William Baxter (1840-1908)
1908 Obituary [1]
WILLIAM BAXTER died at Buxton, Derbyshire, after a brief illness, on the 1st July, 1908, aged 68.
His early engineering experience was gained in railway construction in the North of Scotland, where, amongst other work, he surveyed and built the Sutherland Railway for the Duke of Sutherland, who subsequently appointed him to superintend the execution of extensive reclamation works on the ducal property.
About 1880 Mr. Baxter left Scotland for New Zealand, to take up the position of Engineer to the County Council of Ashburton, which was the scene of his professional labours until 3 years before his death. Besides the varied duties which fall to the lot of a county or district engineer in a young country like New Zealand, Mr. Baxter left a permanent record of his work and a contribution to the material welfare of the country in a large irrigation-scheme which he carried out successfully and which transformed an arid tract of the Canterbury Plains into fruitful grain and pasture land.
He was elected a Member of The Institution on the 3rd December, 1878.