A REMARKABLE RECORD
SERVICE TO LOCAL BODY EIGHTIETH BIRTHDAY OF MR JAMES LESLIE A remarkable record of service and experience in local body administration is thai of Mr James Leslie, chairman of the Paparua County Council, who will celebrate his eightieth birthday on March 30. Mr Leslie has held office on the council ever since it was iirit formed in 1911, as member for the Islington riding. He was first elected chairman in 1912, after the re-r-ignation of the Hon. G. Witty, and has held that office continuously for :!3 years. As early as 1905 Mr Leslie was .-) member of the Templeton Road Hoard, of which he was chairman for -•wo year;;. He was a member till the rh.-solution of the board in 1911. A well-known figure in his district, Mr Leslie has earned the respect < -( all who have known him either through his connexion with the county council or through his other activities whether in work or recreation. Although he is now living in retirement he is still occupied with local body affairs and with the management of his farm. He is a member of the Lyttelton Harbour Board, having been elected first in 1929, with Mr R. T. McMillan, io represent the counties of Paparua, Malvern, Selwyn, Tawera, Springs, Ellesmere, Halswell, and Heathcote. Mr Leslie has considerable farming experience. For a great many years he farmed a large area on his own account as well as controlling the farm lands owned by the Christchurch Meat Company, the predecessor of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company, As a Sportsman For many years Mr Leslie has been .*>n enthusiastic supporter of the trotting clubs, and he has himself owned . ome very fine horses, the best known of these being Electrocute. At present he is content to watch the running of other men's horses, though he still breeds at least one trotter a year. He is a member of the committee of the Canterbury Park Trotting Club, and a past president of that club. He seldom fails to attend a trotting meeting. He is also a member of the Canterbury Jockey Club and the Banks Peninsula Racing Club. Mr Leslie's work for the district in the early days included membership of the first Hornby School Committee. He was one of the original residents who worked hard for the establishment cf the school in its present location. He is a justice of the peace of many years' standing, and for the last 10 years has been a visiting justice of the Paparua prison. Early Life Mr Leslie was born in County Berry, in the North of Ireland, on March 30, 1855. When he was 12 years old he began work on his father's farm. At the age of 21 he decided to come to New Zealand, and landed in Lyttelton on September 4, 1876. His first work was for Mr John Sharp, on a farm at Ladbrooks, the district at that time being over-run by niggerhead and flax. The small whare which was Mr Leslie's first New Zealand home is still standing on this farm find is doing duty to this day. After leaving this employment, Mr Leslie worked for a time at the wool works tit Woolston and Belfast. In 1881 Mr Leslie went to Sydney, where he was employed on the construction of the main water-race which was to serve the city. Returning to Canterbury he was employed as a teamster. About this time he made several journeys between Christchurch and Timaru, bringing cargo which had been washed ashore from the wreck of the sailing ship Lyttelton. Mr Leslie tells many stories-of the tricks of cargo snatchers on the beach at Timaru. At Islington Mr Leslie was shortly afterwards transferred by his employer to Islington, where the present freezing works building was being built. When the works were completed, he worked his way through almost every department, and in 1895 he was made freezing works manager, which position he h°ld until 192 C when he retired. In 1900 the company sent him on a trip to England and America. During this trip Mr Leslie made a study of the methods of handling and marketing meat then current in England. Before Roing to America he spent some time with his parents in Ireland. He visited Chicago, and here he studied particularly the treatment of by-products, introducing into the Islington works on his return some of the American methods. Since his retirement from r-ctive work the company has paid Mr Leslie a retaining fee, being unwilling to lose his services altogether. Bravery Recognised Mr Leslie possesses a gold watch which is inscribed as follows: "Presented to Mr James Leslie by the employees of the Islington Freezing Works in recognition of his gallant and prompt action in rescuing at his own peril the lives of two of his fellow workmen on May 18. 1894." This incident occurred when the men at the works were packing meat into the vats preparatory to boiling down for fat. One of the men was overcome by the gases at the bottom of the vat, and a companion who went to his assistance was also overcome. Mr Leslie, who was working not very far r.way. seized a rope and climbed into the vat. After rescuing the first man, Mr Leslie was himself overcome; but when he regained consciousness he discovered that the second man had not been taken out. He immediately went below again, succeeding in bringing the man to the top. It is stated that the occasion of the tation of the watch was only equalled :n the enthusiasm shown by the gathering in Islington in 1926, when the residents bade farewell to Mr Leslie on his retirement. Mr Leslie married in 1888 Miss A. J.I. Long, who had also emigrated from the North of Ireland. Their on!"" s<->n :- at present farming in Upper I; 'ccarton
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19350306.2.155
Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka
Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21415, 6 March 1935, Page 18
Word count
Tapeke kupu
978A REMARKABLE RECORD Press, Volume LXXI, Issue 21415, 6 March 1935, Page 18
Using this item
Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licence (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0). This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
Ngā mihi
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.