Robert Linfield Bell (23 August 1929 – 16 November 2011) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He had a farming background and represented the Gisborne electorate in Parliament from 1975 until his defeat in 1984.

Early life

Bell was born in Blenheim in 1929. His father was Alex Linfield Bell. He received his education at

Christchurch Boys' High School , motto_translation = I Seek Higher Things , type = State school, Day and Boarding school , gender = Boys , song = The School We Magnify , colours = Blue and Black , established = , address = 71 Straven R ...

Horowhenua College Horowhenua College is a state co-educational secondary school located in Levin, New Zealand. The school has students from Years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 18) as of . It was opened in 1940, replacing the secondary school department of Levin School. It ...

, and

Feilding Agricultural High School "Have Courage, Desire Greatly" , coordinates = , type = State Co-Ed Secondary School (Year 9–13) with boarding facilities , established = 1921 as Feilding Technical High School , MOE = 197 , principal = Nathan Stewart , ...

. He graduated from Lincoln College in 1951 with a diploma in valuation and farm management. In 1954, he married Anne Wilkinson, the daughter of John Arthur Wilkinson, and they were to have two daughters and one son.

Professional life and community involvement

He was a farm appraiser for six years, followed by seven years as the Gisborne–

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representative of London Wood Brokers (NZ) Ltd. For ten years after that, he was a farm management consultant and valuer. Bell was a director of Gisborne Holdings Ltd. Bell was a counsellor for the Gisborne Budgetary Advisory Service, a committee member of the

Poverty Bay Poverty Bay (Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa'') is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the north ...

A & P Association, and a director of the

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in Gisborne. He served in the Territorials for six years, with the rank of lieutenant, and was appointed as a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1987.

Political career

Bell joined the National Party in 1958, and was chair of the Kaiti branch from 1962 to 1978. He represented the Gisborne electorate in Parliament from to 1984, when he was defeated by

Allan Wallbank Allan Robert Wallbank (born 1937) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Early life and career Wallbank was born in Ngāruawāhia in 1937. In his youth he was a provincial representative rugby player. He worked at the Pub ...

. Bell was part of the small group of National MPs that stopped

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

driving home drunk on the night that he had called the 1984 snap election. Bell was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

in 1977, and the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

Death

Bell died on 16 November 2011 in

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

, aged 82.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Bob New Zealand National Party MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1984 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand justices of the peace Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School People educated at Feilding High School People from Blenheim, New Zealand People from Gisborne, New Zealand People educated at Horowhenua College 1929 births 2011 deaths