PERSONAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3870, 15 May 1928, Page 25

PERSONAL.

The Rev. W. H. Norton, of Centre Bush, . has accepted a call to the Presbyterian Church at Tapanui. Mr Walter L. Logie has been appointed by the board of the Otago Bible Society to the position of organising secretary in place of Mr William Cran, who is about to leave Dunedin. The record for New Zealand for long service with an education board is held by Mr R. I*. J. Ray, assistant secretary of the Auckland Education Board, who will retire at the end of August (says our special correspondent). Mr Ray has not been in good health lately, and is at present on leave. Born in England, Mr Ray came to New Zealand at an early age. He became a pupil teacher, and 40 years ago entered the service of the board as clerk. He made good progress, and has been assistant secretary tor a number of years. _At a meeting of rowing representatives held in the Young Men’s Christian Association rooms on Wednesday evening in connection with the endeavour being made to restore the ■shed and plant of the North End Rowing Club, Mr F. Foster presented Mr S. S. Myers, patron of the club . with a piece of timber, suitably inscribed, a relic of the old eight-oared boat, S. S. Myers. This boat was completely ■destroyed when the North End Club’s shed and equipment were battered to pieces by the heavy gal ■>. on the night ®f April 30. Mr F. W. Jones, manager for the past 38 years of the International Harvester Company of New Zealand, Ltd., is retiring from his position, and is leaving New Zealand on a tour of the Ea«t and Europe, prior to taking up his permanent residence in California. Mr Jones will .be suc'-eeded as manager of the company's business by Mr R. W. Morgan, assistant manager of the organisation for a number of years. Dr G. J. Blackmore, director of tuberculosis institutions for the North Canterbury Hospital Board, is resigning his position as soon as the commission which the Minister of Health proposes to set up has completed its work. “It is. simply that I am due to retire.’’ said Dr Blackmore. “ Probably I should have done before this, but I desire to see. the commission’s work -through.” Dr Blackniore expects to retire -at the end of the year.

The Hector medal and prize, instituted some years ago by the New Zealand Institute as a memorial to Sir James Hector, has this year been awarded to Professor D. M. Y. Sommerville, M.A., D.Sc., F.N.Z. Inst., professor of mathematics at Victoria University

College. The award this year was open for research work in physics, mathematics, or astronomy. The members of the Committee of Investigation were Sir Ernest Rutherford, 031., F.R.S., Dr C. Overidge Farr. F.R.S., of Canterbury College, and Professor von Wilier, ot Sydney University. The award was made to Professor Soramerville for his general mathematical work, and particularly for his investigations in non-Euclidian geometry. The award this year carries with it a monetary prize of £6O. Last year’s recipient was Professor Cotton. The Rev. Richard A. Forde, the newly-

appointed vicar of Balclutha, was a passenger on the steamer Canadian Transporter. Mr Forde, who was born in London in 1885, has spent many years iu Canada. Going to Canada in 1906, Mr Forde entered the University of Lennoxville, in the Province of Quebec. After being ordained he was curate of St. Matthew’s, Toronto, for four years. In 1916 he went to America, where he remained until he made a brief visit to New Zealand in 1926. Mr Forde’s next appointment was rector of Gaspi. province of Quebec, which position he relinquished to come to New Zealand. He is accompanied by Mrs Forde and his son and daughter. Mr A. G. Butchers, formerly of Dunedin but now of Invercargill, has received advice from the University of Melbourne that he has passed for. the degree of master of education. This university is

the only one in the southern hemisphere at which this degree may be obtained, and Mr Butchers is the first New Zealand educationist to gain it. The thesis which Air Butchers submitted deals with the early history of education in New Zealand, and was characterised by the examiners as “ a distinct and valuable contribution to the existing literature on the subject.” On the recommendation -of the New Zealand Education Department, a substantial grant has been made by Cabinet towards the cost of its publication, arrangements for which are now being made. The title of the book will be “ Young New Zealand.” Mr C. O’Regan, a well-known Wellington footballer, has been admitted as a barrister of the Supreme Court by Mr Justice Smith, on the motion of his father, Mr P. J. O’Regan. Mr E. J. P. Denny, manager for Messrs J. W. Swift and Co., left Port Chalmers by the steamer Port Adelaide on a business visit to England. Dr. H. W. Webber, who has been on

a visit to New Zealand, was a passenger by the steamer Port Adelaide, winch left Port Chalmers on Wednesday for London.

Mr E. O. Eva, who lias been appointed manager in Australia for the Common-wealth-Aberdeen Line, was formerly well known in Dunedin, having been in the service of the Union Steam Ship Companyin this city. After occupying various posts with the Union Company, he was appointed manager .for Fiji at Sava in January, 1915, and resigned that position in January, 1918, to become manager in -Melbourne for thggCommonwealfh Line. Within two years ne was transferred to London as manager there, with offices in Australia House. A visit will shortly be paid to New Zealand by the Rev. Dr W. C. Poole president of the World’s Sunday School Association, which is associated with the religious of more than 30,000,000 children in various countries in the world. He will be accompanied by Mrs Poole and by Sir Edward Sharp, chairman of the British committee of the association. The party will arrive in Auckland by the Aorangi on June 4 from Sydney, and two clays later it will leave for the south. The president is an Australian who has rendered distinguished

service to Church movements in England and in the United States. He has in recent years been resident in London. Messrs E. Wenban and H. S. Hearne, of the London office of the Commonwealth and Dominion Line, who have been on jn extended visit to New Zealand, left Dunedin on Tuesday morning for Timarn Wellington. _ They will leave the Dominion early in June for Australia. Arthur William Buehler has been admitted by his Honor Mr Justice Sim as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court. Mr Leonard James Osborne Arthur was admitted as a solicitor.

_ Recent callers at the High Commissioner’s office in London have included:— Mrs E. L. Hoover, Miss J. S. Hoover, Mr H. L. Tapley, MP., Mr H. J. Lousley, Mrs Blanche Levi, Miss K. Levi and Mr D. Levi, Mr W. A. Hayward, Dr W. E. C. Paterson (Dunedin), Mr and Mrs R. Milligan, Mrs E. Goldsworthy COamaru).

Mr H. Brasch left Danedin on Thursday morning on a business trip to Sydney. JMr C. W. Sundstrum and Mr F. Goodwin returned by the first express on Thursday from a visit to Sydney. Signor R. Squarise left Dunedin on Thursday morning for the north, en route to Italy and Europe. He will be absent for about six months. The Technical Teachers* Association, meeting in Wellington, elected the following officers on Thursday:—President, Mr L. J. Wild; vice-presidents, Mr Park and Miss Wilson; secretary and treasurer, Mr T. L. James; executive —Messrs A. C. Haucox. 11. A. Jones, E. Evans, W. G. Aldredge, W. Fraser. Miss M. B. Robertson; representatives on the appeal court, Messrs R. Thompson and Martin. Dr David Miller, who has succeeded Dr Tillyard as chief entomologist at the Cawthron Institute, arrived in Nelson at the end of last week to take charge of the entomological department of the institute. Dr Miller has been Government •entomologist for 12 years, and in order not to interfere with important research work, initiated by him in the Government laboratories, it has been arranged that this work shall be continued at the Cawthron Institute.

In moving a vote of sympathy with the relatives of the late Dr J. Allan Thomson at the meeting of the Otago Institute last week. Dr Benson said that 20 years ago Dr Thomson had left Dunedin after a distinguished University career which had culminated in his nomination for the 1851 science research scholarship and the award to him of the first Rhodes scholarship given to a New Zealand student. His course at Oxford had been as distinguished as it was here, both for his excellence in athletics and scholarship. He had been au Oxford University and international Rugby footballer, and as a petrologist he had gained tire close personal friendship of the leaders in that science in Britain and France, and had been appointed lecturer on that subject in the Oxford School of Geology. His adventurous spirit had led him to gain the position of geologist to Captain Scott's last Antarctic expedition, and in the 18 months between his appointment and the sailing of the expedition he had devoted himself to the investigation of the petrology of Western Australia as a consulting petrologist to a private survey of the Kalgoorlie goldfields, and also to the geological survey. This work had practically laid the foundation of their knowledge of the petrology of that State, and had earned for Mr Thomson the doctorate of science. Dr Thomson had then gone to Sydney University, where he worked under Professor David, now Sir Edgeworth David. Dr Benoon said that he would never forget those happy months of strenuous team work with Dr Thomson. Yet even at this time a shadow had seemed to come over Dr Thomson's path, and medical advice prevented him from going south with Scott. After a period of recuperation in New Zealand he had been appointed palteontologist to the geological survey, and during the year he had held that position he had so organised the work that the high state of development and activity of the science at the present time here owed much to his initiative. His appointment 15 years ago to the directorship of the Dominion Museum had extended the field of his interests, so that he bad become a central figure in the scientific activities of the Dominion. The value of Dr Tliomson’s work was recognised by learned societies abroad, and by the award to him of the Hutton medal of the New Zealand Institute, which only a few months ago had elected him to the presidency. The motion was carried in silence. Mr Alexander Burt and Mr J. H. John«on. of Messrs A. and T. Burt, Ltd., left for the north by the express on Friday.

Mrs T. E. Taylor, of Christchurch, will be one of the Dominion delegates to the Pan-Pacific Conference in Honolulu next Amrust. Her subjects will be “ Women in Social Welfare” and “Child Welfare in New Zealand.”

Mr R. H. Packwood. u'siil recently resident engineer for the Public Works Department, in charge of the Westfield deviation, has left for Oamaru. He will take charge of the Waitaki hydro-electric undertaking. Mr Harper White, accountant nt the Dunedin branch of Messrs A. and T. Burt, Ltd., has received notice of his promotion to the position of head accountant of the firm’s branch at Wellington. Mr White, who has been eight years with the firm, will take up his new duties about the middle of next month.

The 1851 Science Scholarship has been awarded to Mr J. C. Andrews, of Auckland. Mr Andrews is the elder grandson of the late Mr J. C. Andrews, founder of the Waikuku Spinning Mills. He was educated at King’s College, Auckland, and the Auckland University College. Air Andrews holds the degree of Doctor of Philieophy. Sir John Russell, director of Rothamsted Experimental Station, England, one of the foremost agricultural scientists of the world, in a private letter to a member of the staff of Lincoln College, says that he will be visiting New Zealand in August next. An endeavour will be made to persuade Sir John to give a lecture in explanation of the scheme and methods of some of the Rothamsted investigations.

Mr D. S. M’Ghie, founder and organiser of Hie Junior Reform and Constitutional League, who visited Dunedin for the purpose of forming a branch of the league,

went north by the express on Saturday ou Ins way to Wellington. A Palmerston North Press Association message states that on Friday evening • A. M’Hardy, one of the best-known residents of Manawatu, who did excellent patriotic service during the war, was honoured by the Returned Soldiers’ Association by having conferred on him the badge of life membership. Mr M Hardy, who presented the site for the Palmerston Aorth Anzac Club, is the second life member to be elected, the other being Mr John Herbert Hankins, who is also a very old resident. A telegram from Hastings announces the death of Mr William Young Dennett, aged 83, a prominent resident of Hastings and Napier for over 60 years. The deceased arrived in Hawke’s Bay 50 years took an a<? tive part in the public lite ot Hastings, being Mayor for five Hp t°.°k part m the Maori war with the Napier militia.