Roderick McKenzie

{{Infobox officeholder

|honorific-prefix = The Honourable

|name = Roderick McKenzie

|honorific-suffix =

|image = Roderick McKenzie 1900's.jpg

|caption =

|order1 = 25th Minister of Customs

|term_start1 = 4 September 1911

|term_end1 = 28 March 1912

|primeminister1 = Sir Joseph Ward

|predecessor1 = George Fowlds

|successor1 = George Laurenson

|order2 = 13th Minister of Public Works

|term_start2 = 6 January 1909

|term_end2 = 28 March 1912

|primeminister2 = Sir Joseph Ward

|predecessor2 = William Hall-Jones

|successor2 = William MacDonald

|order3 = 10th Minister of Mines

|term_start3 = 6 January 1909

|term_end3 = 28 March 1912

|primeminister3 = Sir Joseph Ward

|predecessor3 = James McGowan

|successor3 = James Colvin

|constituency_MP4 = Motueka

|parliament4 = New Zealand

|term_start4 = 4 December 1896

|term_end4 = 11 December 1914

|predecessor4 = John Kerr

|successor4 = Richard Hudson

|constituency_MP5 = Buller

|parliament5 = New Zealand

|term_start5 = 28 November 1893

|term_end5 = 4 December 1896

|predecessor5 = Eugene O'Conor

|successor5 = Patrick O'Regan

|birth_date = 1852

|birth_place = Ross-shire, Scotland

|death_date = 9 October 1934

|death_place = Wellington, New Zealand

|restingplace =

|restingplacecoordinates =

|birthname =

|nationality =

|party = Liberal

|otherparty =

|spouse =

|relations =

|children =

|residence =

|occupation = Engineer

|profession =

|religion =

|signature =

|footnotes =

}}

Roderick McKenzie (1852 – 9 October 1934) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Buller and Motueka, in the South Island. He was a member of the Liberal Party.

Biography

=Early life and career=

He was born in Ross-shire, Scotland in 1852. He was educated at the Glasgow Academy and became a builder by trade. He then began two years of employment with the London and Glasgow Engineering and Ironship Building Company before deciding to move to Canada. He did not reside there long before emigrating to New Zealand in 1869. He sailed on the ship City of Dunedin and after arriving in Otago he became a miner.{{cite book |chapter-url=http://authority.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc05Cycl-t1-body1-d1-d1-d3.html |title=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand |last= | first= |volume=Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts |chapter=Present and Past Members of Parliament |publisher= |editor-first=Arthur |editor-last=McKee |editor-link=Arthur McKee |access-date=20 March 2021 |year=1905 }}

McKenzie left his mining job in Otago to move to the West Coast and enter the construction industry as an engineer and bridge builder.{{sfn|Hamer|1988|p=364}} He was involved in building infrastructure in the area. His projects included construction of the Westport Staiths at a cost of 22,000 pounds, the railway bridge at Arahura, laying rails to Hokitika and years later the Jervois Quay wharf in Wellington.

He became involved in community affairs on the West Coast. He was elected a member of the Westport Harbour Board, Nelson Harbour Board and Kumara Hospital Board.{{cite book |chapter-url=http://authority.nzetc.org/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc05Cycl-t1-body1-d1-d1-d7.html |title=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand |last= | first= |volume=Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts |chapter=Nelson Harbour Board |publisher= |editor-first=Arthur |editor-last=McKee |editor-link=Arthur McKee |access-date=20 March 2021 |year=1905 }}

=Member of Parliament=

{{NZ parlbox

|start = {{NZ election link year|1893}}

|end = 1896

|term = 12th

|electorate = {{NZ electorate link|Buller}}

|party = New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

{{NZ parlbox

|start = {{NZ election link year|1896}}

|end = 1899

|term = 13th

|electorate = {{NZ electorate link|Motueka}}

|party = New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

{{NZ parlbox

|start = {{NZ election link year|1899}}

|end = 1902

|term = 14th

|electorate = Motueka

|party = New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

{{NZ parlbox

|start = {{NZ election link year|1902}}

|end = 1905

|term = 15th

|electorate = Motueka

|party = New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

{{NZ parlbox

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

|end = 1908

|term = 16th

|electorate = Motueka

|party = New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

{{NZ parlbox

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

|end = 1911

|term = 17th

|electorate = Motueka

|party = New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

{{NZ parlbox

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

|end = 1914

|term = 18th

|electorate = Motueka

|party = New Zealand Liberal Party

}}

McKenzie was the MP for Buller between {{NZ election link year|1893}} and 1896 and the MP for Motueka from {{NZ election link year|1896}} to 1914. He was a "strong supporter of the Seddon administration". In Parliament he helped to pass a Loan Bill which allowed the Westport Harbour Board to borrow £50,000 in order to fund extensive and long overdue improvements. In July 1905 a group of "country" Liberal members formed a ginger group and proclaimed their intention to advocate country interests in the Government caucus. MacKenzie was one of the group's members and was elected as their leader.{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/political-parties/page-9 |title=An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand |last=Foster |first=John |chapter=Liberal Party |publisher=Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga |editor-first=A. H. |editor-last=McLintock |editor-link=Alexander Hare McLintock |access-date= 15 December 2015 |year=1966 }} He was Chairman of Committees from 1906 to 1908.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=252}}

He was Minister of Public Works, Minister of Customs and Minister of Mines from 1909 to 1912 under Sir Joseph Ward.Wilson & Wood The practical experience he had as an engineer and builder made him an effective minister as the period featured great activity in public works schemes, particularly in roading improvements.{{cite news |title=Obituary |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19341010.2.144 |work=The Evening Post |volume=CXVIII |issue=87 |page=13 |date=10 October 1934 |access-date=15 August 2011}} However, in 1912 McKenzie would have nothing to do with Thomas Mackenzie's (no relation) Liberal Ministry stating that: John Millar should have been prime minister, Mackenzie's ministers were political novices and had forsaken their liberal principles.{{sfn|Bassett|1982|pp=12–3}}

In 1932, when he was 80 years old, McKenzie contested the Motueka seat once again at the by-election following the death of George Black.{{sfn|Scholefield|1940|p=71}} Standing as an Independent Liberal–Labour candidate he placed third out of three candidates.{{cite news |title=Govt. wins Motueka by-election |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=OSWCC19321206.2.9 |work=Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle |volume=XXVIII |issue=1402 |page=2 |date=6 December 1932 |access-date=15 August 2011 }}

=Later life and death=

Following his exit from Parliament, McKenzie resumed his career as an engineer and contractor in Wellington. He was also a prominent member of the West Coast Association.

McKenzie died on 9 October 1934 in Wellington aged 82.

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 |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 |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 : A–L | volume = I | year = 1940 | publisher = Department of Internal Affairs | location = Wellington | url = https://www.nzhistory.net.nz/files/documents/dnzb-1940/scholefield-dnzb-v1.pdf | access-date = 6 October 2013}}
{{Cite book |last= Wilson |first= James Oakley |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 |edition= 4th |orig-year= First ed. published 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |oclc=154283103}}
{{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}}