Ellis Albert Fuller 1902 1951 Auckland Nz

edmondsallan - Hello - What a hard life " ELLIS " must of had when he went to live on " Ocean Island " in those days with his family
He lived on Ocean Island with Florence and their daughter, Joan. By 1911 he had tired of the pioneering life; Florence Ellis had died in 1909 and, now that the company was manufacturing superphosphate as well as mining, Ellis may have lacked the financial and engineering skills the position had come to demand. He took up the new Auckland-based position of local director for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands. On 19 February 1913 at Auckland he married Nellie Isabel Stewart, Florence's sister; they had no children.

Following the First World War Nauru was passed as a League of Nations mandate to Britain, Australia and New Zealand, with Australia as administering power. The three governments established the British Phosphate Commissioners to run the industry, and Ellis was appointed phosphate commissioner for New Zealand in May 1920, a position he held until his death. He had little real power or influence, although he contributed to the policy making of the commission and its liaison with the New Zealand government.

Ellis became a great publicist for the phosphate and fertiliser industries, contributing frequently to the New Zealand Journal of Agriculture and similar publications. He also wrote Ocean Island and Nauru: their story (1935); Adventuring in coral seas (1936), on his early life; and Mid-Pacific outposts (1946), which dealt with the Second World War in the central Pacific. In 1945 he represented the New Zealand government at the Japanese surrender ceremonies on Ocean Island and Nauru. For his contribution to the phosphate industry and New Zealand agriculture Ellis was appointed a CMG in 1928 and was knighted in 1938.

Albert Ellis combined a creative and adventurous spirit with a modest and dignified demeanour. He was for many years an elder of the Presbyterian church, a Bible class leader, a director of the New Zealand Bible Training Institute, and a council member (and honorary treasurer) of the Scripture Union. He was a founder member of the Rotary Club of Auckland in 1921 and became a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, London, in 1927. He died in Auckland on 11 July 1951, survived by his daughter and his second wife.
Till we meet again - Regards - edmondsallan