Robert Leslie Gapper Talbot (18 October 1923 – 13 December 2012) was a New Zealand politician who represented the National Party as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. A Muldoon loyalist, he was a cabinet minister from 1981 to 1984 in the Third National Government, serving as

Postmaster-General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a Ministry (government department), ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having ...

and

Minister of Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) * Minist ...

Early life and family

Born in

Temuka Temuka is a town on New Zealand's Canterbury Plains, 15 kilometres north of Timaru and 142 km south of Christchurch. It is located at the centre of a rich sheep and dairy farming region, for which it is a service town. It lies on the north ...

on 18 October 1923, Talbot was the son of Elsie and Leslie Talbot. He was educated at

Waitaki Boys' High School Waitaki Boys' High School is a secondary school for boys located in the northern part of the town of Oamaru, Otago, New Zealand, with day and boarding facilities, and was founded in 1883. , it has a school roll of approximately 400 students. The ...

. In 1947, Talbot married Anne Sandston, and the couple had three children.

Member of Parliament

Talbot represented the Ashburton electorate in Parliament from 1966 to 1969, then the

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Souther ...

electorate from 1969 to 1978, and then the Ashburton electorate again from 1978 until his retirement in 1987 whereupon he was replaced by

Jenny Shipley Dame Jennifer Mary Shipley (née Robson; born 4 February 1952) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 36th prime minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. She was the first female prime minister of New Zealand, and the first woma ...

. As Postmaster-General he signed off on New Zealand's first cellular network in 1983. In 1984, at a time when the use of Māori phrases was as yet uncommon in New Zealand, an Auckland telephone operator,

Naida Glavish Dame Rangimārie Naida Glavish ( ) (born 1946) is a New Zealand politician and Māori people, Māori community leader from the Ngāti Whātua iwi. From 2013 to 2016, she was President of the Māori Party. Early life and career Glavish is affil ...

, was instructed to stop using "

kia ora Kia ora (, approximated in English as or ) is a Māori-language greeting which has entered New Zealand English. It translates literally as "have life" or "be healthy", wishing the essence of life upon someone, from one speaker to the other ...

" when greeting callers after the post office had received a complaint. She refused to do so and was consequently stood down, with the whole affair attracting much public interest. Talbot, as Postmaster-General, is credited with successfully convincing the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Robert Muldoon Sir Robert David Muldoon (; 25 September 19215 August 1992) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand, from 1975 to 1984, while leader of the National Party. Serving as a corporal and sergeant in th ...

, to overturn that prohibition.

Later life and death

On 4 July 2007, Talbot was awarded a Certificate of Appreciation from former

United States Ambassador to New Zealand The United States has maintained a Consul (representative), consular presence in New Zealand since 1838. The first consul was James Reddy Clendon. Born in England, Clendon was a ship owner and merchant who bought land and settled in the Bay of Is ...

Bill McCormick for his efforts in fostering positive relations between the United States and New Zealand during his tenure with the New Zealand American Association. Talbot died on 13 December 2012 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 ...

. His wife Anne had died before him. He was survived by partner, Wilhelmina Pondman, one son, and two daughters.

Honours and awards

In 1977, Talbot was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du jubilé d'argent de la reine Elizabeth II) is a commemorative medal created in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's accession in 1952. The medal is p ...

, and in 1990 he received the

New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal The New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal was a commemorative medal awarded in New Zealand in 1990 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and was awarded to approximately 3,000 people. Background The New Zea ...

. In the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, Talbot was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...

for public services.

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Talbot, Rob 1923 births 2012 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Companions of the Queen's Service Order People from Ashburton, New Zealand People from Temuka People educated at Waitaki Boys' High School