KING CREATES TWO NEW KNIGHTHOODS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19267, 2 January 1931, Page 5

KING CREATES TWO NEW KNIGHTHOODS.

HONOURS CONFERRED ON NEW ZEALAND MEN. Per Press Association. WELLINGTON, January 1. An announcement has been issued by his Excellency the GovernorGeneral. Lord Bledisloe, to the effect that his 'Majesty the King has been graciously pleased, on the occasion of the New Year, to confer the following honours : Knights Bachelor. ARTHUR DUDLEY DOBSON, of Christchurch. WILLIAM CECIL LEYS, of Auckland. Companions of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George. (CJM.G.) GEORGE ALEXANDER TROUP, Mayor of Wellington. ALEXANDER CRABB, secretary of the High Commissioner’s Department, London. Commander of the Civil Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. (C.8.E.) WILLIAM WADDEL, superintenof the State Advances Department, Wellington. Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. (Honorary 0.8. E.) MALIETOA TAXUMAFILI, of Western Samoa. SIR ARTHUR DUDLEY DOBSON. One of the most honoured men in the community is Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson, whose knighthood has been announced. He has spent practically all his working life in Canterbury, and has a long record of public service to the province. His very many friends- will regard the honour as particularly suitable. Sir A. Dudley Dobson was born in London in 1842, and is one of the band of Canterbury Pilgrims who arrived at Lyttelton in the First Four Ships —the Sir George Seymour, Randolph, Charlotte Jane and Cressj*. lie was nine years old when he arrived in the Cressy with Mr Edward Dobson, an engineer and architect, who later took a prominent part in moulding the Canterbury Pro vice. Mr Edward Dobson had been employed as assistant engineer in the construction of the Boxhill Tunnel in England, and, on account of the experience he gained in that work, he was appointed engineer in charge of construction of the Lyttelton Tunnel. Sir Arthur Dobson served part of his apprenticeship as an engineer on the Lyttelton Tunnel job. As he grew older. Sir Arthur carried out many important surveys in Canterbury and Westland. He made the first surveys of the glaciers at the head of Lakes Tekapo, Pukaki and Ohau, and in 1563, with the late Dr von Haast, he ascended Mount Cook to a height of nearly eight thousand feet. The following year he discovered Arthur’s Pass, which is named after him. Among the organisations of which Sir Arthur Dobson has been a member, in most cases having held the office of president, are the New Zealand Society of Civil Engineers, New Zealand Institute of Surveyors. Canterbury Philosophical Institute, Astronomical Society, Institute of Engineers (London) and the Geological Society. At the present time he is an active member of the Arthur’s Pass National Park Board, and president of the Christchurch Mountaineering and Tramping Club and the Christchurch Winter Sports Club. At the age of fifty-nine, Sir Arthur, after having been in private practice as an engineer and surveyor, was appointed Christchurch City Surveyor, a position which he held until his retirement at the age of eighty. While City Surveyor he laid the foundations of the permanent paving programmes that have later been carried but, and some of the asphalt roads that he con-

structed are still standing up to modern traffic conditions. Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson’s “Reminiscences” were published in bock form, in July, and a few months later a second edition was published. SIR WILLIAM CECIL LEYS.

The honour conferred upon Mr William Cecil Leys may be considered as a compliment to the Press of New Zealand, for the recipient has been a working journalist for over thirty years, and for a great part of that period he has been intimately associated with the governing bodies of the newspaper world of the Dominion, the United Press Association and the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association. A similar honour was conferred upon the late Sir George F'enwick, chairman of directors of the “ Otago Daily Times ” Company, for many years editor of that paper, and also one of the founders of the Press Association.

Sir William Cecil Leys was born into the journalistic profession, his father, Thomson Wilson Leys, being for nearly half a century editor and part proprietor of the “ Auckland Star.” After taking a course at the Lincoln Agricultural College, he joined the reporting staff of the “ Auckland Star ” in 1895. Later he went to the New Zealand Press Agency in London to obtain experience of journalism in Britain, and, returning to New Zealand, had the unusual experience of controlling the “ Star,” as editor, at they age of twenty-three, for a period of over a year, while his father was abroad. In 1903 he became assistant editor of the “ Auckland Star,” and held that position till 1915, when he began three years’ war service, remaining with the Forces until after the Armistice was signed. On his return to New Zealand he succeeded his father in the editorial chair of the “ Auckland Star,” and became one of the original directors of the Brett Printing and Publishing Company, of which he was a large shareholder. Later he assisted in the amalgamation of the “ Auckland Star ” and the “ Christchurch Times ” and “ Star ” under the name of New Zealand Newspapers, Ltd., and was appointed chairman of directors of that company, and later its managing director. For a number of years he has occupied the post of director of the New Zealand Press Association, and on several occasions has been its chairman. He is also a director of the Napier “ Daily Telegraph,” and was a delegate to the Empire Press Union Conference in 1925.

In addition to his journalistic associations, Sir Cecil Leys has taken a keen interest in the social and cultural life of the city of Auckland. He is president of the Leys Institute, established under the will of his uncle, the late William Leys, and founded by his father, the late Dr T. W. Leys, as a library and community centre for the young people of the Ponsonby district. He is a member of the council of the Auckland Institute and Museum, and a member of the governing bodies of many literary, dramatic and artistic societies. MR G. A. TROUP, C.M.G. Mr G. A. Troup, C.M.G., has been a prominent figure in local body politics in Wellington for a number of years as a member of the Civic League. He was elected Mayor of the capital city in 1927, defeating Mr C. H. Chapman, the Labour nominee by a large majority. He was re-elected at the last municipal elections. Some time ago, Mr Troup presented the Dominion Art Gallery with a collection of Van der Yelden pictures, sketches and notebooks, some of which he had bought in in Christchurch. As the result of his gift a special Van der Yelden room was set aside at the Dominion Art Gallery. MR A. CRABB, C.M.G. Mr A. Crabb, C.M.G., was formerly a veterinary officer in the employ of the New Zealand Government. He later transferred to London, where he acted as veterinary officer at the New Zealand office. He was appointed official secretary to the High Commissioner in London in 1923, taking the place of Air Thomas Donne, C.M.G., when Mr Donne was appointed records officer. Mr Crabb is a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. MR W. WADDEL, C.B.E. It would be difficult to find a man on the land—and in many cases a city [ m a ® @ m ® ® ee ® @ in m is ® in m @ ts m @

dweller—who has not received financial aid from the State Advances Office. All must meet Mr Waddel, he is the Superintendent of the Department and his signature is known throughout the Dominion. There is no red tape in the State Advances Office; it is a commercial department of the State’s functions and all are treated on their merits.

Mr Waddel has had the advantage of growing up with the Department, which came into being in 1895. Next to the General Post Office there is probabty no department more popular in the State’s functions than the State Advances Office. Mr Waddel is a Souhlander. On leaving Southland Boys’ High School he went into a mercantile office. When the State Advances Department was started in 1595, he joined it. Two years later he was appointed Officer-in-Charge, and in 1907 was promoted to the position of Deputy Superintendent, which he held until 1922, when he became permanent head of the department. Mr Waddel is also a member of the Public Trust Investment Board, the Government Insurance Board, the State Fire Insurance Board, the Dominion Land Purchase Board, the Public Service Superannuation Board, arid the Intermediate Rural Credits Board. Mr Waddel is a public servant handling millions of pounds annually and to meet him offiand privately one would never think that he handled a sixpence; he is approachable by all.