Charles McBeth Dawson (died 5 February 1956) was a New Zealand doctor who worked in

Niue Niue (, ; niu, Niuē) is an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, northeast of New Zealand. Niue's land area is about and its population, predominantly Polynesian, was about 1,600 in 2016. Niue is located in a triangle between Tong ...

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

and

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); a ...

. He was involved in both world wars, and served as a member of Legislative Council of Samoa between 1938 and 1941.

Biography

Dawson moved to

in 1913,Dr C.M. Dawson leaves islands after long years' service
'' Pacific Islands Monthly'', April 1949, p7 before becoming Chief Medical Officer in the New Zealand expeditionary force that occupied German Samoa at the start of

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 ...

.New Samoan Councillors
''Pacific Islands Monthly''. January 1939, p47 He then moved onto Palestine, where he served in the ANZAC Mounted Division and was

mentioned in dispatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

. At the end of the war he moved to

, where he served as Chief Medical Officer for fourteen years. In 1933 he moved to

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

in Western Samoa, becoming the territory's only private doctor. Dawson contested the 1935 Legislative Council elections, finishing third out of the four candidates contesting the two seats. He ran for election again in

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

, and was elected to the Legislative Council after finishing in second place. In 1940 he took a leave of absence from the council to join the Merchant Navy as a surgeon. He did not contest the 1941 elections. In 1941 Dawson returned to Tonga after being appointed a Medical Officer in

Vavaʻu Vavau is an island group, consisting of one large island ( ʻUtu Vavaʻu) and 40 smaller ones, in Tonga. It is part of Vavaʻu District, which includes several other individual islands. According to tradition, the Maui god created both Tongata ...

.Popular medico returns to Tonga
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', March 1941, p29 He retired from medical practice in 1949 and returned to New Zealand. He died in February 1956.Deaths of islands people
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', February 1956, pp145–146

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dawson, Charles 20th-century New Zealand medical doctors New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand people of World War II New Zealand expatriates in Tonga New Zealand expatriates in Samoa Members of the Legislative Council of Samoa 1956 deaths Niuean medical doctors