Pioneer Engineer, Mr. Percy Reynolds, Dies At Auckland

Northern Advocate, 26 December 1940, Page 4

Pioneer Engineer, Mr. Percy Reynolds, Dies At Auckland

A life of ambition, and success terminated in Auckland on Tuesday when the death occurred of Mr Percy Reynolds. He was last of the foundation members of the Whangarei Engineering Company, Ltd. Born at Greenwich,' England, in 1856, son of the late Mr and Mrs Samuel Reynolds, he was one of a family of nine children. In 1867, at the .age of 11, he migrated to New Zealand with his parents aboard' the sailing ship Excelsior. First employed by the old Union Sash and Door Company, Mechanics Bay, Auckland, Mr Reynolds was later apprenticed to the engineering firm of A. . & G. Price, at Thames, where he was employed during the great goldmining boom. Here he first established himself in a small business • enterprise.

Later, he became associated with the timber-milling industry. He was engineer to the Kauri Timber Company, Ltd., of Auckland, for eight years, and also erected the timber mill at Hikurangi for R. P. Gibbons, Ltd.

In Thames, when he was 21 years of age, Mr Reynolds married Miss Mary Robertson Coutts, daughter of an Aberdeen family which had settled in the Auckland Province. Shipping Engineer. A nine years’ association with the Northern Steamship Company commenced for Mr Reynolds at Thames, and brought him to Whangarei, where he was engineer on the old Enterprise which tendered the s.s. Wellington, carrying passengers for settlement ports around the Whangarei Harbour. Promoted to second engineer of the Wellington, Mr Reynolds was transferred to the Clansman, then running to Russell, and was later given charge of the Kanieri. He left the Northern Company to take employment with the Kauri Timber Company, and in 1903, with the late Messrs. Fred Foote and Colin Bisset, founded the business which has grown into the Whangarei Engineering Company, Limited. Man of Skill. A man of exceptional engineering skill, Mr Reynolds possessed great business acumen and steadfastness of purpose. He designed the first log-hauler used in the North. This, under the name of the Foote Hauler, used extensively in the milling industry here. In Auckland he supervised the erection of the plant and machinery of the Riverhead Paper Mills. For Mr Reynolds his business was his one interest in life. Apart from that, launching was his hobby, .and he ran first steam launches and later oil launches in Auckland and in Whangarei. A first-class rifle shot, Mr Reynolds was for many years a member of the Thames Naval Volunteers. He was interested in local bowling for a short period. About 15 years ago, Mr Reynolds retired from active interest in the Whangarei Engineering Company. Predeceased by his wife 11 years ago, he is survived by four sons, Messrs. J. C. Reynolds, H. Reynolds, W. Reynolds .and F. Reynolds, all of Whangarei; and two daughters, Mrs T. E. Woodman (Whangarei) and Miss I. M. Reynolds (Napier). There are 12 gi'andchildren, and four great-grandchildren. The interment took place this morning at Maunu Cemetery.