OBITUARY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXIII, 28 January 1941, Page 7

OBITUARY

MR RICHARD WANDEN The sudden death at his home in ' Scott street on Friday morning of I Mr Richard Wanden caused a painful ; shock to the business and farming ' community of Marlborough (states j the “Express”). Mr Wanden was 66 years of age, and he was so closely : associated with many of the affairs j of the community, both professionally j and privately, that for some years he had been one of the best-known per- i sonalities in the district. Mr Wanden was best known as a j public accountant and general secre- j tary, having conducted a business in j Blenheim for about 35 years. His! activities as secretary of the Marl- j borough Automobile Association and the Marlborough A. and P. Association, as well as a number of other | farming organisations, were well J known to most people in the district, j For over 20 years he served the Auto- j mobile Association, during which i time it was responsible for further-'! ing many projects which made for j the betterment of conditions for the j motoring public. On the adminis- j trative side he showed a remarkable i knowledge of local conditions, which gave the committee much assistance in attending to the affairs of the association.

! It was in 1918 that Mr Wanden took over the secretaryship of the A. and P. Association, and it was his organisation and thorough grasp of the requirements necessary to further the interests of show matters, | both for exhibitors and for the public that enabled the association to make steady progress, even through the

difficult times which confronted it in j the depression years. As Marlborough representative of the N.Z. Refrigerating Company since 1929 Mr Wanden again distinguished himself with his organising ability. 1 Other organisations with which Mr Wanden was connected in the ; capacity of secretary are the Marlj borough Shipowners’ Union, the J Blenheim branch of the Farmers’ i Union, the provincial executive of I the Farmers’ Union, and various ! transport organisations. He was also a member of the Chamber of ComI merce executive, the Rotary Club, j the Oil Fuel Control Board, and was ! president of the Marlborough branch of the Nelson College Old i Boys’ Association.

Born at Blenheim, Mr Wanden was the ldest son of Mrs Wanden, now of Wellington, and the late Mr Richard Wanden. He was educated at the Blenheim School, where he won the Tinline Scholarship, which took him to Nelson College for three years. Shortly after leaving college he joined the clerical staff of the Marlborough “Express,” leaving in 1905 to enter into partnership with the late Mr John Mowatt as a land and estate agent. Finally he entered business on his own as a public accountant.

j Mr Wanden was keenly interested in sport of various kinds. He played ! in the Nelson College Ist XV, and j later was captain of the Marlborough i representatives and of the old Wairau Club team. He was well-known as an outstanding wing-forward and ! played in many representative ! matches. In later years he was sole | selector for many seasons of the Marlborough team, and he produced j many successful sides to uphold the j name of the district. In his younger days he was an active member of the Blenheim Fire Brigade, and he was able to recall many interesting incidents connected with the brigade in its early days.

Mr Wanden was predeceased .in 1934 by his first wife, formerly Miss M. Draper, a daughter of the late I Mr and Mrs D. Draper. In 1938 he! again married, his wife being Miss E.! Finlay, of Blenheim. In addition to ! his widow, Mr Wanden is survived! by eight daughters and one son, the ! latter, Richard, being in Canada with; the R.N.Z.A.F. The daughters are ! Mrs R. J. Fitzpatrick (Blenheim),! Mrs F. Conway (Hastings), Mrs H.; Hall (Blenheim), and Misses E., M., j L., H., and S. Wanden, all of Blen- | heim. The surviving brothers and 1 sisters are Messrs A. Wanden (Blen- | heim), N. Wanden (Palmerston North), M. Wanden (Wellington), and C. Danden (Melbourne) and his sisters are Misses Elizabeth and Elsie Wanden, of Wellington.