Ernest Bowyer Corbett (7 May 1898 – 15 June 1968) was a New Zealand
National Party politician.
Early life and family
Corbett was born in
Ōkato
Ōkato is a small town in rural Taranaki, New Zealand. It is situated about 25 minutes drive around the coast from New Plymouth on New Zealand State Highway 45, State Highway 45. Ōakura is 12 km to the north-east, and Warea, New Zealand, ...
in 1898; his father was William Corbett. His mother was descended from Thomas Hansen, who had come to New Zealand with
Samuel Marsden
Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society. He played a leading role in bringing Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden w ...
in 1814 in the brig ''Active''. He received his education at Puniho pa and at Okato state school. In 1922, he married Doris E. Sharp, the daughter of A. Sharp. He worked for the
Post and Telegraph Department for six years, followed by four years in a dairy factory, and then as a dairy farmer.
Public offices
Corbett was the director of the
National Dairy Association for six years. He was with the Oxford Dairy Company for 26 years and the Dairy Insurance Company for 12 years. For 12 years, he was a warden for the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
.
Corbett held the
Egmont electorate from 1943 to 1957. He was
Minister of Māori Affairs
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...
,
Minister of Lands and Minister of Forests in the
First National Government. As Māori Affairs Minister he worked closely with
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
statesman
Āpirana Ngata, and spent much of his time implementing "Ngata’s policies".
In 1953, Corbett was awarded the
Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953.
Award
This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...
.
Corbett had a deep affection for the natural environment and was an honorary ranger for
Egmont National Park
Egmont National Park, officially known as Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki, is a national park located south of New Plymouth, close to the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The park covers three volcanic cones: Taranaki Maunga and its sl ...
. He was made a life member of the
Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand. During his time as a cabinet minister, the
National Parks Act 1952 was passed. During his time in office, some were added to
national parks
A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...
. For his contributions, he was awarded the Loder Cup in 1958, an award given to those who have made "contributions to plant conservation work in New Zealand".
Corbett fell ill and, according to Wilson (1985), retired at the end of the parliamentary term on 29 October 1957, or, according to his biographer, in September 1957,
shortly before his government's defeat. He died on 15 June 1968.
In April 2010 it was alleged by
Muru Walters that in 1956 Corbett told the
Māori All Blacks
The Māori All Blacks, previously called the New Zealand Maori, New Zealand Maoris and New Zealand Natives, are a rugby union team from New Zealand. They are a representative team of the New Zealand Rugby Union, and a prerequisite for playing is ...
to deliberately lose to the
Springboks
The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...
"for the future of rugby"; however, several other players in the team contradict Walters' accusation and state Corbett never asked them to deliberately throw the game. The Māori team lost 37–0. This was followed by Walters calling for the government to apologise for the way it treated Māori rugby players.
As Minister he promoted th
Māori Purposes Act 1950 which allowed land to be leased compulsorily and sold for arrears of rates. He wrote to
Raglan County Council that, "I am firmly of the opinion that if other County Councils take advantage of the provisions of the Act, as your Council is doing, the problem of idle and unproductive Māori land will soon be on its way to a complete solution". Raglan, Kāwhia, and Waitomo councils had orders enforced on of Māori land. The popular left hand break surf access at
Waikeri (Manu Bay) was among areas with rate arrears sold to Raglan County Council.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Ernest
New Zealand National Party MPs
Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand
1898 births
1968 deaths
Rugby union controversies
Māori All Blacks
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates
20th-century New Zealand politicians