Frederick Robert Flatman (1843 – 21 September 1911) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

for the

Pareora Pareora is a small town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located close to State Highway 1, which bypasses the western edge of the town, and close to the Pacific Ocean coast, five kilometres north of Saint Andrews and 10 kilometres sou ...

and Geraldine electorates.

Early life

Flatman was born in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

and went to school in

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. He came to Lyttelton on the ''Mary Ann'' in 1862 and went to South Canterbury. He was a successful businessman, and was storekeeper in Geraldine and

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, and a sawmiller, before he concentrated on farming.

Member of Parliament

Flatman represented the

and Geraldine electorates for fifteen years (1893–1908) in the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...

. He defeated

Arthur Rhodes Arthur Lee Rhodes, Jr. (born October 24, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who is the current pitching coach for the Cleburne Railroaders of the American Association of Professional Baseball. Career R ...

for the Pareora electorate in 1893 by 1594 to 1377 votes. From 1904 to 1906 Flatman served as the Liberal Party's senior whip. In 1908 he was defeated by

William Nosworthy Sir William Nosworthy (18 October 1867 – 26 September 1946) was a New Zealand politician. He briefly served as Minister of Finance and then Minister of External Affairs in the Reform Government. Biography Nosworthy stood in the el ...

for the Ashburton electorate in the second ballot. The ''

Lyttelton Times The ''Lyttelton Times'' was the first newspaper in Canterbury, New Zealand, publishing the first edition in January 1851. It was established by the Canterbury Association as part of its planned settlement of Canterbury and developed into a libera ...

'' described Frederick Flatman as a member "''not of the ornamental type, but plain, blunt, possessing strong convictions, straightforward manners and simple directness of speech. He also acquired in 3 years a surprising grasp and mastery of political questions. He was certainly the best of the South Island farmer members-perhaps the best in New Zealand. He was a fine man''."

Death

He died on 21 September 1911 at

near Geraldine.

Notes

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Flatman, Frederick 1843 births 1911 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand sawmillers New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1908 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians British emigrants to New Zealand