RANGITIKEI COUNTY PAYS ITS TRIBUTE TO MR. K. DALRYMPLE

Wanganui Chronicle, 8 December 1950, Page 4

RANGITIKEI COUNTY PAYS ITS TRIBUTE TO MR. K. DALRYMPLE

MARTON, Last Night (SR).—Tributes to Mr K. W. Dalrymple, chairman of the Rangitikei County Council for 21 years and a member of the council for 39 years, apart from a break of four years from 1916 while he was on war service, were paid at the councils meeting in Marton today. Mr Dalrymple, who represented the Rangitoto Riding, was first elected in November, 1911, and became chairman in 1929. The following resolution, moved by the new chairman, Mr V. Smith (Taihape), seconded by Cr. iG. B. Chrystall (Taihape), was carried:—

“That this council records in the minutes a very deep appreciation of the services given to the ratepayers of the Rangitikei County, and the general com • munity, by Mr K. W. Dalrymple, in his capacity as county chairman for 21 years, and as a councillor of the Rangitoto Riding for 39 years.”

Mr Smith said that the council was meeting for the first time in many years without Mr Dalrymple as chairman. The only councillor who had sat under another chairman was C r - A. S. Coleman.

“We are going to miss our chairman,” said Mr Smith. “Ever since 1 have been on this council I have sat under Mr Dalrymple’s chairmanship. [ remember him saying, when I was first elected, that we had all come here full of hope and anxious to do our best for the ratepayers, but the first thing we would realise was how little there was to do it with.”

Mr Dalrymple guided the council along the right track and if he had a fault it was his unselfishness. “He thought of the county as a whole, not of his own riding, and that probably went against him, ’ said the chairman. “Mr Dalrymple was a man with whom it was impossible to fall out,” said Cr. A. S. Coleman (Marton). “We could have our differences of opinion at the council table, but he always came up smiling.” Cr. J. R. L. Hammond said that the council was compelled to increase the rate and Mr Dalrymple probably had to pay the price. It was a pity in a way that all the councillors did not have to contest an election instead of being returned unopposed. “A dedefeat such as that is no disgrace,” Cr. Hammond added.

Mr Dalrymple was a silent worker. Nobody realised just how much work he put into the county. “He was so intensely interested in his work that he never told anybody what he did,’ said Cr. Hammond. “You can’t say that about any politician.” Cr. Hammond also commented tha: Mr Dalrymple would not accept the honorarium to which he was entitled as chairman, nor would he allow the council to reimburse him for expenses.

Other councillors also paid their tributes to Mr Dalrymple.