William jourdain

William Robert Jourdain (1868 -1944)

Mr Jourdain joined the Lands and Survey Dept in 1887 and was stationed at Naper until 1900, when he was transferred to the head office in Wellington. He was appointed chief clerk in 1912 and retained the position until his retirement in 1924. He was secretary of the Scenery Preservation Board, the Tongariro National Park Board and the 1909 Royal Commission on the timber industry. In 1911 he was admitted as a solicitor of the Supreme Court, and he wrote two books on land legislation published in the 1920s.

Mr Jourdain was regarded as an extremely capable officer and was particularly interested in the preservation of scenery. Mr Jourdain was a freemason, Master of Hataitai Lodge in 1934-35. He was married twice - to Crawford Robina (or Rubina?) Murray in 1900, and then to Mary Elizabeth Barnett in 1914.

Sources: Edited from obituary, Evening Post 9 May 1944; other sources.