Sir Frederick Widdowson Doidge (26 February 1884 – 26 May 1954) was a journalist in New Zealand and England, then a National Party member in the New Zealand House of Representatives.

Biography

Early life and career

Doidge was born in

Cootamundra Cootamundra, nicknamed Coota, is a town in the South West Slopes region of New South Wales, Australia and within the Riverina. It is within the Cootamundra-Gundagai Regional Council. At the 2016 Census, Cootamundra had a population of 6,782. I ...

, New South Wales, Australia. His father, Edwin Doidge, was a journalist in

Thames, New Zealand Thames () is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel (district), New Zea ...

, and founded the ''Cootamundra Liberal'' in August 1882 in competition with the ''

Cootamundra Herald ''The Cootamundra Herald'' is a former printed bi-weekly newspaper now existing only on-line and containing little or no news of direct relevance to the community of Cootamundra, New South Wales, Australia. The ''Herald'' website carries syndi ...

''. Frederick Doidge received his training as a journalist from his father. Doidge came to New Zealand in 1902.

Political career

In the 1935 election, Doidge ran as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

in the electorate after having had a brief encounter with the anti-Labour New Zealand Democrat Party. Of the four candidates, he came second after Labour's Alexander Moncur. The next year he ran as the new

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

's candidate in the 1936 Manukau by-election, becoming the first National candidate to run for election in history. He was defeated by Labour candidate Arthur Osborne. Doidge then represented the electorate of

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

for National from

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

to 1951, when he retired. He served as both Minister of External Affairs and Minister of Island Territories from 1950 to 1951 in the

First National Government of New Zealand The First National Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 1949 to 1957 formed by the National Party. It was a conservative government best remembered for its role in the 1951 waterfront dispute. It also began the repositioning ...

. Later, Doidge became New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1951 until his death. He was appointed a

Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III ...

in the 1953 New Year Honours, and 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 ...

Death

Doidge died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 26 May 1954 from cancer.

References

New Zealand National Party MPs Ministers of foreign affairs of New Zealand Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand 1884 births 1954 deaths Australian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand people of World War I New Zealand Democrat Party (1934) politicians High commissioners of New Zealand to the United Kingdom New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Unsuccessful candidates in the 1935 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People from the Riverina {{NZNational-politician-stub