Francis Joseph Rolleston (11 May 1873 – 8 September 1946) was a New Zealand politician of the Reform Party.

Early life

Mary and William Rolleston and their children, at Kapunatiki

Rolleston was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

in 1873, the son of the last

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of the

Canterbury Province The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...

William Rolleston William Rolleston (19 September 1831 – 8 February 1903) was a New Zealand politician, public administrator, educationalist and Canterbury provincial superintendent. Early life Rolleston was born on 19 September 1831 at Maltby, Yorkshire as th ...

and his wife

Mary Rolleston Elizabeth Mary Rolleston (30 March 1845 – 4 June 1940), known as Mary Rolleston, was a New Zealand homemaker, political hostess and community leader. She was born as Elizabeth Mary Brittan in Castleton, Dorset, England in 1845. Her parents wer ...

. At the time of his birth, the family was living at

Linwood House Linwood House was built as the homestead for Joseph Brittan, who, as surgeon, newspaper editor and provincial councillor, was one of the dominant figures in early Christchurch, New Zealand. The suburb of Linwood was named after Brittan's farm ...

. His grandfather was Joseph Brittan (1805–1867), who was married to Sophia Brittan (died 1877). From 1880 to 1884, the Rolleston family lived in Wellington. William Rolleston held various ministerial posts in ministries led by

John Hall John Hall may refer to: Academics * John Hall (NYU President) (fl. c. 1890), American academic * John A. Hall (born 1949), sociology professor at McGill University, Montreal * John F. Hall (born 1951), professor of classics at Brigham Young Unive ...

(1879–1882),

Frederick Whitaker Sir Frederick Whitaker (23 April 1812 – 4 December 1891) was an English-born New Zealand politician who served twice as the premier of New Zealand and six times as Attorney-General. Early life Whitaker was born at the Deanery Manor House, B ...

(1882–1883) and

Harry Atkinson Sir Harry Albert Atkinson (1 November 1831 – 28 June 1892) served as the tenth premier of New Zealand on four separate occasions in the late 19th century, and was Colonial Treasurer for a total of ten years. He was responsible for guiding ...

(1883–1884) and their house in Molesworth Street, on the site that is these days occupied by

Saint Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...

, gave easy access to the Parliament Buildings. With the defeat of the Atkinson Ministry, William Rolleston lost his ministerial income and due to the effects of the depression of the 1880s, the family moved to William Rolleston's farm Kapunatiki at the south bank of the

Rangitata River The Rangitata River is one of the braided rivers that helped form the Canterbury Plains in southern New Zealand. It flows southeast for from the Southern Alps, entering the Pacific Ocean northeast of Timaru. The river has a catchment area of , ...

near its mouth in 1884. Frank Rolleston was educated at Christ's College, where along with his older three brothers he was a boarder. At one point, Frank Rolleston and the one year older Hector suffered the humiliation of having their school trousers lengthened by some ill-matching material. Later, his older brother Lance (born 1869) was sent to England to finish his medical degree. Frank Rolleston, considered by his father the most able of his boys, was to go to

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, but tight finances prevented this, and Lance Rolleston could only complete his degree with the financial help of his uncle Robert (his father's oldest brother). Instead, Frank Rolleston attended the University of Canterbury, from where he graduated with a BA and

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

. On 3 March 1908, Rolleston married Mary Winifred Blair in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

Political career

Rolleston first stood for Parliament in the in the Timaru electorate. Whilst he "put up an excellent fight" against

William Hall-Jones Sir William Hall-Jones (16 January 1851 – 19 June 1936) was the 16th prime minister of New Zealand from June 1906 until August 1906. Hall-Jones entered parliament in 1890, later becoming a member of the Liberal Party. He was interim prime m ...

, the incumbent Hall-Jones obtained 3479 votes versus 2432 votes for Rolleston. He represented the Timaru electorate from

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

, when he defeated, with a majority of 282 votes, Percy Vinnell of the Labour Party. Rolleston and Vinnell contested the 1925 election, when Rolleston obtained a much increased majority of 2486 votes. Rolleston lost the 1928 election against Rev

Clyde Carr Clyde Leonard Carr (14 January 1886 – 18 September 1962) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party, and was a minister of the Congregational Church. Biography Early life and career Carr was born in Ponsonby, Auckland in 1886. His f ...

of the Labour Party, who would go on and represent the electorate until 1962. Rolleston was a

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

minister, being the

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

from 1926 to 1928 in the

Reform Government of New Zealand The Reform Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1912 to 1928. It is perhaps best remembered for its anti-trade union stance in the Waihi miners' strike of 1912 and a dockworkers' strike the following year. It also govern ...

. His brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

was also elected to Parliament in 1922 (representing

Waitomo Waitomo is a rural community in the King Country region of New Zealand's North Island. There are several solutional cave systems in the area around the village, which are popular tourist attractions. Restaurants and accommodation are centred i ...

) and was also defeated in 1928. Frank Rolleston was

Mayor of Timaru The mayor of Timaru is the directly elected head of the Timaru District Council, the local government authority for the Timaru District in New Zealand, which it controls as a territorial authority. List of officeholders There have been 40 mayor ...

from 1921 to 1923.

Awards and death

Rolleston was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935, and the

King George VI Coronation Medal The King George VI Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir of King George VI's coronation. It was awarded to t ...

in 1937. He died on 8 September 1946 in Timaru.

Notes

References

Wedding photo (1908) of the Rollestons
* * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolleston, Frances 1873 births 1946 deaths Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand defence ministers Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs Mayors of Timaru University of Canterbury alumni Commanders of the Order of the Star of Romania Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1905 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

20th-century New Zealand lawyers Justice ministers of New Zealand Brittan family