Hugh Poland (politician)

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix =

|name = Hugh Poland

|honorific-suffix =

|image = Hugh Poland, ca 1920s (02).jpg

|alt =

|caption = Poland in the 1920s

|constituency_MP = Ohinemuri

|parliament =

|majority =

|term_start = 6 December 1905

|term_end = 14 October 1925

|predecessor = Edward George Britton Moss

|successor = Albert Samuel

|birth_date = 1868

|birth_place = Tuakau, Franklin District, New Zealand

|death_date = 3 January 1938

|death_place = Paeroa, New Zealand

|restingplace =

|restingplacecoordinates =

|birthname =

|nationality =

|party = Liberal Party

|otherparty = Independent Liberal

|spouse = Mary Ellen Poland (née Hand, m. 1892)

|relations =

|children =

|residence =

|occupation = storekeeper

|profession = teacher

|cabinet =

|committees =

|portfolio =

|religion =

|signature =

|signature_alt=

}}

Hugh Poland (1868 – 3 January 1938) was a member of parliament for the {{NZ electorate link|Ohinemuri}} electorate in New Zealand.

Early life

Poland was born in Tuakau, the son of John and Teresa Poland. All sources give his year of birth as 1868,{{sfn|Scholefield|1940|p=172}}{{sfn|Cyclopedia Company Limited|1902|pp=840f}} but the birth certificated held by the Department of Internal Affairs is dated 29 June 1867.{{cite web |title=Birth Search |url=https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search/Search.aspx?Path=%2fqueryEntry.m%3ftype%3dbirths#SearchResults |publisher=Department of Internal Affairs |access-date=13 December 2015 | quote=use 'Poland' and '29/06/1867' as search terms}} He received his education at Tuakau School and at Auckland Grammar School. In his youth, he was a prominent athlete,{{sfn|Scholefield|1940|p=172}} and he represented Auckland in rugby from 1887 to 1891, and in 1894.{{sfn|Cyclopedia Company Limited|1902|pp=840f}} After school, he was initially a teacher for two years, worked as a flaxmiller in Helensville, and then had stores in Rotorua and Paeroa; he remained in the latter place for the rest of his life.{{sfn|Scholefield|1940|p=172}}{{sfn|Hamer|1988|p=365}}

Political career

{{NZ parlbox

|start={{NZ election link year|1905}}

|end=1908

|term=16th

|electorate={{NZ electorate link|Ohinemuri}}

|party=New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

{{NZ parlbox

|start={{NZ election link year|1908}}

|end=1911

|term=17th

|electorate=Ohinemuri

|party=New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

{{NZ parlbox

|start={{NZ election link year|1911}}

|end=1914

|term=18th

|electorate=Ohinemuri

|party=New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

{{NZ parlbox

|start={{NZ election link year|1914}}

|end=1919

|term=19th

|electorate=Ohinemuri

|party=New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

{{NZ parlbox

|start={{NZ election link year|1919}}

|end=1922

|term=20th

|electorate=Ohinemuri

|party=Independent Liberal

}}

{{NZ parlbox

|start={{NZ election link year|1922}}

|end=1925

|term=21st

|electorate=Ohinemuri

|party=Independent Liberal

}}

=Local body career=

Poland first stood for election to the Ohinemuri County Council in November 1899.{{cite news |title=The County Elections |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=OG18991025.2.5 |access-date=14 December 2015 |work=Ohinemuri Gazette |volume=VIII |issue=641 |date=25 October 1899 |page=2}}{{cite news |title=The Ohinemuri Gazette|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=OG18991108.2.3 |access-date=14 December 2015 |volume=VIII |issue=645 |date=8 November 1899 |page=2}} He was the highest-polling candidate in his riding and was thus declared elected.{{cite news |title=County Election |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=OG18991111.2.23.3 |access-date=14 December 2015 |work=Ohinemuri Gazette |volume=VIII |issue=646 |date=11 November 1899 |page=3}} He served on the county council until 1908, and was chairman from 1901 to 1905, and was on the Licensing Committee and Education Committee.{{sfn|Cyclopedia Company Limited|1902|pp=840f}}

=Member of Parliament=

Hugh Poland represented the {{NZ electorate link|Ohinemuri}} electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives for twenty years from 1905 to 1925.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=227}} Poland was a Liberal until the 1919 election when he stood as an Independent and was successful. {{sfn|Wood|1996|p=100}}{{sfn|Bassett|1982|p=66}} Whilst not a member of the Labour Party, he was regarded by his voters as a "miners' advocate" and his lobbying contributed to the establishment of the phthisis pension.{{sfn|Scholefield|1940|p=172}}

In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.{{cite news | url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19350506.2.12 | title=Official jubilee medals | date=6 May 1935 | volume=CXIX | issue=105 | work=Evening Post | access-date=9 September 2015 | page=4}}

Community involvement

Poland was secretary of the Ohinemuri Jockey Club for over three decades. He gifted the Poland Memorial Cup for Thames Valley rugby union, and was an officer for the local rugby union for many years.

Family and death

On 10 August 1892, Poland married Mary Ellen Hand, the daughter of James Hand of Helensville.{{sfn|Cyclopedia Company Limited|1902|pp=840f}} One of their sons, Hugh Francis "Frank" Poland, was killed in the Battle of Passchendaele during World War I.{{cite news |title=Private Frank Poland |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=OG19171019.2.7.3 |access-date=15 December 2015 |work=Ohinemuri Gazette |volume=XXVIII |issue=3835 |date=19 October 1917 |page=2}}{{cite web |title=Hugh Francis Poland |url=http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/war-memorial/online-cenotaph/record/C12433 |publisher=Auckland War Memorial Museum |access-date=15 December 2015}} Hugh Poland died on 3 January 1938 at Paeroa, survived by his wife, seven sons, and four daughters.{{sfn|Scholefield|1940|p=172}}{{cite news |title=Obituary |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19380104.2.108 |access-date=13 December 2015 |work=The Evening Post |volume=CXXV |issue=2 |date=4 January 1938 |page=9}} His funeral service was held by James Liston, the Roman Catholic bishop of Auckland.{{cite news |title=Late Mr. Hugh Poland |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NZH19380106.2.124 |access-date=13 December 2015 |work=The New Zealand Herald |volume=LXXV |issue=22929 |date=6 January 1938 |page=10}} He is buried at Pukerimu Lawn Cemetery, also known as Paeroa Cemetery.{{cite web |title=Cemetery Record |url=http://property.hauraki-dc.govt.nz/cemetery/surname.asp?pt_serial=2396 |publisher=Hauraki District |access-date=14 December 2015}}

Poland built his house in Paeroa in 1899.{{cite news |title=The Ohinemuri Gazette |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=OG18990412.2.3 |access-date=14 December 2015 |volume=VIII |issue=585 |date=12 April 1899 |page=2}}{{cite web |title=Welcome To The Villa bed & breakfast |url=http://thevillapaeroa.co.nz/|publisher=The Villa bed & breakfast |access-date=14 December 2015}} The street was later named Poland Street in his honour.{{cite web |title=Hugh Poland, M.P. |url=http://www.ohinemuri.org.nz/journals/15-journal-4-september-1965/384-hugh-poland-m-p?highlight=WyJwb2xhbmQiLCJwb2xhbmQncyJd |publisher=Ohinemuri.org.nz |access-date=14 December 2015}} The house still stands and operates as a bed and breakfast.

Notes

References

{{cite book |last= Bassett |first= Michael |title= Three Party Politics in New Zealand 1911–1931 |author-link=Michael Bassett |year= 1982 |publisher=Historical Publications |location= Auckland |isbn= 0-86870-006-1 }}
{{cite book | ref={{sfnRef|Cyclopedia Company Limited|1902}} |title=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Auckland Provincial District |year=1902 |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc02Cycl-t1-body1-d3-d5-d9.html#name-404955-mention |publisher=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand |author=Cyclopedia Company Limited |access-date= 7 December 2015 |location=Christchurch |chapter=Paeroa}}
{{Cite book |last=Hamer |first=David A. |author-link=D. A. Hamer |title=The New Zealand Liberals: The Years of Power, 1891–1912 |year=1988 |place=Auckland |publisher=Auckland University Press |isbn=1-86940-014-3 |oclc=18420103 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newzealandlibera0000hame }}
{{cite book | editor-last = Scholefield | editor-first = Guy | editor-link = Guy Scholefield | title = A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : M–Addenda | volume = II | year = 1940 | publisher = Department of Internal Affairs | location = Wellington | url = https://www.nzhistory.net.nz/files/documents/dnzb-1940/scholefield-dnzb-v2.pdf | access-date = 13 December 2015 | archive-date = 27 March 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140327073420/https://www.nzhistory.net.nz/files/documents/dnzb-1940/scholefield-dnzb-v2.pdf | url-status = dead }}
{{cite book |editor-last=Wood |editor-first=G. Anthony |title=Ministers and Members: In the New Zealand Parliament |year=1996 |publisher=Otago University Press |location=Dunedin}}
{{cite book |last= Wilson |first= James Oakley |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 |edition= 4th |orig-year=First published in 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |oclc= 154283103}}