hand to the administration of its growth, he was able to give back to his community some of the fruits of his endeavors, Sir William played an active part in local body politics for sixteen years- nine of those years were spent as Mayor of Howick, during which time he offered as a gift to the Government in 1958 the family farm at Cockle Bay, for the Vice-Regal Residence (the property we know now as Waikiteroa Subdivision): drained and developed Nixon Park for Bowling Greens; provided grants of thousands of dollars to local sporting clubs, schools and service organizations. In 1961 he set up a special trust for an annual award to enable and encourage young engineers to work and study overseas to improve their knowledge and techniques in civil engineering construction. His involvement with opencast mining at Kopuku led him to provide funds for the establishment of a Fellowship to accelerate coal research in 1964. In 1968 Sir William and Lady Stevenson provided funds to purchase the historic Shamrock Cottage which they handed over to the Howick Borough council enabling restoration work to be carried out. The Stevenson Village- a pensioner housing project with recreational and hospital facilities- is further tribute to the benevolence of Sir William and Lady Stevenson. The Village, opened May 1975, was run in conjunction with the Howick RSA of which Sir William was Patron for over 20 years. Philanthropist Another gift from Sir William to the people of Auckland was in 1958 when he rebuilt St Thomas' Church in Kohimarama. The Church was constructed in the grounds of the old St Thomas' in 1947 and condemned as dangerous only 17 years later. The designs based on the original structure only larger, were drawn up by Mr. Murray Le Grice, an Engineer with W. Stevenson & Sons at that time. In keeping with his marine interests, Sir William sponsored the late Kelly Tarlton and co-diver Wade Doak in 1968 in the excavation and salvage of the "Boyd", which was burnt and sunk in Whangaraoa Harbour in 1809. Many of the salvaged artefacts are now on display in Northland Museums. Boaties who have strained their eyes in the darkness looking for a safe approach to Kawau Island have probably heaved a sigh of relief once sighting the familiar "Martello 'light, to guide them past the dangers of the outer reefs. Few would realize that the true