MINES INSPECTOR

Waihi Daily Telegraph, Volume XXXVI, Issue 9063, 24 April 1937, Page 3

MINES INSPECTOR

RESIGNATION OF MR. J. F. DOWNEY VALEDICTORY FUNCTION PRESENTATION OF GOLD WATCH Members of the staff of the Mines Department in Wellington gathered in full force recently to say farewell to Mr J. F. Downey, inspector of Mines, who has retired after twenty years' service in the department. On behalf of the department and the staff, the Hon. P. C. Webb, Minister of Mines, presented Mr Downey with a gold watch suitably inscribed. Mr A. Tyndall, Under-Secretary for Mines, said that Mr Downey was one of the oldest officers in the de-, partment, and during the twenty years he had been in the service he had reflected great credit on the department. Mr Downey's reputation had always been high, and he was held in the highest esteem by all those associated with the mining industry. The main features of his character were his unwavering honesty and his unwavering determination to give expression to his opinions, which invariably were base! on sound lines. Mr Tyndall mentioned that a few days ago Mr Downey received a lucrative offer from another Government, but he was not prepared to accept it. It was a tribute to the man thai; although he had reached the age of retirement his services were considered so valuable. MINISTER'S TRIBUTE The Minister said that when he first took over the Portfolio of Mines he met many deputations which urged the Government to spend money on developing supposed gold mines. He was told that gold was sticking out of the reefs, but they were not prepared to finance any scheme themselves. Mr Downey was consulted, and he proved a wet blanket to many would-be promoters. If he considered that the grounds were not ■worth developing that opinion held, for never had he been proved wrong. Mr Downey started his mining career at an early age, and throughout his . life he had been a worker and a student of mining matters. His con- ; tributions to the industry would stand as a monument to him, and at > all times they would be of inestim- , able value to those coming on. ] Mr Downey had made a valuable , contribution to text books on min- j . ing, and his book "Timbering in , ', Metalliferous Mines," was considered. f a standard work. He had also made, valuable additions to iNew Zealand j mining literature by his two books, j j "Quartz Reefs of the West Coast ( Mining District, New Zealand," and j "Gold Mines of the Hauraki District, £ New Zealand." Both of these books , dealt comprehensively with- the quartz mines of the West Coast and r Hauraki district from the early days j to the present time, and the research t work entailed must have been enormous. The thanks, not only of the j Mines Department, but of the mining r community in general, were due 10 c Mr Downey for these books. t The Minister assured Mr Downey t that the Government greatly appre- j ciated his services to the industry, t ' and wished him happiness in the t days of his retirement. Other officials in the Mines De- "\ partment paid tributes to Mr Downey. s In reply, Mr Downey returned j thanks for the tributes that had c been paid him. In compiling his books, he said, his main object was ] to serve the mining industry. He x was sorry to sever his connection . with the department, as his associa- g tion with, it had been a happy one. c He had served under about ten Min- t isters or acting-Ministers, and he £ had had their support at all times. j Mr Downey was first appointed to 7 the Mines Department in 1916, and in 1935 he was transferred to Well- j ington in connection with a scheme ; for an intensive scientific search for } potential gold mining areas in the ( Reefton district for which, owing to ( his intimate knowledge of the dis- , trict, he was particularly well fitted. , He has been a member of the Insti- 1 tute of Mining and Metallurgy, Lon- . don, for about twenty years. I.