Rowland Oswald Colin Marks (4 February 1893 – 12 November 1977) was born in

Auckland 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 ...

, New Zealand and was a pioneer of the

social credit Social credit is a distributive philosophy of political economy developed by C. H. Douglas. Douglas attributed economic downturns to discrepancies between the cost of goods and the compensation of the workers who made them. To combat what he ...

movement in New Zealand. He served in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

as a sergeant and later second lieutenant in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade and earned the DCM. A teacher by profession, after graduating MA in 1922 from

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, Marks witnessed first-hand the difficulties faced by New Zealanders during the Depression. He became convinced that monetary reform was needed, and stood as the candidate for the Real Democracy Movement in the

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

electorate in the 1943 general election. The Movement evolved into the New Zealand Social Credit Political League and Marks polled highly, though not enough to take the seat. When not running for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

, he served on the League's national committee and was made a life member in 1968. Marks deservedly takes credit for establishing the Social Credit movement as a force in Wanganui.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Roly 1893 births 1977 deaths University of Auckland alumni Social Credit Party (New Zealand) politicians New Zealand military personnel of World War I New Zealand Army personnel Unsuccessful candidates in the 1943 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1954 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1957 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election New Zealand city councillors