Francis Marion Bates Fisher (22 December 1877 – 24 July 1960) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament from

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 ...

. He was known as Rainbow Fisher for his frequent changes of political allegiance. He was a veteran of the Boer War and an internationally successful

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player becoming the champion, along with his mixed doubles partner, Irene Peacock, of the

World Covered Court Championships The World Covered Court Championships were part of a series of three major world championships sanctioned from 1913 to 1923 by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF). The tournament was played indoors on wood floors, and its venue changed ...

in 1920.

Early life and family

Fisher was the son of George Fisher, a member of parliament and Mayor of Wellington. David Fisher was his uncle. Frank Fisher was a captain in the 10th

New Zealand Contingent New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

to the South African

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...

in 1902. His eldest daughter, Esther Fisher (1900–1999), became an international pianist.

Member of Parliament

Fisher represented two

electorates in the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...

for nine years from a 1905 by-election to the 1914 general election. Initially from 6 April 1905 he represented the multi-member

City of Wellington Wellington City Council is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, ...

electorate, but from the 1905 general election, he represented . His initial intention in early 1905 was to stand in a Christchurch electorate at the 1905 general election. In mid February 1905, he held his first meeting with electors in Christchurch. This changed, however, when his father died in mid March, and a request was put to him to stand in the City of Wellington electorate to fill the vacancy. In his speeches to Wellington electors, he stressed the need for the Liberal Party, of which he was a member, to reform itself from within. The by-election was contested by Fisher,

Charles Hayward Izard Charles Hayward Izard (19 January 1862 – 18 September 1925) was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand, and a Wellington lawyer. Biography Early life Izard was born in Wellington on 19 January 1862, the eldest son of Charles Be ...

and

John Hutcheson John Hutcheson (1853–1940) was a Member of Parliament in New Zealand, for the Liberal Party. Biography Early life A native of Dumbarton, Scotland, where he was born in 1855, he was educated at the Dumbarton Academy, where he gained a Sou ...

, with Fisher being successful. After his election, he helped form the New Liberal Party. The party was formed at a meeting in the Christchurch suburb of Papanui in June 1905. The New Liberals suffered considerable damage from the so-called "voucher incident", in which Fisher alleged that Richard Seddon's son had been received payment from a government department for work he had not done. The allegations were disproven, and the New Liberals suffered considerable public backlash. Fisher had not consulted his colleagues before making the accusation, and it also strained relations between party members. Fisher was the only New Liberal MP (out of three) re-elected in

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

. The New Liberal Party was defunct by 1908. In the 1908 general election he stood as an

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. By 1910, he had joined the Reform Party. The 1911 general election required a second ballot if no candidate could achieve an absolute majority in the first round. The election was contested by Fisher, Robert Fletcher (Liberal Party), W. S. Young ( Labour Party) and F. Freeman (

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), with Fisher having a majority of one vote over Fletcher. In the second ballot a week later, Fisher beat Fletcher with a majority of 150 votes. By the next general election in 1914, the incumbent Fisher as a government minister contested Wellington Central against Fletcher again, and he was decisively beaten by 2677 votes to 4910. This spelled an end to Fisher's political career in New Zealand. After the war, in 1919, he stood as the Conservative candidate in the

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 census had a population of 61,464. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on t ...

by-election in Cheshire, England, where he was defeated by Labour's

Arthur Henderson Arthur Henderson (13 September 1863 – 20 October 1935) was a British iron moulder and Labour politician. He was the first Labour cabinet minister, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1934 and, uniquely, served three separate terms as Leader of th ...

. He was known as ''Rainbow'' Fisher because of his ''frequent changes of political colour''. Fisher was

Minister of Customs The Minister of Customs was a position in the Cabinet of the Government of Canada responsible for the administration of customs revenue collection in Canada. This position was originally created by Statute 31 Vict., c. 43, and assented to on 22 May ...

and Minister of Marine from 10 July 1912 to 7 January 1915 in the Reform Government.

Tennis

A top New Zealand tennis player, both at home and abroad, Fisher reached the final of the Australasian Open in 1906 but was defeated by

Anthony Wilding Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...

. He won the New Zealand Men's Championship Doubles in 1901–02, 1902–03, 1909–10 and 1910–11, and the Mixed Doubles Championships in 1899–1900, 1900–01, 1901–02 and 1911–12. He reached the semi-finals in doubles with partner

Stanley Doust Stanley Norwood Doust (29 March 1878 – 13 December 1961) was an Australian-born tennis player who captained his nation's Davis Cup team and was winner of the Mixed Doubles Trophy at Wimbledon.The Times Obituaries Mr. Stanley N. Doust: Issue ...

at the

1912 Australasian Championships The 1912 Australasian Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on outdoor grass courts at Hastings, New Zealand from 30 December 1912 until 1 January 1913. It was the 8th edition of the Australian Championships (now known as the Aus ...

. In doubles he partnered with

Major Ritchie Major Josiah George Ritchie (18 October 1870 – 28 February 1955) was a tennis player from Great Britain. Major was his first name, not a military title. He was born in Westminster, educated at Brighton College and died in Ashford. Career Ritc ...

to reach the semi-finals at Wimbeldon in 1919 and with

Alfred Beamish Alfred Ernest Beamish (6 August 1879 – 28 February 1944) was an English tennis player born in Richmond, Surrey, England. He finished runner-up to James Cecil Parke in the Men's Singles final of the Australasian Championships, the future Austr ...

for runner-up at the 1920 World Covered Court Championships

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In mixed doubles he partnered Irene Peacock to the Championship of the 1920 WCCC and to the quarter-finals of Wimbeldon in 1921.

Death

Fisher died on 24 July 1960 and was buried at Kauae Cemetery in Ngongotahā.Rotorua District Council cemetery search
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References

External links