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Obituaries
and had a talent for running things: for moving meetings along, and listening to a wide range of people. He was made an Emeritus Professor in 1995 after his retirement - but he was more proud of the lifetime membership granted to him by Victoria's Student Association. More recently, the University named a new courtyard after him. Even in his final role as University Chancellor, he saw something of the students; the job meant passing fee increases, which often attracted rowdy protests. Tim regretted the hikes but saw no other option, with government funding tight. Every year the university council is caught in an intolerable position, he said in 2006. Tim held other public roles too. He was chairman of the Historic Places Trust from 1990 to 1996, and earlier served on the boards of the National Art Gallery and Volunteer Service Abroad. More recently, he was a member of the Press Council, which rules on complaints about the print media. Privately, Tim had many passions. He was a physical man who loved sailing the family yacht Cape Resolution, and once built a dinghy by hand in his backyard. He was a fine runner in his youth and a keen tramper. He was just as much a bon vivant too - a lover of wine, fine food and lively dinner parties. Some of his Christmas dinners featured as many as ten courses, each with a matching wine. He leaned Left politically, and took pleasure in putting a Labour Party placard up on Messines Road, not one of the most liberal of streets, as his wife Helen notes. And he made sure to stuff two of any leaflet he was delivering into the nearby letterbox of Finance Minister, Hon. Bill English. Tim spent much of his retirement on two books about his father – the 2006 biography, which was published to acclaim and nominated for the New Zealand Book Awards, and a follow-up compilation of JC Beaglehole's letters. He called his father's work on Cook one of the great achievements of twentieth-century historical scholarship, praised his extraordinary capacity for concentration, and recalled his own straightforward, if slightly remote, relationship with him. The younger Beaglehole had the same passion for detail, whether in getting the grammar of a sentence The Lampstand | 2015
right or working a piece of wood. He loved people and gossip. He read trashy books as well as intellectual works. (His daughter recalled him poring over Andrew Morton's biography of Princess Diana). His family describe him as a devoted husband and father who approached life with tolerance, good humour and gusto. The Dominion Post JOHN BELL Wellington College: 1958-1962
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ohn Bell was born in Wellington in 1945 and attended Wadestown Primary School, then Wellington College where he achieved UE in 1961 and University Bursary in 1962. Excelling in Mathematics, he won an Edward Espy Martin Prize for Mathematics and a Stanley Hutchen Prize for Sixth Form Science and for Additional Mathematics in 1961. After an Engineering Intermediate year at Victoria University, John attended Canterbury University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil) with First Class Honours in 1966, and, after a remarkably short period of about two and a half years, a PhD. His PhD thesis was on the post-elastic analysis of thin concrete shells (curved, often in two directions, and used as a roof) with allowance for cracking. This required John to develop what was in those days very sophisticated software on very large computers. John then joined IBM as a Marketing Representative in Dunedin and was subsequently promoted to roles in Wellington and then to Auckland as Auckland Branch Manager. John left IBM in the early 1980s, and, after a brief period, helped with the development and use of technology in corporate and financial controls of consulting engineers BECA, John took a position as Managing Director of Fujitsu NZ Ltd. He had become an intelligent and respected business manager who maintained a considerate and friendly approach to everyone at all times. John joined Telecom (NZ) Ltd in 1996 as General Manager Business Development, reporting directly to Chief Executive Roderick Deane. He led a small team of business development specialists who evaluated the expansion into business activities
beyond the scope of traditional telecommunications, including tackling the Australian market and increasing the skill sets of Telecom through strategic acquisitions and partnerships with IT and media providers. The objective was to create shareholder value at a time when the convergence of telecommunications, information technology and the entertainment sectors was becoming apparent. During this period Telecom was growing its internet business through Xtra which and entered the cable TV business for a short time with First Media. John was deeply involved in the acquisition of AAPT in Australia, the winning of a contract with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia to manage its telecommunication and IT needs, the acquisition of a shareholding in EDS NZ Ltd and the formation of the partnership to build and own the Southern Cross Cable. John was also involved in the management of a number of noncore businesses such as Telecom Directories and Pacific Star based in Brisbane. John married Robyn Fox in 1967 and their two children Jimmy and Pamela now live in Wellington with their spouses and young families. Jimmy followed his father’s footsteps to Wellington College, attending there from 1988 to 1992. John and Robyn developed a love of skiing while at Canterbury University, joining the University Ski Club and making great use of the facilities through their undergraduate and graduate years. Once old enough, the rest of the family caught the ski bug and the Bells maximised their time at their ski house in Rangataua (Ohakune) and subsequently in NZ summers at northern hemisphere ski resorts including Solitude and Brighton in Salt Lake City, Utah. When snowboarding was introduced to the country, they were early adopters. Pamela went on to represent NZ in snowboarding at a Giant Slalom at the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998. In the 1990s, John bought a block of land in Martinborough, and in his spare time he developed a vineyard, enjoying working in the weekends and in any other 'spare' time. The love of this lifestyle grew and before long John and his second wife, Kaye McAulay, whom he married in 1996, had developed an organic and biodynamic vineyard producing their own label quality wines, 'Vynfields' As in his business life, John applied his intellect to the challenge, in this case the research
and development of organic wine, contributing greatly to the organic foods national body, BioGro, and the bio-dynamic equivalent, Demeter, as well as to the wine community in Martinborough. John’s executive and governance skills were in demand in the Wairarapa, where he was appointed Chairman of Destination Wairarapa, which he restructured, improved governance and put on a stronger financial footing. As Chairman of The Wairarapa Winegrowers, he brought improved governance to the organisation as well. John retired from Telecom in 2002 and worked full-time in the vineyard and winery, travelling internationally at first to establish the brand as a reliable quality wine. The Vynfields platters and wine sales became a famous quality experience in Martinborough with John and Kaye as excellent hosts. John always enjoyed a broad intellectual interest and studied diverse subjects such as philosophy, Japanese culture, Buddhism and other religions, classical guitar music, chamber music and Bob Dylan. He attended the Class of ‘1962 50 Years On Reunion at the College in 2012. Unfortunately after John had battled cancer for some years, his condition deteriorated and he and Kaye sold the vineyard in 2013 and moved into the township of Martinborough. John was always one of nature’s gentlemen - from his school days through his illustrious business career and as an active participant in Martinborough’s wine community. A glass or two of quality pinot would be a fitting tribute in remembrance! Written by Ian Fraser (1959-1962), with help from John’s family and friends COLIN BEYER Wellington College: 1952-1955
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olin Beyer was a prominent lawyer who was a senior partner then consultant with Simpson Grierson in Wellington. He was a businessman with many governance positions. Colin was born in New Zealand in 1938 to Danish parents, Knud and Carla Beyer. His father worked on the wharves in Wellington and his mother worked for the Agriculture Department. Together with his older brother Trevor [1950-1953] and his sister Olga, they lived in Island Bay.