CITY OFFICERS

New Zealand Herald, Volume 81, Issue 24894, 16 May 1944, Page 4

CITY OFFICERS

LOCAL MEN CHOSEN . TOWN CLERK AND ENGINEER THE NEW CITY VALUER The posts of town clerk and city engineer of Auckland, which have been vacant since the retirement of Mr. J. Melling and Mr. J. Tyler, are to be filled by the appointment of Mr. T. W. M. Ashby, the present city treasurer, as town clerk, and Mr. A. J. Dickson, now assistant city engineer, as city engineer.

Applications for both posts were invited in New Zealand and, by special cabling arrangements, among New Zealanders serving in the armed forces overseas. Twenty-four applications for the town clerkship were received and 16 for the position of city engineer. It was stipulated in each instance that applicants should not be under 35 years of age. A number of applications were received from servicemen, but only one from an overseas civilian, a resident of Australia.

A third position, that of city valuer, registrar .of electors and returning officer, vacated through the retirement of Mr. N. W. Kenny, is to be filled by the appointment, from six applicants, of Mr. W. G. Boswell, at district property supervise for the State Advances Corporation in Auckland. At a meeting in committee at midday yesterday, the City Council considered a report upon the applications by its Finance Committee, and resolved to recommend to the next ordinary meeting of the council on May 25 that appointments be made as stated. Service in Last War Mr. Ash by, who is 48 years of age, was born in Auckland and received his secondary education at the Te Aroha District High School. In 1911 he was appointed to the head office staff of the Education Department and continued his studies at Victoria University College, qualifying as a solicitor. He enlisted m the New Zealand Field Artillery in 1916 and went overseas with the 16th Reinforcements. After serving in Northern France and on the Belgian coast he was wounded and invalided back to New Zealand in 1919. Late the following year lie was appointed compiler in charge of the local government and finance section of the Census and Statistics Office.

In 1923 Mr. Asliby was appointed law and committee clerk to the Auckland City Council from among 63 applicants, and in 1936 succeeded Mr. Melling as assistant town clerk. On the retirement of Mr. A. Messer in March, 1937, he was made city treasurer. While in the Census and Statistics Office, Mr. Ashby was responsible for the compilation and editing of the Local Authorities Handbook and for the preparation of various sections of the Official Year Book, inchiding analytical commentaries on published statistics. In the City Council's service he did the preparatory work involved in a consolidation of the by-laws in 1927 and has been responsible for the arrangement of several large loans, including conversions.

In addition to holding legal qualifications, Mr. Ash by is a fellow of the New Zealand Society of Accountants, an associate member of the Australasian Institute of Secretaries, and a fellow of the Incorporated Institute of Secretaries and a past chairman of its New Zealand division. He is also a member of the Institute of Public Administration, London. Experience in Australia Mr. Dickson was born in Taranaki 39 years ago and attended the New Plymouth Technical College. He took the civil engineering course at Canterbury University College, where he obtained the B.E. degree and a travelling scholarship. After spending some time in Australia he joined the staff of the Auckland City Council in 1926 and two years later went to Australia again in search of further experience. Entering the service of the Public Works Department of New South Wales, he was employed on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and later he did highway engineering work under the New South Wales Main Roads Board. In 1931 Mr. Dickson returned to Auckland and was appointed assistant city engineer in 1936, with special responsibility for structural design, including the review of proposals for the erection of multi-storey and industrial buildings. He is an associate member of the Institute of Civil Engineers, the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers and the Royal Sanitary Institute. Mr. Boswoll, who is 34 years of age, holds the degree of master of commerce and is a qualified accountant. He was for nine years a clerical assistant in the Valuation Department and served as clerk of Assessment Courts in the Auckland Province. Subsequently lie was engaged for ten years on Government valuation work, including the revaluation of boroughs throughout New Zealand and the valuation of mortgage securities for the State Advances Corporation.

OUTBREAKS OF FIRE FACTORY AND CAMP A fire occurred in Bailey's peg factory, Princes Street, Onehunga, at midnight on Sunday. Machines from the Onehunga and Mount Roskill brigades extinguished the flames after damage had been done to the back portion of the building. One of the firemen, Mr W. Downey, station officer of the Onehunga brigade, fell through the roof-of the building. He was not injured, but suffered shock. Fire destroyed the kitchen at an American camp near Pa pa k urn early yesterday morning. The outbreak was attended by a machine from the Papakura brigade, which prevented the flames from spreading to adjacent buildings.