Sir Alexander Fowler Roberts (1882 – 19 March 1961) was a New Zealand businessman, soldier and politician.

Biography

Roberts was born in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

in 1882. He was educated at

Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled a ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

and

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

. In 1903 he gained employment with Murray Roberts & Co, a stock and station agency. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was stationed in Wellington as a staff embarkation officer with the rank of Lieutenant colonel. He was awarded an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the

1918 New Year Honours The 1918 New Year Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were published in ''The London Gazette'' and ''The Times'' in Ja ...

and soon after as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for valuable services rendered in connection with the War in the 1919 Birthday Honours. In 1924 he was designated New Zealand commissioner to the

British Empire Exhibition The British Empire Exhibition was a colonial exhibition held at Wembley Park, London England from 23 April to 1 November 1924 and from 9 May to 31 October 1925. Background In 1920 the British Government decided to site the British Empire Exhibit ...

held at

Wembley Park Wembley Park is a district of the London Borough of Brent, England. It is roughly centred on Bridge Road, a mile northeast of Wembley town centre and northwest from Charing Cross. The name Wembley Park refers to the area that, at its broadest ...

in London. After the exhibition he was conferred as a knight of the British Empire in 1926 for services in connection with the Wembley Exhibition. In 1929 he became the Murray Roberts & Co company's managing director. He was a member of the

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

Borough Council from 1923 to 1925 and again from 1927 to 1929. From 1929 to 1931 he served for a term as

Mayor of Lower Hutt The city of Lower Hutt, New Zealand, was first proclaimed a borough on 1 February 1891. Prior to this it had been part of Hutt County, initially as a Roads Board and from 1881 as a Town Board. Since 2019, the mayor has been Campbell Barry. Li ...

succeeding the sitting mayor, William Thomas Strand, who did not run for another term. Two years later Roberts also declined to seek another term and Strand stood again, succeeding him unopposed. He was speculated as a potential candidate for the Reform Party at the 1929 Hutt by-election by media. However he declined to be a candidate. In

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Roberts was again an embarkation staff officer from 1940 to 1945 as well as the New Zealand representative of the British

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transport ...

from 1941 to 1948. He was involved on the sport of golf and was a member of the council of the New Zealand Golf Association for 30 years, including a period as its chairman. He died in Calvary Hospital,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

on 19 March 1961. He was survived by his wife and three sons.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Alexander 1882 births 1961 deaths People educated at Merchiston Castle School Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire Hutt City Councillors Mayors of Lower Hutt New Zealand military personnel of World War II