Sir Frank Leon Aroha Götz (12 September 1892 – 14 September 1970) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Noted as a colourful character, he was commonly referred to by parliamentary colleagues as "the pirate" as he wore a black patch over a missing eye.

Biography

Early life and career

Götz was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. He received his education in France (at the insistence of his Alsatian father) and at King's College,

Wanganui Collegiate School Whanganui Collegiate School (formerly Wanganui Collegiate School; see here) is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding, secondary school in Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui region, New Zealand. The school is affiliated to the Anglican c ...

, and

Otago University , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

. He was a rubber planter in Malaya from 1913. He served in World War I in the

Malayan States Rifles Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

and 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 lost his right arm and eye in an explosives accident. He returned to Malaya, but came to New Zealand again in 1925 when the rubber market collapsed. Until 1935, he was general manager of New Zealand reparation estates in

Western Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...

. He was then a broadcaster for 2ZB, a radio station in

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 ...

. This was followed by working for an

-based insurance company, of which he eventually became manager. He had also worked in journalism and advertising as well, due to being a fluent linguist, a teacher of multiple languages.

Political career

In 1946, he unsuccessfully contested , being beaten by

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 Bill Anderton. He then sought the National Party nomination for the Mount Albert by-election in 1947, but lost to Jack Garland. He then represented the Otahuhu electorate from

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

to 1954, and then the

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, so ...

electorate from

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

to 1963. In

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

he was defeated when standing for

Manurewa Manurewa is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of Manukau City before the creation of the Auckland super city in 2010. It is located south of the Manukau, Manukau City Centre, and southeast of Auckland CBD. The subur ...

. He was appointed

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...

, Ministers for Civil Defence and Minister of Island Territories on 12 December 1960, and held these posts until his defeat three years later. He had been a backbencher for 11 years and was 68 years old, but Prime Minister

Keith Holyoake Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, (; 11 February 1904 – 8 December 1983) was the 26th prime minister of New Zealand, serving for a brief period in 1957 and then from 1960 to 1972, and also the 13th governor-general of New Zealand, serving from 1977 ...

thought him capable to be a minister despite Deputy Prime Minister

Jack Marshall Sir John Ross Marshall New Zealand Army Orders 1952/405 (5 March 1912 – 30 August 1988) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He entered Parliament in 1946 and was first promoted to Cabinet in 1951. After spending twelve years ...

not thinking him qualified. He had ministerial responsibility for acclimatisation (as the

New Zealand Wildlife Service The New Zealand Wildlife Service was a division of the Department of Internal Affairs responsible for managing wildlife in New Zealand. It was established in 1945 (as the ''Wildlife Branch'') in order to unify wildlife administration and operation ...

was a division of the

Department of Internal Affairs The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), or in te reo Māori, is the public service department of New Zealand charged with issuing passports; administering applications for citizenship and lottery grants; enforcing censorship and gambling law ...

) and was caught returning from a duck shooting trip by a local ranger carrying more than the legal limit allowed, causing significant embarrassment for the government. As Internal Affairs was responsible for the 1963 Royal Tour, Götz was knighted at the end of the tour in

by being appointed a

Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

for personal services to the sovereign, which caused some jealousy amongst his colleagues. In March 1964, Götz was granted the right to retain the title of

The Honourable ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certain ...

in recognition of his term as a member of the

Executive Council of New Zealand The Executive Council of New Zealand ( mi, Te Komiti Matua o Aotearoa) is the full group of " responsible advisers" to the governor-general, who advise on state and constitutional affairs. All government ministers must be appointed as executive ...

Later life and death

From 1965 to 1968 he was the High Commissioner to Canada. While there he occupied much of his time hunting bears near the

Arctic Circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

. When his term expired he retired to

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The city lies on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authority encompass ...

. Götz died on 14 September 1970 in Rotorua. He was survived by his wife.

Notes

References

* * * * *Obituaries in ''Evening Post'', 14 September 1970 & ''New Zealand Herald'', 15 September 1970 , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Gotz, Leon New Zealand National Party MPs Royal Air Force personnel of World War I Plantation owners 1892 births 1970 deaths High Commissioners of New Zealand to Canada People educated at King's College, Auckland People educated at Whanganui Collegiate School University of Otago alumni Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1963 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1946 New Zealand general election New Zealand politicians with disabilities New Zealand Knights Commander of the Royal Victorian Order New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods