Frederick Fitchett (1851 – 5 October 1930) was a 19th-century member of parliament from

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 ...

, New Zealand.

Biography

Born in 1851 in

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England, Fitchett was educated at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

and

Canterbury University College The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, graduating

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1879 and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

in 1880. He was admitted to the Bar the following year, and began practising law in

. In 1887 he was conferred with an LLD from Canterbury. Fitchett represented the

Dunedin Central Dunedin Central was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand from 1881 to 1890 and 1905 to 1984. Population centres The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the ...

electorate from 1887 to 1890, when he retired. In 1890 he was the junior opposition

whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

. In 1890 Fitchett visited London, where he married Lina Valerie Blain at St Simon's Church,

Cadogan Square Cadogan Square () is a residential square in Knightsbridge, London, that was named after Earl Cadogan. Whilst it is mainly a residential area, some of the properties are used for diplomatic and educational purposes (notably Sussex House School ...

, on 16 April. The couple had one son. In 1895 Fitchett was appointed as the parliamentary draughtsman and assistant Crown law officer. He served as

solicitor-general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

from 1901 to 1910, and represented New Zealand at the 1907 conference of French, British and colonial representatives that considered the New Hebrides question. He was appointed

public trustee In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichk ...

in 1910, and remained in that role until his retirement in 1917. In the

1911 Coronation Honours The Coronation Honours 1911 for the British Empire were announced on 19 June 1911, to celebrate the Coronation of George V which was held on 22 June 1911. The honours were covered in the press at the time, including in ''The Times'' on 20 June 1 ...

Fitchett was appointed a

Companion 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 I ...

. Fitchett was a member of the senate of the

University of New Zealand A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

from 1883 until 1915. He died in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

on 5 October 1930, and his ashes were buried at

Waikumete Cemetery Waikumete Cemetery, originally Waikomiti Cemetery, is New Zealand's largest cemetery. It occupies a site of 108 hectares in Glen Eden, Auckland, and also contains a crematorium in the south-west corner of the cemetery. History Waikumete Cemeter ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitchett, Frederick 1851 births 1930 deaths People from Grantham British emigrants to New Zealand University of Canterbury alumni Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates Independent MPs of New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand public servants Solicitors-general of New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Burials at Waikumete Cemetery 19th-century New Zealand lawyers