Thomas Ronayne (1849 – 7 September 1925) was a New Zealand public servant involved in railway management. He was the general manager of New Zealand Railways from 1895 to 1913. He was a member of the New Zealand Railways Board, and was accidentally killed while inspecting the Clydevale mine near Westport on the West Coast.

Biography

Ronayne was born in

Youghal Youghal ( ; ) is a seaside resort town in County Cork, Ireland. Located on the estuary of the River Blackwater, the town is a former military and economic centre. Located on the edge of a steep riverbank, the town has a long and narrow layout. ...

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

, Ireland, in 1849, and was apprenticed in Manchester and Dublin. He arrived in New Zealand in 1875, and was put in charge of railway works at

Helensville Helensville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is sited northwest of Auckland, close to the southern extremity of the Kaipara Harbour. New Zealand State Highway 16, State Highway 16 passes through the town, connecting it to Waimauk ...

in 1875,

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...

in 1876, and Addington in 1878. In 1890, he organised the Greymouth–Brunner Line. Ronayne was appointed the general manager of New Zealand Railways from the start of 1895, and in 1906 he represented New Zealand at the International Railway Congress. He was succeeded as general manager by Ernest Hiley in September 1913, and was appointed a

Companion of the Imperial Service Order The Imperial Service Order was established by King Edward VII in August 1902. It was awarded on retirement to the administration and clerical staff of the Civil Service throughout the British Empire for long and meritorious service. Normally a pe ...

in the 1914 King's Birthday Honours. Following

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Ronayne served as a director of a number of small coal-mining companies on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

. In that capacity, he visited the Clydevale mine at

Seddonville Seddonville is a lightly populated locality on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is most famous for the historical role it played in New Zealand's coal mining industry. Geography Seddonville is in the is ...

with other directors on 7 September 1925. They travelled in one of the tubs of the aerial tramway, and heavy rain started; Ronayne covered his head with a sack, despite warnings from the mine manager. The sack dislodged the tub pin, causing the tub to tip, and Ronayne fell to the ground 25 feet below, dying from a fractured skull. An inquest at Seddonville returned a verdict of accidental death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronayne, Thomas 1849 births 1925 deaths People from Youghal Irish emigrants (before 1923) to New Zealand New Zealand public servants New Zealand engineers New Zealand people in rail transport 19th-century New Zealand engineers 20th-century New Zealand engineers 20th-century New Zealand public servants 19th-century New Zealand public servants New Zealand Companions of the Imperial Service Order