Robert Stout, who was knighted in 1886 and lived from 1844 to 1930, was the 13th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand.
Sir Robert held the role from 1884-1887 (with a slight interval of less than a week in 1884) and was also Chief Justice from 1899-1926.
He was held in held regard for his legal work, especially in criminal rehabilitation.
Sir Robert was also a strong supporter of Women's Suffrage and the establishment of universities in New Zealand.
During the course of his work as Chief Justice, he visited Hawke's Bay on occasion to preside over cases.
In 1915, during a period of severe drought, he offered up a solution to the people of Hawke's Bay.
He commented that he had first visited the Bay in about 1875 and the province had made great advances since.
At that time, Sir Robert said the effects of drought were not as noticeable because of the abundance of fern on the hills.
Interestingly, he mentioned that as the drought was so severe, frosts were a problem with no moisture in the air.
A severe frost had occurred a week before Christmas Day in 1914, and then one in the first week of January, with 110 frosts occurring during the fruit season.
Some orchards, such as those in the Havelock North hills survived, but many almost lost their entire crop.
Sir Robert referred to an ancient civilisation of Cingalese in Ceylon who provided against drought by forming giant tanks on mountains, and diverting rivers to the plains.
If small lakes were created in Hawke's Bay, and streams made, argued Sir Robert, floods would cease and the effects of droughts minimised.
The Ruahine range would be a source due to its rainfall and snow.
Irrigation of properties from the lakes would "create green fields instead of barren spaces", he said.
Was Hawke's Bay prepared to "put up with droughts and all that they mean - starved cattle, less fat sheep, less wool, no fruit, few agricultural products, the heart taken out of farmers of all kinds?"
Surely, he argued, that was "a non-political question which all the inhabitants might join in considering".
Apart from a letter to the editor condemning his idea based on it the belief it wasn't economically possible unless slave labour was enlisted, the whole idea, if you'll excuse the pun, didn't make as much as a ripple.
* Michael Fowler (mfhistory@gmail.com) is the heritage officer at the Art Deco Trust.