OBITUARY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23693, 28 December 1938, Page 7

OBITUARY

MR THOMAS SCOTT The long and useful life of Mr Thomas Scott, whose public activities in Dunedin covered; a period of over forty years, came to its end yesterday. Mr Scott was born in the village or Glasford, about 16 miles from Glasgow, in 1853, and arrived in New Zealand by the ship Aboukir when he was_ 10 years of age. He got some instruction in private schools before he left the Old* Country, and when he reached New Zealand he received further education in the public schools in Milton, where he lived for about 18 months, and Nelson. About the end of the Maori war, Mr Scott’s father, who spent part of his time at sea as an engineer and part on land as opportunity offered, joined in a partnership in a sawmill at Bell Block, in Taranaki, but after about 12 months experience there the family returned to Nelson, where they arrived on October 6, 1866, the day on which the Maungatapu murderers were executed. Mr Scott’s father ran the first steamer, named the Nelson, from Nelson down the West Coast. Mr Thomas Scott served his apprenticeship as a carpenter at Nelson, and subsequently went to Westport, where, he stated later, he experienced nothing but rain all the time. His next domicile was in Reefton, where he was employed as one of the engineers in a quartz crushing battery. He spent about nine months there, but when the mining industry showed a decline, he took up his residence in Greymouth, where he filled the position of manager of a sawmill for a period of two years. By this time his parents had settled in Dunedin, and he decided to rejoin them. He came to this city in 1875, and for some years after that he was employed in the building trade. Early in the ’nineties he entered into partnership with Mr John Wilson in the business of manufacturing Venetian blinds and revolving shutters. The partnership was carried on until 1912, when Mr Scott retired, and since then he lived quietly in a pretty home in Elm row.

Mr Scott made his first appearance in public life about 1890, when he secured a seat on the Mornington Borough Council, on which he served for eight years. During two years of that period he held the position of Mayor. In 1896 he took up his residence within the city area, and it was not long before he became actively engaged in the affairs of the metropolitan district. In 1899 he became a member of the City Council, following the election of Mr R. Chisholm to the mayoralty, and he was again elected in 1901. In 1903 he contested the mayoralty with Mr T. A. Maitland, and was elected by 2870 votes to 872. Mr Scott played a prominent part in making the necessary arrangements for the reception of the Duke and Duchess of York (later King George V and Queen Mary) in 1901, and he was one of the principal movers in the scheme for the billeting of the Imperial troops brought out on a visit to the dominions in the very early part of this century. He was the first chairman of the Tramways Committee set up by the City Council after that body had purchased the tramways system, and was also one of the original members of the Electric Power and Lighting Committee. The electrification of the city tramways system was completed during his term as Mayor, and on December 16, 1903, Mrs Scott had the honour of starting the first electric car. Mr Scott was elected a member of the Dunedin Drainage and Sewerage Board on January 20, 1904, and held a seat on that body for three years. • Mr Scott held a seat on the High Schools Board of Governors during his term as mayor, but his principal interest in the young lay in the encouragement of the technical side of education. For well over a quarter of a century he took an exceptionally keen interest in technical education, and he had the satisfaction of assisting in the development of the King Edward Technical College from comparatively small dimensions to the prominent position which it occupies to-day amongst the secondary educational institutions in the Dominion. He joined the Board of Managers in 1903, and was appointed to the chairmanship in 1912 —a position which he held for over 20 years. He attended nearly all the conferences of representatives of the various technical schools in the Dominion, and i acted as president of the conference for two years. He took a lively interest in the outside activities of the pupils and ex-pupils of the Technical School, and was president of the Ex-Pupils’ Tennip Club and vice-president of several other organisations. For one year he was president of the Otago Employers’ Association. Throughout the whole of his life in Dunedin Mr Scott was a staunch supporter of the Presbyterian Church, in the activities of which he rendered extremely useful service. He became a deacon of First Church in 1885 and an elder in 1889, and at the time of his death was one of the oldest officials associated with the congregation. He was also a valued member of the Sunday school staff for a great many years. He was a member of the Antidote Division of the Sons a»d Daughters of Temperance for more than half a century, and acted as a trustee for the division for the greater part of that period. In 1879 Mr Scott married Miss Mason, of Dunedin, and his family consists of one son and two daughters. One daughter, who is married, resides in Auckland, and the other lives in Dunedin. Mr and Mrs Scott celebrated (heir golden wedding in February, 1929, taut Mrs Scott passed away in October, 1936.