Fred Waite, (21 August 1885 – 29 August 1952) was a New Zealand farmer, historian, politician, and soldier who served in both the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
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*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
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and
Second World War
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 ...
s.
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 ...
, Waite was a farmer at the outbreak of the First World War. He joined the
New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) and served in the
Gallipoli Campaign, during which he received the
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
. He was evacuated from Gallipoli due to sickness and repatriated to New Zealand, where he saw out the war as an instructor in NZEF training camps. He wrote a
history of New Zealand's military efforts during the Gallipoli Campaign that was published in 1919. He returned to his farm and soon became involved in politics, joining the
Reform Party. In 1925 he was elected Member of Parliament for the
Clutha electorate, serving two terms. He was appointed to the
Legislative Council in 1934. During the Second World War, Waite was overseas commissioner for the National Patriotic Fund Board and was appointed an
Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services in this role. Two years later he was appointed a
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George. He died in 1952 at the age of 67.
Early life
Waite 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 ...
on 21 August 1885, one of eight children of George Waite, a storekeeper, and his wife.
After leaving
Mornington School,
he worked for the regional newspaper, the ''
Otago Daily Times'', and for the ''
Otago Witness
The ''Otago Witness'' was a prominent illustrated weekly newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Published weekly it existed from 1851 to 1932. The introductio ...
''.
He was a
typesetter
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or '' glyphs'' in digital systems representing '' characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random ...
when he married Ada Taylor in 1912 but the following year took up farming near
Balclutha.
[ He was interested in the military and was a member of an engineers unit in the Volunteer Force, which was later re-organised into the ]Territorial Force
The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...
(TF).
First World War
Following the outbreak of the First World War
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 ...
, Waite volunteered for the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) that was being raised for service overseas. He also undertook to send dispatches from the front for his previous employer, the ''Otago Witness'', but this work proved short-lived when he became a censor as part of his military duties. He was posted as a lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
in the New Zealand Engineers and sailed with the main body of the NZEF to the Middle East in October 1914.[
Promoted to ]captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
, Waite participated in the Gallipoli Campaign. In early May 1915, he restored order amongst personnel of the Otago Infantry Battalion following a failed attack on Turkish positions.[ He was awarded the ]Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order (DSO) is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, as well as formerly of other parts of the Commonwealth, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typ ...
, the citation reading: ''"For gallantry and devotion to duty in connection with the operations at the Dardanelles (Mediterranean Expeditionary Force). On the night of 2–3 May 1915 during the operations in the neighbourhood of Gape Tepe for gallantry and resource in rallying his men, and leading them forward at critical moments".''
Later in the campaign Waite served as the adjutant of the New Zealand Engineers and was twice 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 ...
. Evacuated to England with dysentery
Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
, he was repatriated to New Zealand in 1916. His service with the NZEF ceased and he returned to the TF in his pre-war rank of major
Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...
. He took up an appointment as Chief Engineer Instructor of the NZEF training camps.
Shortly before the end of the war, Waite wrote a brief account of New Zealand's contributions to the Gallipoli Campaign. Authorities invited him to prepare a more substantial work and this resulted i
''The New Zealanders at Gallipoli''
the first volume in a series of the ''Official History of New Zealand's Effort in the Great War
The ''Official History of New Zealand's Effort in the Great War'' is a four-volume 'Popular History' series which covered the New Zealand involvement in the First World War. Aimed at presenting the efforts of the New Zealand Military Forces durin ...
'', published in 1919. Two years later it was republished as a revised edition.
The figure of 8556 New Zealand soldiers who served at Gallipoli given by General Ian Hamilton in his forward to Waite’s ''demi-official'' 1919 history was always known to be too low; as Waite himself thought at the time. Between 16,000 (perhaps 17,000) served there, as shown in a 2019 study by New Zealand historians John Crawford and Matthew Buck.
Waite also worked on the production of the three other volumes in the series, which were published around the same time.
Interwar period
After the war, Waite returned to his Balclutha property which he converted to dairy farming
Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...
.[ He remained a member of the TF for several years and was a major in the Otago Mounted Rifles Regiment before being promoted to ]lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
and becoming its commander from 1927 to 1930. For his prolonged service with the TF, he eventually received the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration
The Colonial Auxiliary Forces Officers' Decoration, post-nominal letters VD, was established in 1899 as recognition for long and meritorious service as a part-time commissioned officer in any of the organized military forces of the British Colo ...
. In 1935 he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal. Already involved in the dairying industry, he began to participate in the governance of the sector and set up the Co-Operative Dairy Company of Otago. He later joined the New Zealand Farmer's Union and was president of its Otago Branch.[
As well as his work in the dairying sector, Waite soon became involved in local politics and joined the Reform Party.][ He first stood for election to the ]House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...
in , when he defeated the incumbent in the electorate, John Edie of the Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
, with ease. He was one of 13 new members in a House of 80 representatives. In the , he was challenged by Joseph Stephens, who was an independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
candidate describing himself as Liberal–Labour. Waite had a 523-vote margin, which represented 6.5% of the valid votes. In the , Waite was defeated by Peter McSkimming, who stood as an Independent, but had links to the United Party.
Prime Minister George Forbes had not made appointments to the Legislative Council since 1930, with the exception of James Parr James Parr may refer to:
* James Parr (baseball) (born 1986), American baseball player
* James Parr (politician) (1869–1941), New Zealand lawyer and politician
* Jim Parr
James Gordon Parr (May 26, 1927 – April 5, 2000) was an English-Ca ...
in 1931, and membership dwindled during the years of the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
. By 1934, the membership had reduced to 19, the lowest since 1860, with two members about to retire. In 1934, 14 new members were appointed by Forbes, including Waite. All appointments became effective on 22 June 1934, and Waite, at age 49, was the second youngest of the intake; only Vincent Ward was younger. Waite was reappointed twice, and served until the abolition of the Upper House in 1950.
When the National Party was formed in 1936 from the merger of Reform and the United Party, publicity was one of the major considerations. The party's provisional council established a sub-committee consisting of Henry Livingstone
Henry Gillies Livingstone (12 September 1890 – 12 February 1959) was a New Zealand politician from Christchurch. He was appointed a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council on 22 June 1950.
Biography
Born on 12 September 1890, Livingsto ...
, Frederick Doidge
Sir Frederick Widdowson Doidge (26 February 1884 – 26 May 1954) was a journalist in New Zealand and England, then a National Party member in the New Zealand House of Representatives.
Biography Early life and career
Doidge was born in Coo ...
, and Waite. This committee reported back in February 1937, recommending the establishment of a Dominion publicity committee, and a trustee company for the purpose of publishing a party newsletter. Party Publications Ltd was thus created, and Waite was the first editor of ''The National News''. Initially, all financial members were to receive this monthly newsletter, aimed at being a counterpart to Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
's ''Standard''. While ''The National News'' performed an important function during the party's formative years, the venture was expensive and following the , it was changed to a quarterly schedule, before being discontinued in September 1939 just after the outbreak of the war.
The seven-member Dominion publicity committee, of which Waite was a member, engaged three advertising companies to jointly prepare for the 1938 election. Two of those companies, John Ilott and Charles Haines, remained joint agents for the National Party until 1973.
Second World War
When the Second World War
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 ...
began, Waite was still a lieutenant colonel in the TF. He was appointed overseas commissioner for the National Patriotic Fund Board. Based in Egypt, he worked to provide the soldiers of the Second New Zealand Expeditionary Force with special supplies and treats.[ His services in this capacity were recognised in 1944 with his appointment as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire. He finished the war a ]colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
, working in Europe on the repatriation of New Zealand personnel recently released from prisoner-of-war camps in Germany. In 1946, he travelled to Japan to inspect the infrastructure set up for J-Force, New Zealand's contribution to the British Commonwealth Occupation Force
The British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF) was the British Commonwealth taskforce consisting of Australian, British, Indian and New Zealand military forces in occupied Japan, from 1946 until the end of occupation in 1952.
At its peak, ...
, following which he retired from the military. In the 1946 King's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George.[
]
Later life
In his retirement, Waite wrote papers on archeology and history including one on Egyptian pottery. While in Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
during the Second World War, he collected several historical antiquities on behalf of the Otago Museum
Tūhura Otago Museum is located in the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is adjacent to the University of Otago campus in Dunedin North, 1,500 metres northeast of the city centre. It is one of the city's leading attractions and has one of t ...
.[ In 1951 Waite was granted the right to retain the title of "Honourable", having served more than 10 years as a member of the Legislative Council.] In his later years, his health was poor and he died in Balclutha in 1952 at the age of 67. He was survived by his wife and a daughter.[
]
Notes
References
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External links
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Portrait
by Stanley Polkinghorne Andrew (image becomes public domain on 1 January 2015)
Group photo
with Dan Sullivan Dan, Danny, or Daniel Sullivan may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Daniel J. Sullivan (born 1940), American film and theater director
* Daniel G. Sullivan, American screenwriter
* Dan Sullivan (musician), indie rock musician
* Dan Panic, Amer ...
(Minister of Supply), Col Fred Waite (National Patriotic Fund Board), and Col B Barrington on 6 February 1945 (unknown copyright expiry)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Waite, Fred
1885 births
1952 deaths
Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs
New Zealand farmers
New Zealand Army officers
New Zealand military personnel of World War I
New Zealand military personnel of World War II
Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council
New Zealand National Party MLCs
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates
New Zealand Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire
New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1931 New Zealand general election
20th-century New Zealand historians
Politicians from Dunedin