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The following day began with rain, which got heavier as the day progressed. Between sites on the
Waitaki fan the minivan had to ford a normally shallow and quiet irrigation channel. It was wider than
usual but alas also deeper and the van full of overseas guests came to a sudden stop as the water
rushed over and drowned the engine. Stranded in the middle of the race with water lapping around
their feet, Elwyn and I piggy backed the visitors across the channel, and proceeded to dry out the
ignition and get the engine running again. From this point on the day got progressively worse with
loess sections almost invisible in the rain and the van suffering further misadventures; with a
punctured rear tire and a spare with a gaping hole in it, a transmission that would not allow the gears
to be changed between second and third and a clutch that wasn‘t keen to work. As a result a lot of faith
was put on the brakes during the descent into Dunedin on a cold and miserable evening. It was
Elwyn‘s good cheer that kept me the driver on track and the visitors calm and unaware of the drama
that was unravelling.
David Ives never did complete his ambition to be the principle loess investigator in Canterbury, with
his energies redirected to other soil surveys allowing insufficient time to complete the studies he had
intended. Studies that in all probability would have led on to his completion of a PhD. David resigned
from Soil Bureau in 1975 to take up a position with ANZDEC New Zealand Limited as an
international soil survey consultant.
It is with a feeling of sadness that I acknowledge the death of Elwyn. I am fortunate to have known
him and learned from him and to have shared time with him in the field.
From Hugh Wilde.
I first met Elwyn in early 1967, the year after he and his family arrived in NZ from Pakistan. I had
recently started work as a soil scientist with Mike Leamy at the DSIR Soil Bureau Alexandra office,
and the Griffiths were based in Christchurch. Elwyn was a frequent visitor to Central Otago.
We both began our NZ careers about the same time – Elwyn with about 12 years work behind him in
Africa and Pakistan, and me just out of university. What I remember of those early days were the long
discussions about NZ soils and soil water issues, particularly those relating to irrigation problems.
There were also discussions about departmental politics. It was no problem for Elwyn to hold a
vigorous debate with several adversaries at once. He had formed his views of the world while growing
up in a small village in post-war Wales, being conscripted into the British Army to serve during the
Korean War as a 19 year old, and afterwards resuming his university studies and eventually work
overseas in Rhodesia and Pakistan as a soil scientist. It came as no surprise to many of us that, given
Elwyn‘s interrupted education through conscription and his experiences as a private soldier in Korea,
he was vehemently anti war and anti military. Any mention of the military to Elwyn would invoke a
very forceful response against incompetent management of any sort, but particularly military.
In Canterbury, Elwyn worked on soil surveys in the Waikari District, the Lower Waitaki Glenavy
Irrigation scheme, and also in Central Otago with work related to the planning of the proposed
Maniatoto Irrigation scheme.
In 1972, when the Christchurch office of Soil Bureau was relocating to Lincoln, Elwyn and his family
moved to the Havelock North DSIR campus where he worked on soil surveys and soil-water issues in
the wider Hawke‘s Bay area. I had already moved north to the Wanganui–Manawatu region and often
arranged visits to Havelock North where my parents lived, to meet up with Elwyn and discuss
technical issues of interest to us both.
Elwyn would never shy away from a good argument. If the younger people had an issue either
technical, or with the hierarchy, they could always share it with Elwyn and receive full support – or
good advice on how to make it go away if the boss was right all along.
I valued Elwyn as a colleague for nearly 30 years, particularly having the opportunity to work with
him occasionally and to visit Elwyn and Jim Watt at Havelock North. The 1980‘s Soil Water
Assessment and Measurement Programme (SWAMP) orchestrated by Elwyn and Jim is one example.
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