William Robert Fenton (9 October 1923 – 10 January 2013), known as Bob Fenton, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Biography

Fenton was born on 9 October 1923 at

Napier Napier may refer to: People * Napier (surname), including a list of people with that name * Napier baronets, five baronetcies and lists of the title holders Given name * Napier Shaw (1854–1945), British meteorologist * Napier Waller (1893–19 ...

, and was educated at Hastings High School. He served in World War II in the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

and in the

Royal New Zealand Air Force The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeala ...

. In 1951, he married Dorothy Alice Ferrier, and the couple went on to have five children. Fenton was a regional governor of the New Zealand chapter of

Jaycees The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training, service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI) ...

in 1960, and a world governor of

Junior Chamber International Junior Chamber International, commonly referred to as JCI, is a non-profit international non-governmental organization of young people between and years old. It has members in about 124 countries, and regional or national organizations in mo ...

. Fenton was strongly opposed to political interference in sport and held strong views on the rugby matches between

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and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. In the , Fenton stood for National in the electorate and defeated the incumbent,

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 ...

Richard Mayson Charles Richard Mayson (born 13 October 1941), generally known as Richard Mayson, is a former New Zealand politician of the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party. Biography Mayson was born in Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson in 1941, the son of ...

. In the , he was in turn defeated by Labour's

David Butcher David John Butcher (born 19 September 1948) is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was a Cabinet minister in the Fourth Labour Government. Early life and family Butcher was born in Brighton, England, on 19 September 1948, ...

. Between 1979 and 1987, Fenton served as deputy chair of the Earthquake and War Damage Commission. In 1977, Fenton 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 ...

. Fenton owned his own real estate company, Robert Fenton Real Estate, and was a fellow of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand. He died in 2013.

Notes

References

* * 1923 births 2013 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs People educated at Hastings Boys' High School New Zealand military personnel of World War II Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1978 New Zealand general election {{NZNational-politician-stub