A FINE TRIBUTE

Southland Times, Issue 21854, 3 November 1932, Page 6

A FINE TRIBUTE

LATE MR P. G. ROUSSELL. (Per United Press Association ) Wellington, November 2. A tribute to the late Mr P. G. Roussel! was paid to-day by Mr H. H. Sterling, chairman of the Railway Board. He said Mr Roussell’s appointment to the highest executive office in the Department was fully justified by his faithfulness of service and the great ability he brought to bear on his work, his sound judgment and encyclopaedic knowledge of everything connected with the railway business. His reports to the board were always characterized by a broad outlook, mature judgment and a well-balanced mind which had earned the entire respect and confidence of every member of the board. He felt he was voicing the feelings of every member of the Department in deploring his untimely decease.

RAILWAYMEN’S TRIBUTE FUNERAL CASKET LEAVES AUCKLAND. Auckland, November 2. Tributes to the memory of the late Mr P. G. Roussell, General Manager of Railways, who died suddenly in Auckland on Tuesday, were paid at the Auckland railway station this afternoon prior to the despatch of the funeral casket for Wellington. A special van was attached to the Main Trunk express and in this the casket was placed before the train drew up at the departure platform. Mrs Roussell, accompanied by members of her family and friends, arrived at the station by car and was met by representatives of railway officers who expressed condolences on behalf of their staffs. Members of the railway station staff, carrying wreaths, filed on to the platform and passed through the van containing the casket, depositing the wreaths as they went. Mrs Roussell and family travelled to Wellington on the train which left the station in impressive silence. In the meantime the flag on the staff in the station forecourt flew at half-mast. As the train progressed down the line, wreaths were deposited by the staffs at the principal stations. Mr P. G. Roussell, General Manager of Railways, whose death occurred suddenly on Tuesday, joined the Railways Department as a cadet at Auckland in 1893, and during the next 12 years he was located at various stations in the Auckland and Wanganui districts. Thereafter he filled successively the positions of stationmaster at Turakina, Otahuhu and Te Aroha, assistant relieving officer in the Auckland district, and stationmaster . at Henderson. In 1916 he was taken into the district traffic manager’s office at Auckland. With a year’s auditing to his credit, and experience of control work in all phases of district office duties, he was fully qualified for appointment in 1922 as chief clerk to the district manager at Ohakune. In 1924 he was promoted to the position of chief clerk at the head office, Wellington, and at the beginning of 1925 he was selected as secretary to the then newlycreated Railway Board of Control. He became general superintendent of transportation on the retirement of the late Mr A. K. Harris, and held that position until December, 1931, when he was appointed general manager of railways. Mr Roussell was born at Waimauku in 1877, and was married in 1900. He is survived by his widow, three, sons and one daughter. The following paragraph in regard to Mr Roussell, from the Railway Magazine of June, 1926, may still be quoted appropriately:—“A strong sense of right, a keen mind that sees all round a subject to its ultimate issues, and a safe instinct for doing the right thing unhesitatingly, are among the qualities which have helped him to win the unstinted confidence of all those engaged in, or concerned with, the railway service.”

Flags were flown at half-mast yesterday on the Invercargill railway station buildings in memory of Mr Roussell’s sudden passing.