William Robert Fenton (9 October 1923 – 10 January 2013), known as Bob Fenton, was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Biography

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1975–1978 38th Hastings National

Fenton was born on 9 October 1923 at Napier, and was educated at Hastings High School.[1] He served in World War II in the New Zealand Army and in the Royal New Zealand Air Force.[2] In 1951, he married Dorothy Alice Ferrier, and the couple went on to have five children.[1]

Fenton was a regional governor of the New Zealand chapter of Jaycees in 1960, and a world governor of Junior Chamber International.[2] Fenton was strongly opposed to political interference in sport and held strong views on the rugby matches between South Africa and New Zealand.[2]

In the 1975 election, Fenton stood for National in the Hastings electorate and defeated the incumbent, Labour's Richard Mayson.[3] In the 1978 election, he was in turn defeated by Labour's David Butcher.[4] Between 1979 and 1987, Fenton served as deputy chair of the Earthquake and War Damage Commission.[1]

In 1977, Fenton was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal, and in 1990 he received the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.[1]

Fenton owned his own real estate company, Robert Fenton Real Estate, and was a fellow of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand.[2] He died in 2013.[5]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 139. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Gustafson 1986, p. 310.
  3. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 195, 219.
  4. ↑ Wilson 1985, pp. 187, 195.
  5. ↑ "Obituary: Debating led to Parliament for Fenton". Hawke's Bay Today. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 24 June 2019.

References

  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.


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