's reputation foi the successful way in which he handled the traffic with a minimum amount of rolling stock is still spoken of in the district. During the three years he was at Whangarei, not a single complaint was made to the department, and this was due to the fact that he never spared himself, often being .on. duty for 18 hours a day, and very quently driving an engine "himself. •

In June, 1905, Mr Gillon returned to the locomotive* branch, and took up the position of locomotive engineer for tße South Island, West Coast section. • Ih August, 1912, he was moved from Westport and placed in charge of the.Hill- , side workshops, where he»had many years before served his apprenticeship. In June, 1914, Mr Gillon was transr ferred to Christchurch. and placed in charge of the Addington workshops, and also took up the position of as-sistant-locomotive engineer for the South' Island main line and branches. After remaining at Addington for 13 mopths, he was moved to Wellington, and appointed locomotive engineer in the chief mechanical engineer's offiee. He held this position until April, 1919. when he was appointed chief mechanical engineer.

During the visit of the Prince of Wales Mr Gillon travelled throughout the Dominion -with the Royal party, ;

and was responsible for the fitting out and equipment of the Royal trains. Mr Gillon, who is a son of the late Mr E. T. Gillon, for many years editor of the Wellington "Post," intends fa enter into private practice as a consulting engineer in Wellington.