Frank Rogers (politician)


Frank Lewis Rogers was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life and career

Rogers was born 27 December 1933. He was raised in St Joseph's Orphanage in Takapuna. He lied about his age to leave school early and gained employment as an apprentice carpenter. He earned a small wage which went almost entirely on rent, not even leaving enough for tram tickets to and from work.
In 1965 he set up his own construction firm which employed 60 people at its peak, but the firm closed in 1979 after construction demand fell following the 1973–75 recession. He became an executive member of the Master Builders Association.
Rogers was an active sports enthusiast. He played third-grade rugby and played representative rugby league for Richmond. He also enjoyed running, tramping, deerstalking and skydiving. He was also the President of the Auckland Lions Club and President of the Auckland Caledonian Dancing Society.

Political career

Rogers joined the Labour Party in 1953 and held a number of executive positions in the party. In the 1974 local-body elections he stood as a Labour candidate for the Auckland Regional Authority, but was unsuccessful. A year later he won nomination for the safe Labour seat of Onehunga following the retirement of former Deputy Prime Minister Hugh Watt who had been appointed New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom. He won selection over 26 other aspirants including Malcolm Douglas.
He served as the Member of Parliament for Onehunga from until 1980. Fellow Labour MP Michael Bassett described Rogers as a "lacklustre" MP who was a staunch supporter of then leader Bill Rowling.

Death

Rogers died on 25 April 1980 in Whangarei hospital several days after having a stroke after stopping to help two people who survived a car crash in Northland. He was survived by his wife, son and daughter.
Following his death Fred Gerbic was elected to replace him in the ensuing by-election.