Sir Reginald Charles Frank Savory (27 May 1908 – 27 October 1989) was a New Zealand businessman and politician who introduced

container ship A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermoda ...

capability to Auckland.

Biography

Early life and career

Savory was born in Ponsonby in 1908. He was the oldest of five children and attended

Auckland Grammar School Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

until the age of 14 when he was forced to look for employment to help with family finances. He took a job as an office boy at the

Auckland Gas Company The Auckland Gas Company is a company providing gas for residential or commercial customers in the Auckland area, New Zealand. It is one of the oldest still existing brand names in New Zealand, having been established as Auckland Gas Company Ltd ...

. He found work as a carpenter and helped build many of the high quality houses in

Remuera Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...

in the 1920s. After his five-year apprenticeship became a fully qualified chippie and joiner after taking night classes at the Seddon Memorial Technical College. Soon afterwards he lost his job after construction was cut short by the onset of the Great Depression. He proceeded to start his own building business leading him to public life. He founded R. Savory Ltd, a carpentry business which eventually became a full construction company. 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 opposing ...

his company built barracks structures for American troops stationed in Warkworth and the Auckland Domain. The company later built

Middlemore Hospital Middlemore Hospital is a major public hospital in the suburb of Otahuhu, Auckland, New Zealand. The hospital has approximately 800 beds. There are 24 operating theatres across two sites. History In 1943, during World War II, construction comme ...

and Ardmore Airport. In 1947 he was elected President of the Auckland Master Builders Association. In 1951 he was made president of the New Zealand Builders' Federation.

Political career

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito is chosen President of Yug ...

he stood on the Citizens & Ratepayers (C&R) ticket for the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

and was elected a member. He was re-elected in 1959 and 1962, holding a seat on the council for nine years. He was appointed chairman of the works and planning committee. In 1956 he introduced the first town plan of any city in New Zealand. In

1962 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

Savory was part of a group of C&R councillors (alongside Charlie Passmore and

Fred de Malmanche Frederick Henry Thomson de Malmanche (15 March 1900 – 1988) was a politician and diplomat. Biography Descending from the first French settlers in Akaroa in 1840, de Malmanche was born in Christchurch and later lived in Dunedin and Wellington as ...

) who had persuaded the president of the Auckland Chamber of Commerce Edgar Faber to run for the Auckland mayoralty against

Dove-Myer Robinson Sir Dove-Myer Robinson (15 June 1901 – 14 August 1989) was Mayor of Auckland City from 1959 to 1965 and from 1968 to 1980, the longest tenure of any holder of the office. He was a colourful character and became affectionately known across New ...

. They convinced him to do so by telling him exaggerated stories of Robinson's personal conduct and his behaviour during council business. Faber began to regret being involved in the mayoral contest as it began to affect his health and planned to withdraw from the race, but Savory and the other C&R councillors insisted he continue. Shortly after the election Faber discovered he was dying of cancer and confided to Robinson that the C&R trio had used him against Robinson for "purely mercenary ends". Savory had mayoral aspirations and frequently clashed with Mayor

. He described Robinson as a "troublemaking little upstart came along and stole the mayoralty" and as "a manipulating

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

boy". Savory's dislike of Robinson was more than mutual, originating in Robinson's opposition to a sewage dumping scheme (the Browns Island plan that would have discharged effluent into

Waitematā Harbour Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. The harbour forms the northern and easter ...

) that Savory supported. He was a member of the

Auckland Harbour Board The Auckland Harbour Board was a public body that operated the ports of both Auckland and Onehunga from 1871 to 1988 and was dissolved in 1989. Its successor organisation is Ports of Auckland, which assumed the possessions and responsibilities of ...

and was chairman from 1961 to 1972. As chairman he oversaw the downtown redevelopment, with increasing skyscrapers, and also initiated the construction of Fergusson Wharf. After making exploratory visits to

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 ...

and

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

to examine containerisation he upgraded

Auckland Harbour Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

to accommodate container ships to ensure that the port remained logistically and financially viable. He was also a board member of the Auckland Technical Institute for over three decades. In his youth technical education had helped him in his career and maintained an interest in it all his life. He was chairman of the board for 28 years from 1952 to 1980.

Later life and death

In the

1965 Queen's Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours 1965 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The appointments were made to celebrate t ...

, Savory was appointed a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, in recognition of his services to local government and technical education. In the 1972 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

, for outstanding services to local government and education. Savory suffered from diabetes and in 1973 he had his right leg amputated below the knee, the result of circulatory problems. His wife Fai-Ola Savory predeceased him in 1983. He died in his sleep on 27 October 1989 aged 81. He was survived by two daughters and six grandchildren.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Savory, Reg 1908 births 1989 deaths People from Auckland People educated at Auckland Grammar School New Zealand builders Auckland City Councillors Auckland Harbour Board members 20th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand Commanders of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods