Bill Rogers (New Zealand politician)

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Bill Rogers
Member of the Legislative Council
In office
15 July 1940 – 31 December 1950
Appointed byPeter Fraser
Personal details
Born
William James Rogers

(1887-01-10)10 January 1887
Died6 July 1971(1971-07-06) (aged 84)
New Zealand
Political partyLabour Party
RelationsPhilip Blakeley (son-in-law)

William James Rogers OBE (10 January 1887 – 6 July 1971)[1] was a New Zealand politician. He was a long-serving Mayor of Wanganui, and a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council from 1940 until its abolition in 1950.

Biography[edit]

Rogers worked as gardener and miner at Denniston and became involved in trade unionism via the Miners' Union. He was later the secretary of the Wanganui Watersiders' Union.[1] Rogers' daughter, Ida, married electrical engineer Philip Blakeley in 1938.[2]

Rogers was Mayor of Wanganui from 1927 to 1931, and again from 1935 to 1953.[3] He contested the 1925, 1928, and 1931 elections in the Wanganui electorate for the Labour Party, but lost to Bill Veitch, the incumbent.[4][5][6]

He was appointed to the Legislative Council by the First Labour Government, and was a member from 15 July 1940 to 14 July 1947; and 15 July 1947 to 31 December 1950.[7]

Appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1954 New Year Honours,[8] Rogers died in 1971.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Rogers, William James, 1887-1971". Alexander Turnbull Library. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  2. ^ Martin, John E. "Blakeley, Philip William". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  3. ^ Beaglehole, Diana (3 November 2011). "Whanganui region - Government". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
  4. ^ The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 3. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  5. ^ The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. 1929. p. 5. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  6. ^ The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 5. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  7. ^ a b Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840-1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 163. OCLC 154283103.
  8. ^ "No. 40055". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1954. p. 44.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Wanganui
1927–1931
1935–1953
Succeeded by
Norman Graham Armstrong
Preceded by
Norman Graham Armstrong
Succeeded by
Edward Alan Millward