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- After working for the South African Govermnent Department of Agriculture for 18 months Winston spent the rest of his working life (1931 - 1968) in the service of the South African Citrus Industry. He was the author of two books:
1. The Controlled Marketing of Citrus Fruit in South Africa, published in 1944,
and
2. The South African Co-operative Citrus Exchange Ltd, published in 1958.
The first was published by the University of Pretoria (Series 1 Agriculture No 50) in collaboration with the Citrus Exchange. it was a 'Thesis accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Science in Agriculture in the University". The second publication was a History of the South African Co-operative Citrus Exchange from its inception up to 1958.
The forward in the "History" was written by the Chairman of the Citrus Exchange at that time,
Dr. Neville van Breda, and reads as follows:
"While no one but the Author, Doctor Winston Allwright, has the intimate background for a comprehensive study of the History of the South African Co-operative Citrus Exchange it is perhaps unfortunate that the story of his tremendous contribution to the organisation has been cloaked by his own modesty.
The writer is certain that there is no one who has had a greater influence on the undoubted success of the Exchange than Dr Allwright and the history of the Citrus Industry cannot be adequately covered without special reference to the great part he played in building up an organization which is the strengh and pride of Citrus Growers throughout our country.
Dr. Allwright joined the Citrus Exchange Staff as the first Field Offiser in 1931. He was stationed at Rustenburg and soon had a very extensive range of field trials in operation and also did much valuable work connected with the handling and packing of fruit. the results of much of this work are reflected in the orchard practice in operation at the present time. (1958).
In 1936 he was transfered to Pretoria as Technical Advisor in charge of the Field Staff. In this position he consolidated the work and standing of the Field Department very considerably.
In 1938 he was sent to the United States of America and the United Kingdom to report on the latest citrus developments. His reports were most comprehensive and were very valuable to the industry. The considerable easing in packing costs by the introduction of wiring instead of strapping of the ends of export boxes was one of the direct results of his observations in America"
"On his appointment as Assistant General Manager of the Exchange in 1943, he handed over to Mr Crous a field Department which was very well organised and which was accepted as an integral and permanent department of the Exchange Organisation.
In 1938 he obtained his Bachelor of Commerce degree for which he had studied by correspondence. this gave him the necessary theoretical background for his later duties with the industry in the administrative and business field. In the same year he was awarded his M.Sc degree in Agriculture, his thesis being based on the fertiliser trials conducted by him in the Western Transvaal.
When it became necessary in 1941 to organise the local marketing of citrus fruit, Dr. Allwright was put in charge of this work. His knowledge of the markets was greatly augmented by the experience he gained as a result of being invited by the Government to serve on a Government Committee appointed to enquire into the marketing of fruit in the Union. The results achieved in this field during the war years greatly exceeded even the most optimistic hopes in the industry.
In 1944 he was awarded a D.Sc degree in Agriculture by the University of Pretoria, his thesis being " The Marketing of Citrus Fruit in South Africa". This was a very valuable contribution to marketing knowledge in this country. During the year he was appointed "General Manager" in succession to Mr John Webb, who had been obliged to retire because of ill health.
As General Manager of the Exchange, he played a leading part during 1944 and 1945 in shaping the post-war policy of the industry and it is greatly to his credit that so much of this policy has been found to sound and lasting. In this connection in 1946 and again in 1949 Dr. Allwright visited the United Kingdom and Europe with the Chairman of the Exchange, Mr. T.W. Gleaves, with whom he was co-author of a report issued in 1949 on how the overseas marketing of South African citrus fruit should be done. Practically all their recommendation were adopted by the industry, and he was sent over to the United Kingdom again in 1950 to supervise the implementation of those recommendations. In 1947 he had the honour of being invited by the Union Government to join its delegation to the Preparatory Conference in Geneve of the International Trade Organisation. (I.T.O.). In 1951 he served as a member of the Committee appointed by the Union government to enquire into local markets".
" The year 1953 found him once more in the United Kingdom with the writer, then Vice- Chairman, as representatives of the Industry at the Commonwealth Fruit-Producers Conference.
Finally, in 1956 he conducted an intensive survey of the marketing of South African citrus fruit in the United Kingdom and Europe. His observations and recommendations were all adopted by the industry and implemented during 1957, which was his last year of service as General Manager.
For the above, the reader will realise what an important part he played in the evolution of the industry's marketing policy. Above all, he recognised the importance of extending the industries markets to as wide a field as possible. To this end he recommended the opening of the Exchange's Continental Office in Rotterdam in 1952 amd the Exchange's Scandanavian Office in Sweden in 1957. Since 1953 he had been endeavouring to find a channel through which South African citrus fruit would reach Russia, and the success of the United Kingdom Office in effecting a sale in 1957, through a United Kingdom intermediary, certainly gave him great satisfaction, and may open up an outlet which may, in future, become extremely valuable to the industry.
It is not only in the field of marketing, however, that his services were so valuable. He was also responsible for building up and organising the Citrus Exchange Staff after the war, to handle the greatly extended activities of the industry and he succeeded in infusing into the Staff a team spirit and loyalty which ensured a very high degree of efficiency. Amongst his many contributions to building up the industry, perhaps this was his greatest. He was profoundly influenced by the great work done by his predecessor, Mr. John Webb, and he always endeavoured to carry on his work in the John Webb tradition. He was always ready to give credit to the opinion of others, be it those of the members of the Exchange, the Citrus Board, the growers or the members of the staff.
He was an adept in meticulously presenting the pros and cons of each problem to the industry for full consideration and subsequent decision. That such decision was almost always in line with his own views is a true indication of the soundness of those views."
"In 1952 he warned the Executive Committee of the Exchange that it should select an understudy to him as he intended resigning from the Exchange's service as from the end of 1957. This he did and went farmimg.
In conclusion it is fitting to note that apart from the gratitude of the growers for his great service to the industry, he is held in very high esteem. He is popularly known as 'WINSTON" and whatever may be the future of the industry, the effect of his service and personality over the years will remain and be remembered.
Little did Winston Allwright know in 1958 when he retired as General Manager of the Citrus Exchange what fate had in store for him. This is reflected in the following extracts from a book "Outspan Golden Harvest' written by well known Historain, A.P. Cartwright, in 1976 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of the South African Co-operative Citrus Exchange.
Mr. Neville van Breda's retirement on medical advise meant that a new Chairman had to be elected in 1961. It was probably the fright that the slump in prices had given the growers that led to the unanimous choice of Dr. Winston Allwright, previously General Manager of the Exchange and now the Chairman of the Rustenburg Co-operative Packhouse Company Ltd. Who beter to lead them back to prosperity than Allwright, is probably what the growers said to one and another . Their former General Manager had behind him 34 years of constructive work for the industry. Surely he was the man to straighten out their problems.
He is one of the many outstanding characters that the citrus industry has produced in the Republic.
In 1968 Dr Allwright retired as Chairman of the Citrus Exchange and Citrus Board largely for health reasons. He and his wife continued living on his citrus farm which he had purchased in 1938 and where they had been living since his retirement as General Manager of the Citrus Exchange in 1958. In the early 1950's he had purchased a cattle ranch at Northam where he had 1200 Afrikander and Bonsmara crossbred cattle. He sold his ranch in 1969 and sold his citrus farm in 1981. In 1984 he was farming on Boschfontein in the Rustenburg area. Dr Winston was the first Allwright Family tree researcher in South Africa.
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