Sir Frederick Widdowson Doidge KCMG (26 February 1884 – 26 May 1954) was a journalist in New Zealand and England, then a National Party member in the New Zealand House of Representatives.
Biography
editEarly life and career
editDoidge was born in Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia. His father, Edwin Doidge, was a journalist in Thames, New Zealand, and founded the Cootamundra Liberal in August 1882 in competition with the Cootamundra Herald. Frederick Doidge received his training as a journalist from his father. Doidge came to New Zealand in 1902.[1]
Political career
edit| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938–1943 | 26th | Tauranga | National | ||
| 1943–1946 | 27th | Tauranga | National | ||
| 1946–1949 | 28th | Tauranga | National | ||
| 1949–1951 | 29th | Tauranga | National | ||
In the 1935 election, Doidge ran as an Independent in the Rotorua electorate after having had a brief encounter with the anti-Labour New Zealand Democrat Party.[1] Of the four candidates, he came second after Labour's Alexander Moncur.[2] The next year he ran as the new National Party's candidate in the 1936 Manukau by-election, becoming the first National candidate to run for election in history. He was defeated by Labour candidate Arthur Osborne.[3]
Doidge then represented the electorate of Tauranga for National from 1938 to 1951, when he retired.[4]
He served as both Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Island Territories from 1950 to 1951 in the First National Government of New Zealand.[5] Later, Doidge became New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1951 until his death. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1953 New Year Honours,[6] and awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[7]
Death
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c Waterson, D. B. "Doidge, Frederick Widdowson". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
- ^ "General Election". The Evening Post. Vol. CXX, no. 138. 7 December 1935. p. 11. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^ "Final Figures". Auckland Star. Vol. LXVII, no. 237. 6 October 1936. p. 9. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 193. OCLC 154283103.
- ^ New Zealand Parliamentary Debates, Vol. 293 (1950).
- ^ London Gazette (supplement), No. 39735, 30 December 1952. Retrieved 28 January 2013.
- ^ Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 411. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
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