FARMERS HONOUR MR. W. E. BARBER

Chronicle (Levin), 13 September 1947, Page 3

FARMERS HONOUR MR. W. E. BARBER

1— ♦ Forty Years' Service To Dairy Industry Some 300 invited guests gathered in the Druids' Hall, Shannon, on a recent evening to honour Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Barber on the occasion of Mr. Barber's forty years' service as a director of the Shannon Co-operative Dairy Company. Visitors were present from all parts of the district. Musical honours were extended to the guests of honour as they were escorted into the hall by Mx*. R. J. Law.

The earlier part of the evening was occupied with a concert programme, items being rendered by Mrs. S. W. Barber, Mr. F. O. Burtt and Mr. C. M. Cronquest. Messrs. H. M .Andresen and McGrath, of Foxton, entertained with an excellent programme of magic, which held the gathering mystified for some time. At an opportune time Mr. and Mrs. Barber were escorted to the stage for the presentation, Miss P. Small presenting a, beautiful bouquet to Mrs. Barber' from the staff of the company. Mr'. R. J. Law, who carried out the duties of chairman, extended a welcome to the visitors, especially those who had come from a great distance to pay tribute to Mr. Barber on such a memorable occasion. Mr. Law then called upon the Mayor of Shannon, Mr. R. E. 1 Downes, to speak on behalf of the citizens of the town. Mr. Downes said it was a great pleasure for him to be present, and he was very pleased to see so many gather to pay tribute to Mr. Barber on this occasion of his 40 years' service as a director. Mr. Downes spoke of the excellent work Mr. Barber had done for the district, not only as a director of the dairy company, but in the many other local bodies with which he was connected. The Mayor concluded his remarks by extending his personal congratulations and the congratulations of the town to Mr. Barber. Speaking on behalf of present and past directors and the suppliers and staff of the company, Mr. R. J. Law said that he was pleased to see such a large gathering as a gesture of affection and recognition on the great occasion not given to many, that of 40 years' service on the directorate of the company. Mr. Barber was one of the foundation members of the company. He had taken a list around and asked the farmers to subscribe their money to buy.their own dairy factory. Mr. Barber. was one of those who had stayed jwith the company through^ut the years-, in spite of several up§. anjl dokyhs,until today it was one that wfould' stand with any company in New Zealand. Mr. Barber was ' one of • the 1 pioneers of this district, added Mr. Law. He had.. pome to. the Manawatu as a yourig man ih 188&, oneyear before the Shannon settlement was put up for sale, and when it was only standing bush. With Mrs. Barber, he had set about carving out a home to bring up a large family, and develop an extensive area of land. Mr. and Mrs. Barber had always taken a keen interest in almost every effort towards the betterment of the district, and had been actively connected with the church; the land the field of sport. Apart from being a director of the company, Mr. Barber was connected with the Manawatu County Council, a body of which he was still the chairman, the Foxton Harbour Board, the Horowhenua Power Board, the Federated Farmers, the Church Vestry, the Manawatu Automobile Association, the Manawatu Rabbit Board and the Manawatu Lime Company, while he was still the Manawatu representative of the New Zealand Pig Marketing Association and had been the president of the Foxton Racing Club for 48 years. Mr. Law pointed out thatf

the story of Mr. Barber's work was a history of the foundation of the lower Manawatu. Mr. Law then dealt with the hardships the farming community had to suffer until the Shannon factory was established, and traced the activities of the company over the years, saying that it was through the enterprise of such men as Mr. Barber that Shannon now had a factory with a turnover of over one million pounds annually. The success of the company was due to the magnificent leadership of Mr. Barber. He wished Mr. and Mrs. Barber many years of happiness in the future, and expressed the hope that Mr. Barber would continue to serve ' as chairman of the company for many more years. Then followed Mr. J. W. Murray, a former secretary of the company, who spoke in high praise of the good work achieved by Mr. Barber for the company and suppliers. As an old servant of the company, he said he was in constant touch with Mr. Barber and had no hesitation in saying that it was due to his foresight that the company had grown to its present size, both in the number of suppliers and size of its plant. Mr. W. S. Carter spoke as a past director and an old resident of Moutoa, with a long personal knowledge of Mr. and Mrs. Barber and their family, all of whom, he said, were a credit to the district. Mr. Carter extended his congratulations and best wishes to the guests of the ^vening. Mr. T. G. Vlncent, speaking on behalf of the pearby dairy companies and the Levin Dairy Company, stated that he was very "pleased to be present to extend congratulations to Mr. Barber on such a remarkable occasion. It was indeed a great record to serve as a director of the Shannon Dairy Company for 40 years. Mr. Vincent said that he had a knowledge of Mr. Barber as they were fellow members pf the Horowhenua Power Board. He spoke of Mr. Barber's -.devotion to co-operative concerns yand - also pf the happy relations toetvfeep . thjeHLevin and Shannon vcompanies; :The speaker went on to mention the help Mrs . Barber had giyen her husband, Snabling. him to take such an acjaVe fiart in. various bodies with^winch Ke''h$a| connected. He said tkat it ivS^-'a great idea 'to^reSfeghise the services of a man while he was still alive to enjoy it, and expressed the hope that Mr. and Mrs. Barber would live for many more years. Mr. J. A. Nash spoke of the early dairying in this district and the operations of the Dairy Union of Palmerston North in this area before the present company was formed. When it was decided to operate a co-operative dairy at Shannon, the union had agreed to hand over its interests. This was carried out following a discussion between the union and the dairy company. Since that time, said Mr. Nash, the local dairy company had advanced greatly, and this was mostly due to the excellent elforts of Mr. Barber and his keenness on co-operative enterprise. A former mayor of Foxton, Mr. M. Perreau, spoke in humorous vein by remarking that two of those present, namely Mr. Barber and Mr. Nash, were early settlers of Foxton, Mr. Nash being born in that town. Later they had taken their genius to Shannon and Palmerston North

to .start industries, whereas they could have established them in their native'town of Foxton. Mr. Perreau concluded by extending the congratulations of the people of Foxton to Mr. and Mrs. Barber, and hoped they would have many more years of happmess together. Speaking on behalf of the staff of the office and store, Mr. C. M. Cropquest extended hearty congratulations and good wishes to Mr. and Mrs. Barber and mentioned that during the past 25 years that he had been at the board meetings Mr. Barber had been more than a director— he had been a good friend and had always given thd best advice and help, so* making the, duties of a secretary a pleasure instead of a job. . Mr. J. Alexander, manager of the factory, was the nextto speak and he extended congratulations on behalf of himself and the factory staff for the wonderful record of Mr. Barber. Mr. Alexander said that Mr. Barber had always taken an interest in the staff and had shown consideration to all. He mentioned that it had been a pleasure to serve and co -operate with Mr, Barber and his fellow directors, and assured them of genuine co-operation in the future. At this juncture the chairman, Mr. Law, stated that he had a very pleasing duty to perform, but before doing so he would like to add a few words, this time to Mrs. Barber. He said that she had been responsible in no small way for Mr. Barber's success, and had been through all the trials of a pioneer. Mrs. Barber was the proud mother of a splendid family, who had worthily upheld the Barber traditions, and who reflected great predit on her and her husband. Mr. Law continued, saying that Mrs. Barber had brought up her large family (Continued on Page 6)

MR. W. L BARBER HONOURED (Continued' frohi Page 3)

• without the amenities and aids which seemed so necessary today, . and it was thro'ugh her willingness to stay home and attend to things i that Mr. "Barber was atile to take such an active part. in the various Jocal bodies with which he had been connected. Mr. Law then called upon Mr. and Mrs. Barber to accept a canteen of

cuitery as a mark of appreciation and gratitude for the wonderful service doriie in the interests of the Shannon Dairy Company. In his' reply on behalf of Mrs. Barber, their family and himself, Mr. Barber extended sincere thanks to his fellow directors and friends for the. wonderful reception given them, and stated that little did he think some 40 years ago, when the company was first formed, that there would be such a reception in his honour. Mr. Barber then traced the history of the company from when it was formed on August 15, 1908, to the present day. He said that the first chairman of directors was Mr. E. Law and his fellow directors were Messrs R. W. Taylor, Nye, Wallace, G. O. Barber and Rushton. Mr. Barber' said that he feltl vpry proud that he was the only director pf the original number still on the directorate. Mr. J. Aim was the first manager of the company and Mr. G. Woodmass acted as secretary until the company was launched, when Mr. E. Judd was appointed to the position. Mr Barber went on to relate how at first suppliers to the new factory carted the cream to the premises, where it was separated, and the skim milk carted home again. Gradually home separation became general and the' cream was carted from the farms (by horse brakes. Now five ton lorries were used for the purpose. After the opening of the Mangahao, the steam plant was discarded and electricity installed in the factory. In 1929 a fine new building, one of New Zealand's best, was erected. Mr. Barber paid great tribute to the late Mr. E. Law and the late Mr. R. W. Taylor, who had both done outstanding work for the company as chairmen. In conclusion, Mr. Barber expressed sincere thanks and appreciation for the wonderful gift to Mrs. Barber and himself. After a delightful supper had I been served dancing was continued to the music supplied by Billy Larkins' orchestra. Competition dances were won by Miss P. Burtt and partner and Miss N. Easton and Mr. L. Burling. During the evening telegrams of congratulations from all parts of New Zealand were'read, and messages of apology for absence were received from Mr. W. A. Phillips, of the New Zealand Pig Marketing Association, Mr. W. Law, Te Puke, Mr. O. Kember, Wellington, Mr. G. Barber, Mrs. Aim, Mr. and Mrs. Secker, Mrs. ,tyaring.Taylor, ,.Mr. , and Mrs. E. Field,, Mr. E. Twoomey, Mr. and Mrs. J. Burkhart, Mr. and Mrs. C. Backhouse, and Mr. and Mrs. F. X. Thurston. A most enjoyable and successful svening was brought to a happy conclusion by the gathering, joinmg hands for the singing-oir "Auld Lang Syne".