ANOTHER LOSS TO ROTARY.

Taranaki Daily News, 18 August 1934, Page 6

ANOTHER LOSS TO ROTARY.

By one of those strange turns of fate for which there is no accounting New Zealand Rotary yesterday lost two of its most notable figures, one its present director and the other to a l.arge extent its founder in the Dominion. Sir George Fowlds was one of those characters to whom public service is the dominant factor in life. It was more than a hobby to him; it was almost his master. That he was by no means lacking in business ability is apparent from the success with which he built up a modest business in Auckland to a flourishing concern, but it was not in business that he left his mark on the community. Eschewing his commercial interest for politics he gained the confidence of the electors, and eventually became holder of two of the most important portfolios of the Government. But his interests were widespread, and in the many public organisations with which he was associated he invariably rose to positions of high responsibility. It was only to be expected that when the Rotary movement began to attract the attention of New Zealand he should be one of those who undertook its introduction to the Dominion, and by many of the. clubs he is looked upon as the father of the movement. It was as a result of his visit to Taranaki, in company with the late Mr. Charles Rhodes, that the New Plymouth and Hawera clubs came into existence. He maintained his association with the movement to the end, and the reception accorded him at the recent conference in New Plymouth was testimony to the esteem in which he was universally held. A man of delightful personality and with a rare facility for expressing his thoughts, he always commanded an eager and attentive audience. In the later years of his life his generosity and practical sympathy for the less fortunate people around him were such that he practically impoverished himself in giving to others. New Zealand is the poorer for the loss of so fine a citizen.