E. PHILLIPS TURNER

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 125, 28 May 1937, Page 7

E. PHILLIPS TURNER

, ' (By A. L. H.) '- '• In their picturesque metaphor the Maoris would pass on the word "that a great Totara has fallen" and. as applied to Phillips Turner it -would be appropriate in every respect. Firstly, he was, a. gentleman—one of Nature's gentlemen—by, his manner's; his culture, and his appearance: ':,, We shall sadly miss the straight, figure in grey —his belted Norfolk coat,'his knickers, his homespun stockings, cap, hair> mous.ta.gjje, an.^ pointe;£beard|pere, ; flll. • grey?'"'* ''■•'■: i8|'1- i: **' : *" In-any company he would have been singled out as "distinguished," and this conclusion would receive confirmation when his words fell upon the ear in scholarly accents, well-chosen and precise words. Possessed of a wide range of knowledge, he had no difficulty in commanding attentive listeners wherever he foregathered with his fellows, no matter what the object of the meeting. 'There was;no humbug—not one tittle—in Phillips Turner's make-up, and just-as he was earnest, sincere, and direct, so he expected the same attributes hftcrthers. ' But it is in the setting of a lover of Nature, in all. her phases and moods, that we see him at his best. As a surveyor for many years during the early part of Ills working career, he gained his knowledge first hand from Nature's own storehouse. The forests, the birds, and the insects were to him friends with whom close commune was a valued privilege. How well he learned, how deeply he drank of the distinctive atmosphere of the primeval forest and became acquainted with its denizens, his close friends full well know. He loved them all, not in a passive, but in a positive'and a practical sense. The ruthless and wanton .destruction of the indigenous forests of New Zealand—his adopted country —aroused in him a feeling not of sadness, but of indignation and disgust. He was as ardent an advocate? of the correct use of the forest growth as he was an opponent of its mis-use or needJess destruction. No citizen of this Dominion was more capable than he to demarcate the forest lands into their proper spheres — timber products, watershed areas, erosion prevention, and scenery. Would that Phillips Turner had fifty years ago been entrusted with such a classification, for then, unthinking man would not have wrought such havoc with the botanical Paradise Nature trustingly bequeathed to his care. When the deceased gentleman retired from his position as Director of the State Forest Service to enjoy freedom from routine, he told the writer that he intended "to devote the remainder of his Jife to the interests of the forests" and this he did with a never-failing vigour. He was president of the New Zealand Forestry League up till the time of his passing, and the members feel that they "shall nb! look upon his like again." The giants of the forest from the. north to the south, from the east to the west, chant the requiem of their departed friend who has gone to join his compeers, Sir James Wilson, Leonard, Cockayne, and Ebenezat- Maxwell. A crushed left hand, injuries to the back, and shock were suffered by C. Croon, a labourer, of 10 Prince Street, when a piece of concrete fell on him while he was working on the new Government block at the corner of Ballance and Stout Streets at 9.25 a.m. yesterday. He was taken to hospital by the Free Ambulance.