HEAVY LOAD OF ENGINEER

Southland Times, Issue 22999, 19 September 1936, Page 2

HEAVY LOAD OF ENGINEER

MR SEMPLE PAYS A TRIBUTE PIONEER SERVICES (United Press Association.) Wellington, September 17. A large gathering of engineers of the Wellington district and a number of visitors, including the Minister of Public Works (the Hon. R. Semple), were present at a complimentary luncheon to Mr C. J. McKenzie, who retired from the position of Engineer-in-Chief and Under-Secretary of the Public Works Department on account of illhealth. Opportunity was also taken to congratulate a number of engineers who recently have been promoted to senior positions in the Government and local body services. Mr Semple, after expressing pleasure at being able to be present at the function, said: “Particularly in these times of almost terrifying expansion, when the world is passing through changes unprecedented in human knowledge, is the load of responsibility in measuring up the new ideas that come with the new generation heavy upon the engineer. He is still the trail-blazer, the man upon whom the responsibility lies of seeing that progress continues and that chaos does not come out of expansion and change.” New Zealanders’ Skill. Mr Semple said that he was confident the skill of the engineers of the Public Works Department measured up with that of any engineers in the world. New Zealand could learn from other countries, but other countries could also learn something from New Zealand.

The world, said the Minister, had never lived through a more dangerous epoch than that of to-day, and the one safety-valve for the pent-up feelings of nations was the British Commonwealth of Nations.

“If that goes, God help the world,” said Mr Semple. “We have to give up party politics and little things of that kind when we come down to the protection, welfare and security and perpetuation of the British Empire. The engineer has played a major part in building the British Commonwealth of Nations and that responsibility he still carries to build further and to build firmly.”