OVER 35 YEARS' SERVICE

Chronicle (Levin), 18 April 1947, Page 4

OVER 35 YEARS' SERVICE

Slr. G. A. lonk's Unipe Record In Local Body Work A unique record of local body spr^ vice, and1 one probably , mieqdalled iriywhere in the Dominion, * will terminate shortly with tfie resignafioh of Mr/ G. A. M6nk from His various posts to "join the Loeal Government C>iinmission, his appofntmenf to which wa# ahnounced this week by the Minister of Ihtefnar Aff airs, Mr. Pafry. For m®re than 35 years Mr. Monk has d»voted his time and energy iinsparingly to" the advanctement ,6f the Horqwhenuac dfstrict, in whieh he was born, and the improvement of its amenities and facilities, particularly those for the rural dweller. Mr. Monk's entry into the sphere of local body work dates back to i9il, when he was efected to' theHorowhenua County Cou'ncil as one . of the. representatives. of the Te v. Horo Riding. FOur years later he beeainef it# chairfh#tt, a position he has held cofitiuously up to the preseht time. Mr. Monk attended his . first annuS.1 c'Onference of the N#w • Zealand Counties' Association in 1916. In 1-920 he was.appointed to its executive and has been a member of it ever since. In 1920 he - was appointed to its executive ahd has been a niember of it ever since. He was senior vice-presi-deiit of the Association until recently and has been chairman of its Industrial Union of Employers over the last four years. The advfent of electricity fouhd Mr. Monk in the forefront of the scheme for this district, and. he was quick to realise its potentialities. " He was appointed as the Horowhenua County Council's delegate to a meeting on December 21, 1920, at which a committee was set up to begin the work of the electrification of the district, ahd he became this committee's chairman. At that time the Mangahao hydro statioh was undef construbtion. Following the constirution bf the Horowhenua power district and board in 1921, Mr. Monk was eiected the Horowhenua C6Uh.ty Council's ' representative on " the board. H6 has been the board's only chairman throughout the 25 years of its existence, heing chosen at its first meeting on - February 29, 1922. Under his cohtrol the hoard's consumers have grown in nuhiber from 1464 at its inauguration to 7200 today. Mr. Monk voluntarily retired from the executive of the Electric Power Boords' and Supply Authorities' Association orJy last year, after, serving since its ihception in 1924. In dcmg so he said that he f elb that he should make way for a younger member. In addition to these widespfead activities Mr. Monk was a member of several other co-ordinating ahd subsidiary local authorities. Most notable among these there must be his association with hospital administration. From 1916 to 1918 Mr. Monk was a member of the Wellington Hospital Board, at which time Horowhenua was part of its district. Throughout that • time he ardently advocated the cession of Horowhenua from the Wellington to1 Palmerston North Hospital- Board's district, and this came about in 1918. Mr. Frank Penn, a former resident of Otaki, was the district's first representative on the Palmerston North Hospital Board, biit Mr. Monk was eiected in 1919 and still holds the appointment. He was also one . of the in'itial members of the Manawatu Soils Conservation and Rivers Control Council, and his first term of five years will end in June next. To have been chairman of two of the district's chief local bodies over such long periods is a remarkable record, and the part Mr. Mohk has played through their operations in the gro?wth and development of it is inestimable. He has brought to all his local body work wide vision and a keen business acumen, and his guidance has been sound. Analytical, a fine speaker and an able chairman, outstanding for his fairness, Mr. Monk is held in high esteem by the people of all shades of life with whom his public life has brought him contact. In the positions from which he will shortly resign, Mr. Monk will be greatly missed, and his place will be a difficult one to fill. Mr. Monk will take to the commission a wide knowledge of the ramifieations of local body administration, and he will prove a useful member in the difficult task of reorganising • local government in New zealand.