PUBLIC WORKS STAFF

Evening Star, Issue 22458, 1 October 1936, Page 14

PUBLIC WORKS STAFF

CHANGES ANNOUNCED MR T. M. BALL GOES TO WELLINGTON Public Works Department staff changes to take effect within the next few weeks are announced as follow: — Mr T. M. Ball, district engineer at Dunedin, is to be promoted to the position of inspecting engineer at Wellington. Mr P. Keller, district engineer at Stratford, has been appointed to take over Mr Ball’s present position in Dunedin. Mr F. W. Lindup, who has been stationed at Alexandra for 13 years, is to become district engineer at Stratford. Mr J. Watt, assistant engineer at Alexandra, will become resident engineer of that district, in succession to Mr Lindup. LOCAL ENGINEER’S RECORD. Mr Ball joined the Public Works Department in 1905 and served four years’ cadetship. During that time he was for 18 months engaged in preparing reports on water power surveys, and was on the construction of the Seaward Bush railway from Invercargill to Tokonui. In 1909 he was appointed assistant engineer, a position he held until the end of 1917. Four years of that

period were spent on the West Coast railway construction works, including the lieefton-Inangahua railway. He then went to North Auckland to work on the survey of the Main Trunk line, and later on the construction of the line from Whangarei to Tauraroa. At the end of 1917 he commenced two years’ war service on the western front, resuming with the. department in 1919, when he was placed in charge of the Paeroa sub-district. The principal works undertaken at that time were the Waihou and the Ohinemuri Rivers improvements. In 1921 he was transferred to Stratford as resident engineer, being promoted in three years 'to the office of district engineer. During his stay there he was again engaged on the construction of the Main Trunk railway, including the tunnels at Tangarakau, the Opunake branch railway, and the New Plymouth-Te Kniti main highway. He came to Dunedin on transfer in 1929, and while he has been district engineer here the main works carried out have been improvements to the main highway both north and south of Dunedin and the interior highways, the Balclutha bridge construction, various irrigation schemes, the Taieri Plains flood protection scheme, the Te Anau-Milford road, and the construction of the Homer tunnel.