Roderick Alastair Macdonnell Braithwaite
MBE, (13 August 1901 – 3 April 1963) was a New Zealand politician. He was
mayor of Hamilton from 1953 to 1959.
Early life and family
Braithwaite was born in
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...
on 13 August 1901, one of the youngest sons of
Joseph Braithwaite, bookseller and later
mayor of Dunedin
The mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...
, and his wife, Mary Ann Braithwaite (née Bellett). He was one of at least 16
and as many as 22 children,
born to the couple.
His brothers included
John Braithwaite, who was convicted and executed for mutiny during World War I and pardoned by the New Zealand government in 2000;
, who played in New Zealand's first official international soccer match, against Australia in 1922; and
Warwick Braithwaite, who became an orchestral conductor.
Braithwaite married Nora Kathleen Arey, the daughter of bookseller William Ewbank Arey, on 21 June 1932.
Mayoralty
Braithwaite served two terms as mayor of Hamilton, from 1953 to 1959.
He called the first public meeting that led to the establishment of the
Waikato Savings Bank in 1958, and served as the first chair of its board of trustees.
Death and legacy
Braithwaite died on 3 April 1963, and was buried at Hamilton Park Cemetery. His widow, Kathleen Braithwaite, served as a Hamilton city councillor between 1962 and 1974, including a period as deputy mayor,
and was appointed a
Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
for services to the community in the
1963 Queen's Birthday Honours. Their son,
David Braithwaite, unsuccessfully stood for the Hamilton mayoralty in 1998, but was elected to that office in 2001.
He was defeated in his bid for re-election in 2004.
References
External links
* Photos
19451950s
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braithwaite, Roderick
1901 births
1963 deaths
20th-century mayors of places in New Zealand
Politicians from Dunedin
Mayors of Hamilton, New Zealand
Burials at Hamilton Park Cemetery
20th-century New Zealand politicians
Roderick
Roderick, Rodrick or Roderic (Proto-Germanic , from , + , ) is a Germanic name, recorded from the 8th century onward.Förstemann, ''Altdeutsches Namenbuch'' (1856)740 Its Old High German forms are , , , , , ; in Gothic language ; in Old English ...