John Wyndham Brimblecombe (1900-1979)

From John Wyndham Brindlecombe's obituary published in the Taranaki Daily News on 4 May 1979:

Colourful 'Brim' passes on

One of South Taranaki's most colourful identities, as an architect, sportsman, collector and author, Mr John Wyndham Brimblecombe, died after a short illness at Hawera on Wednesday.

Widely known throughout Taranaki as "Brim" he spent his later years in retirement at Manaia. The 79-year-old raconteur will be well-remembered for his published humorous anecdotes of rural life in New Zealand, and for his prolific commentary on public affairs through the letters to the editor columns of Taranaki's newspapers.

Mr Brimblecombe was from an old Devon family with a recorded history extending back to 1536, and was tutor and public school educated.

Reconnaissance

He joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1917 as an observer, and flew in De Havilland 9As over France and was engaged in reconnaissance and photography in the later stages of World War I. He was articled to a firm of architects for three years and was later architect for the Okehampton-Devon Council for several years. Mr Brimblecombe came to New Zealand in 1935 to cut gorse for a living during the years of the depression. Later he joined the department of housing, designing and laying out various government land blocks. He made the model of the first large government housing block at Hamilton, which was displayed in the 1940 centennial exhibition at Wellington.

He moved from Wellington to Eltham in 1941 as a health inspector with the Health Department, and the following year moved to Manaia. Mr Brimblecombe retired in 1953 from the service, and commenced a practise as an architect in Hawera. The St Cuthbert's Anglican Church at Manaia, from which Mr Brimblecombe will be buried today, was designed by him in the mid-1950s [1959]. In 1962 he joined Arthur Brown Construction Co. Ltd and remained with the company until retiring in 1974.

Dedicated

Mr Brimblecombe was a dedicated painter and collector, and a keen fly fisherman. He wrote a series of articles for the farming magazine "Straight Furrow" which were later published as a collection entitled "Shear Nonsense". The publication sold more than 23,000 copies. His first publication was entitled "Are You a Sport?". [Actually his second book, published in 1964] Mr Brimblecombe was also a keen golfer and a supporter of badminton, and had an intense interest in motoring.

NB: John Brimblecombe also drew up plans for the restoration and upgrading of the Manaia & Districts War Memorial Hall (1955) after the previous hall was partially destroyed by fire.