Anthony Trevelyan "Rufus" Rogers (12 July 1913 – 18 August 2009) was a New Zealand medical doctor and a politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Rogers was born in

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

on 12 July 1913, the son of Eugene Trevelyan "Tim" Rogers and Gwendoline Rogers. The doctor who delivered him spotted some rust-coloured hairs on his head and wanted to call him a "

haematite Hematite (), also spelled as haematite, is a common iron oxide compound with the formula, Fe2O3 and is widely found in rocks and soils. Hematite crystals belong to the rhombohedral lattice system which is designated the alpha polymorph of . ...

", but his mother insisted that if anything, he was to be called Rufus. That name always stuck. Rogers was educated at Whitiora School and

Hamilton High School Hamilton High School may refer to: United States Alabama * Hamilton High School (Alabama) in Hamilton Arizona * Hamilton High School (Chandler, Arizona) in Chandler Arkansas * Lake Hamilton High School in Pearcy California * Hamilton High Sc ...

, as well as

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand, a feat achieved in part thanks to its original inception as a private school. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it r ...

from 1930 to 1931, and the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, where he completed

MB ChB A Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (; MBBS, also abbreviated as BM BS, MB ChB, MB BCh, or MB BChir) is a medical degree granted by medical schools or universities in countries that adhere to the United Kingdom's higher education tradi ...

degrees in 1938. Rogers served with the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

from 1939 to 1946. On 27 January 1945, he married Prudence Cecilia Romilly at St Mary's Church,

Newick Newick is a village, civil parish and electoral ward in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. It is located on the A272 road east of Haywards Heath. The parish church, St. Mary's, dates mainly from the Victorian era, but still has a No ...

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, England, and the couple went on to have four children. Returning to New Zealand, Rogers practised in

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

as a general practitioner from 1946. In 1956, a local campaign began to have a university in Hamilton. The barrister and solicitor Douglas Seymour chaired the lobby group for the first five years, and was succeeded in that role by Rogers. In 1964, their work was done and the

University of Waikato The University of Waikato (), established in 1964, is a Public university, public research university located in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton, New Zealand. An additional campus is located in Tauranga. The university performs research in nume ...

was officially opened by the

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, Sir

Bernard Fergusson Brigadier Bernard Edward Fergusson, Baron Ballantrae, (6 May 1911 – 28 November 1980) was a British Army officer and military historian who served as the tenth governor-general of New Zealand from 1962 to 1967. He was the last British-born pe ...

. Rogers' brother,

Denis Rogers Denis Rogers (30 September 1917 – 7 December 1987) was a New Zealand doctor and local-body politician. Biography Rogers was born in Hamilton, New Zealand,

, was the university's first chancellor from 1964 to 1969. Rogers was asked by the Labour Party whether they could nominate him for the in the new Hamilton East electorate. Not even a member of the party at the time, he thought he must have been mistaken for his brother, Denis Rogers, who had been mayor of Hamilton from 1959 to 1968. Rufus Rogers represented the Hamilton East electorate for one parliamentary term from 1972 to 1975, when he was defeated by

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

Ian Shearer Ian John Shearer (10 December 1941 – 1 June 2021) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party, environmentalist and research scientist. Early life and education Shearer was born at Whakatāne in 1941, the son of Jack Sewell Shearer. H ...

.The Rogers family of Hamilton
, Kete Hamilton: Hamilton Heritage website. Retrieved 2 December 2012 According to

Trevor Mallard Sir Trevor Colin Mallard (born 17 June 1954) is a New Zealand politician and diplomat. Since 2023, he has served as Ambassador of New Zealand to Ireland. He was a Member of Parliament from 1984 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2022. He served a ...

, Rogers was "probably one of the last true socialists in Parliament". In the

1987 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1987 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

, Rogers was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

for public services. Rogers' wife, Pru, died in 1998. Rufus Rogers died in Hamilton on 18 August 2009, and his ashes were buried in Hamilton East Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Anthony Trevelyan 1913 births 2009 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs People educated at Nelson College University of Otago alumni Companions of the Queen's Service Order New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand general practitioners University of Waikato Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election 20th-century New Zealand medical doctors 20th-century New Zealand politicians British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Medical Corps officers