ENGINEER FAREWELLED

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20391, 21 October 1929, Page 13

ENGINEER FAREWELLED

TAWA FLAT DEVIATION*^

" FATE OF THE DEPARTMENT/?.

VALUE OF STATE TRAINING/

[BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT. J WELLINGTON. Sunday. There was a large attendance of menw I-crs of the staffs of the district office and head office of the Public Works Depart* ment yesterday afternoon, to farewell Mr* A. Downer, until recently the engineer in.' charge of the Tawa Flat railway deviation; works, who has accepted a positfon with! the Hansford and Mills Construction Com« pany, Limited. The chief district engw neer, Mr. It. 11. P. Ronayne, presideil and there wero also present the chief of the Public Works Department*' Mr. F. W. Furkort, and the assistant) engineer, Mr. C. G. McKenzie. Mr. lionayne said (hat Mr. Downey served in many districts and then camd to the Tawa Flat deviation. "Everything you see there is his," ho said, "the lay« out and the organisation. They for themselves. For our part we are ex« tremely sorry to lose him." He was sural that Mr. Langbein, who was taking over) from Mr. Downer, would receive the samai assistance.

Mr. Furkcrt said:—"During the tim# that Mr. Downer has been with the department lie has been recognised as oua of the 'bright boys of the family,' and although we could have held out a rea« sonably good future in the department! I do not think we could have given him," any encouragement in the salary lines that/ Would have compensated him in view of that offered him. It seems to be the fatai of the Public Works Department to ba the training ground for men in otheU. organisations. I do not admit that all the good men leave the department, but thera nave been so many. Other people evi* dently recognise that the men they getf here are good ones." Mr. Furkert presented Mr. Downer with' a handsome clock on behalf of the staffs of both branches of the department.