Frank James Ney (May 12, 1918 – November 24, 1992) was a mayor of

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, Canada, serving for twenty-one years. Ney also served a term as a member of the

Legislative Assembly of British Columbia The Legislative Assembly of British Columbia is the deliberative assembly of the Parliament of British Columbia, in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The Legislative Assembly meets in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria. Members ar ...

. He was known for his outgoing personality, his habit of attending civic events and dressing up like a pirate for the appearances, and playing a central role in initiating the bathtub races across

Georgia Strait The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

from Nanaimo to Vancouver. He was an active skier, swimmer, figure skater and boater. During the 1950/1951 season he was President of the Nanaimo Figure Skating Club. He also, while Mayor, initiated the creation of cut-away corners of sidewalk curbs in downtown Nanaimo after spending one day in a wheelchair in order to experience for himself the difficulties in getting around experienced by those in wheelchairs.

Biography

Born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, Ney served in the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and

RCAF The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environme ...

as a pilot during

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 ...

. He was a resident of Nanaimo from 1946 until his death in 1992. He was Mayor of Nanaimo from 1968 to 1984, and 1987 to 1990 (defeated by

Joy Leach Joy Leach, (born 1942 in Nanaimo, died August 2014 in Nanaimo), was a Canadian politician. She was Nanaimo's first female mayor and former president of the BC School Trustees Association and a Nanaimo school board trustee. Biography Leach grew up ...

), and a

Social Credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

Member of the Legislative Assembly A member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected by the voters of a constituency to a legislative assembly. Most often, the term refers to a subnational assembly such as that of a state, province, or territory of a country. S ...

for

from 1969 to 1972. Ney was also a member of the Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia from January 1956, until his death in November 1992, and had a very busy

notarial A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

practice in Nanaimo. He was president of the Society from 1968-1969. Ney, with his brother Bill, formed the Great National Land and Investment Corporation in 1964, was involved in real estate (as president of Nanaimo Realty Ltd.), and promoted the economic development of

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

. He is perhaps most famous for the purchase and subdivision of Protection Island in 1960 and selling it under a pirate-promotion theme. He participated in many local and provincial associations, and was Chairman of the Nanaimo Centennial Committee (

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

), responsible for organizing the inaugural Great Bathtub Race between Nanaimo and Vancouver. He was the first Chairman and Admiral of the Loyal Nanaimo Bathtub Society, established in 1968 to continue the bathtub race as an annual event. Ney was made Freeman of the City of Nanaimo in 1984. A bronze statue of Ney is sited at Swy-a-Lana Lagoon in downtown Nanaimo. An extensive archive relating to Ney's personal and professional life are held in the Frank. J. Ney fonds at the Nanaimo Community Archives. A biography about Frank Ney, based mainly on collected remembrance and stories about Ney, was published by Paul Gogo in 1995 (''Frank Ney: A Canadian Legend''). A satirical musical review built around Ney's "Pirate Frank" persona premiered at Nanaimo's Western Edge Theatre in March 2007. A play about him, ''Being Frank'' by writer G. Kim Blank, was performed at the

Port Theatre The Port Theatre is a venue for performing arts, located in Nanaimo, British Columbia Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it i ...

in Nanaimo in April 2007, produced by TheatreOne and directed by Burton Lancaster; there is also a book by Blank based on the play entitled ''Being Frank'', from which the following portrayal of Ney's character is given in the Preface: " . . . you watch Frank, but you don’t necessarily understand Frank, or even keep up with him. . . . what is immediately apparent is how many people will go on record to say they were "good friends" of Frank, though no one on the planet could have that many 'good friends.' But the effect he had on people, the way he moved around, his outward nature, his ability to be everywhere and always visible, the twinkle in his eye and the blarney of his gesture—all of this must have made him feel like everyone’s friend. Yet, despite this—and here is where his wonderfully maddening complexity sets in—those closest to him inevitably said something much more intriguing: they didn’t really know him; they didn’t really know what moved him forward and what made him tick, what got him going in the morning and kept him up at night."''Being Frank'', pages 9-11 Frank Ney also appears as a character in Season One Episode 18 of the television series ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'', by name and his Pirate Mayor personality.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ney, Frank J. 1918 births 1992 deaths English emigrants to Canada Mayors of Nanaimo British Columbia Social Credit Party MLAs