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 Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia. His father, Edwin Doidge, was a journalist in

Thames, New Zealand Thames () ( mi, Pārāwai) is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel ...

, and founded the ''Cootamundra Liberal'' in August 1882 in competition with the ''

Cootamundra Herald ''The Cootamundra Herald'' also published as ''The Cootamundra Daily Herald'' is a bi-weekly English language newspaper published in Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia. Newspaper history The ''Cootamundra Herald'', subtitled ''Murrumbu ...

''. Frederick Doidge received his training as a journalist from his father. Doidge came to New Zealand in 1902.

Political career

In the 1935 election, Doidge ran as 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 ...

in the electorate after having had a brief encounter with the anti-Labour

New Zealand Democrat Party The New Zealand Democrat Party was a political party in New Zealand, founded in 1934 with the purpose of opposing socialist legislation by the government. Formation The Democrat Party was founded and developed by Albert Davy, a prominent politic ...

. Of the four candidates, he came second after

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 ...

Alexander Moncur Alexander Francis Moncur (8 March 1888 – 16 June 1976) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Moncur was born in Melbourne in 1888, and arrived in New Zealand in 1906. He was a miner on the West Coast and Waihi, th ...

. The next year he ran as the new National Party's candidate in the

1936 Manukau by-election The 1936 Manukau by-election was a by-election during the 25th New Zealand Parliament in the electorate. It was held on Wednesday 30 September 1936. This by-election came about because of the resignation of Bill Jordan upon his appointment to ...

, becoming the first National candidate to run for election in history. He was defeated by Labour candidate Arthur Osborne. Doidge then represented the electorate of

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 ...

for National from 1938 to 1951, when he retired. He served as both

Minister of External Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

and Minister of Island Territories from 1950 to 1951 in the First National Government of New Zealand. Later, Doidge became New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1951 until his death. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George in the

1953 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1953 for the United Kingdom were announced on 30 December 1952, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1953. This was the first New Year Honours since the accession of Queen Elizabeth II. The ''Honours list'' ...

, and awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.

Death

Doidge died in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

on 26 May 1954 from cancer.

References

New Zealand National Party MPs New Zealand foreign ministers Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand 1884 births 1954 deaths Australian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand people of World War I New Zealand Democrat Party (1934) politicians High Commissioners of New Zealand to the United Kingdom New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Unsuccessful candidates in the 1935 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People from the Riverina New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods {{NZNational-politician-stub