Francis Small (engineer)

Francis Small CNZM
Born	Arthur Francis Small (1946-02-26)26 February 1946 Palmerston North, New Zealand
Died	5 March 2021(2021-03-05) (aged 75) Wellington, New Zealand
Alma mater	University of Auckland
Scientific career
Thesis	Hydroelastic excitation of cylinders (1971)
Doctoral advisor	Arved Raudkivi
82nd President of IPENZ
In office 1996–1997
Preceded by	Douglas Armstrong
Succeeded by	John Philip Blakeley
National president of Scouting New Zealand

Arthur Francis Small CNZM (26 February 1946 – 5 March 2021) was a New Zealand engineer and scouting leader. He served as the national president of Scouting New Zealand, as well as the vice-chairman of the Asia-Pacific Regional Scout Committee.[1]

Early life

Small was born in 1946,[2][3] He studied civil engineering at the University of Auckland, completing a Master of Engineering degree in 1969,[4] and a PhD in 1971.[5] His doctoral thesis, supervised by Arved Raudkivi, was titled Hydroelastic excitation of cylinders.[6]

Career

Joining the New Zealand Railways Department in 1964, Small rose to become managing director of New Zealand Rail in 1990 and its successor, Tranz Rail.[7] He retired from Tranz Rail in 2000 and was replaced, as managing director, by Michael Beard in May of that year.[8] Small was then vice-chairman for some time.[9] For his services to the transport industry and the community, he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2000 New Year Honours.[10]

In 1999, Small was appointed by the National Government as one of three people on the high-profile INCIS inquiry into the failed computer system that had been ordered by New Zealand Police in the 1990s. Early in 2000 after a change to the Labour Government, the other two members were dispensed with and Small conducted the enquiry by himself.[11][12] Small's report on INCIS was published in November 2000.[13]

Small was a Distinguished Fellow of the Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand (IPENZ) and was the group's president in 1996–97.[3][7] In 2013, he received an individual award from the Railway Technical Society of Australasia for outstanding service to New Zealand's rail industry.[7] In 2015, he founded the Francis Small Scholarship at the University of Auckland, available to civil, electrical, mechanical or chemical engineering students.[14]

In 1999, Small was awarded the 278th Bronze Wolf, the only distinction of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, awarded by the World Scout Committee for exceptional services to world scouting.[15]

Small died in Wellington on 5 March 2021.[16]

References

1. Page 17 World Organization of the Scout Movement – Triennial Report 1996–1999
2. Lambert, Max (1991) [1908]. Who's Who in New Zealand (12 ed.). Wellington: Reed. p. 586. ISBN 0790001306.
3. "Past Presidents". Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
4. "Library search". University of Auckland. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
5. "Library search". University of Auckland. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
6. Small, A.F. (1971). Hydroelastic excitation of cylinders (PDF). University of Auckland. p. ii. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
7. "2013 Dr. Francis Small". Railway Technical Society of Australasia. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
8. Lee, Yoke Har (30 June 2000). "Boss who took Tranz Rail up a gear". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
9. "Rail shares in limelight as port eyes stake". The New Zealand Herald. 30 June 2000. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
10. "New Year honours list 2000". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 31 December 1999. Retrieved 18 August 2019.
11. Young, Audrey (30 June 2000). "David Caygill gets 'just' $1500 a day to head electricity inquiry". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
12. Bingham, Eugene (30 June 2000). "Fears of $7m bill for Incis inquiry". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
13. "Widespread blame for Incis fiasco". The New Zealand Herald. 17 November 2000. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
14. "Francis Small Scholarship". University of Auckland. Retrieved 11 April 2017.
15. "List of recipients of the Bronze Wolf Award". World Organization of the Scout Movement. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
16. "Arthur Small death notice". New Zealand Herald. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 9 March 2021.