Obituary: Frank Woodward

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 3, Issue 3, 11 June 1985, Page 4

Obituary: Frank Woodward

Quiet dedication and enthusiasm for community life was an attribute of Frank Woodward's that Ohakune and district can be grateful for when contemplating his passing in Wanganui recently at the age of 86.

He came to Ohakune towards the end of 1916 as an electrician with the Borough Power Department. - In 1929 he became electrical engineer and remained so until his retirement in 1963. A great deal of the credit for outlying areas and farms receiving power was due to Mr Woodward. He maintained the generating plant in Ohakune, with all the ups and downs for 44 years. Frank Woodward gave long service to the fire brigade and was made a life member. He recalled the fire which was to change the face of Ohakune on 6th November 1917. Fire broke out in the business area of Burns Street.

Within months he was part of a support group in Ohakune during the extensive Raetihi bush fire of 1918. Service as acting town clerk, the fire brigade's representative on the fire board of the Borough Council and school committees was part of his life. He became the first chairman on the Board of Governors when Ruapehu College was opened in 1955. He was a member of Ngauruhoe Lodge No. 205 and is also remembered for his prowess as a cricketer. He is survived by his wife Evelyn (nee Soufflot) and their eight children, Lou, Alan, Jack, Keith, June, Dorothy, Margaret and Neil who were all educated in Ohakune. Merrilyn George