Important appointments in the Railways Department were announced by the Chairman of the Railways Board (Mr. H. H. Sterling) on the 5th December, as follows:-

The Minister of Railways (the Right Hon. G. W. Forbes) announces that Mr. H. H. Sterling retires from the position of General Manager of Railways as from 6th December, and that he has been appointed chairman of the Government Railways Board from the same date, vice Colonel J. J. Esson, who has resigned.

Mr. P. G. Roussell, at present General Superintendent of Transportation, has been appointed General Manager of Railways in the place of Mr. Sterling.

The Government Railways Board announces that Mr. M. Dennehy, Assistant General Manager, has retired on superannuation, and Mr. G. H. Mackley, Chief Clerk in the Railway Head Office, has been appointed to succeed him.

The Board has also made the following appointments:-

Mr. E. Casey to be Chief Engineer, vice Mr. F. C. Widdop, retired on superannuation.

The position of Inspecting Engineer in the civil engineering branch, which is at present held by Mr, G. J. Bertinshaw, is to be amalgamated with the position of Assistant Chief Engineer lately occupied by Mr. W. R. Davidson, retired on superannuation, and Mr. Bertinshaw is to be promoted to the position.

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Mr. P. G. Rousell, General Manager.

Joining the Department in 1893, as a cadet at Auckland, Mr. Roussell was, during the next twelve years, located at various stations in the Auckland and Wanganui districts. Thereafter he filled successively the positions of Station-master at Turakina, Otahuhu, and Te Aroha, Assistant Relieving Officer in the Auckland district, and Stationmaster, Henderson. In 1916 he was taken into the District Traffic Manager's Office at Auckland. With a year's auditing to his credit, and experience of control work in all phases of District Office duties, he was fully qualified for appointment as Chief Clerk to the District Manager at Ohakune, in 1922. In 1924 he was promoted to the position of Chief Clerk at Head Office, Wellington, and in the beginning of 1925 was selected as secretary to the then newly-created Railway Board of Control. He became General Superintendent of Transportation on the retirement of the late Mr. A. K. Harris, and has held that position until the present time. Mr. Roussell's appointment is assured of the approval of both staff and public. He is among the best known and most trusted of New Zealand railway-men.

The following paragraph from the Magazine of June, 1926, in regard to Mr. Roussell, may still be quoted appropriately:-“A strong sense of right, a keen mind that sees all round a subject to its ultimate issues, and a safe instinct for doing the right thing unhesitatingly, are among the qualities which have helped him to win the unstinted confidence of all those engaged in, or concerned with, the railway service.”

Mr. G. H. Mackley, Assistant General Manager.

Mr. Mackley joined the Railway service as a cadet in the traffic department at Otautau (Southland) in 1900. He worked at various stations in the Southland and Otago districts until 1907, when he was appointed as a clerk in the Christchurch goods department. After being transferred on promotion to Petone station, page 11 and later to Invercargill goods department, he was appointed Asst. Relieving Officer, and later (1913) Stationmaster at Heriot. Subsequent to this he had five years as Stationmaster at Kaikohe and Onerahi, and served as Asst. Relieving Officer in the Wellington district, being later promoted to the position of Divisional Clerk in the District Traffic Manager's Office, at Wellington, where he then qualified as a train running officer (1920–24), being later transferred to Ohakune. During part of this period he represented the Department before the Railway Appeal Board. He was Chief Clerk at Ohakune from 1925 to 1928, and was selected in September, 1928, to be Chief Clerk in the Head Office, Wellington, a position he has continued to occupy until the present time.

Mr. Mackley has been a man of varied and very human interests. When located in Invercargill and at Christchurch and Petone he took a keen interest in athletics, winning many trophies in rowing and other sports. He has been associated with several organisations outside the Department on matters of public interest. Whilst at Kaikohe Mr. Mackley took up the cudgels on behalf of the Dalmatians in that district who were threatened with internment at that time, and he still treasures a watch given by these grateful aliens in recognition of his disinterested and successful efforts on their behalf.

Mr. E. Casey, Chief Engineer.

Mr. Casey, who was promoted from Divisional Superintendent at Auckland to be Assistant Chief Engineer at Headquarters, in May last, joined the engineering staff as a cadet in 1902, and subsequently served in Wanganui, Auckland, Greymouth, and Ohakune districts. In 1912, Mr. Casey took over the duties of Assistant Engineer, Auckland District, and in 1916 took charge of the grade easement works between Penrose and Mercer. In 1921 he was transferred to the Christ-church District, and was engaged in remodelling the station yards on the Midland line prior to the opening of the Otira Tunnel. When it was decided to proceed with the Auckland new station yard and the Auckland-Westfield new railway, Mr. Casey was specially selected to take charge of this work. In March, 1925, he was appointed Inspecting Engineer, with headquarters at Wellington. He has occupied the positions of vice-chairman of the Suggestions and Inventions Committee besides acting on several important Departmental committees. Mr. Casey is known as a public speaker and debater well above the ordinary, holding an unbeateu record at various competitions in the different centres throughout New Zealand, and from 1910 to 1921 he was one of the most prominent officers of the Railway Officers' Institute.

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