Denis Rogers
Template:Short description Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox officeholder Denis Rogers Template:Post-nominals (30 September 1917 – 7 December 1987) was a New Zealand doctor and local-body politician.
Biography
Rogers was born in Hamilton, New Zealand,<ref name="Rogers family">The Rogers family of Hamilton Template:Webarchive, Kete Hamilton: Hamilton Heritage website. Retrieved 2 December 2012</ref> and attended Nelson College from 1931 to 1934.<ref name="NCOB">Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006, 6th edition</ref> He studied medicine at the University of Otago, graduating MB ChB in 1941,<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref> and became a general practitioner.<ref name="Rogers family"/>
Rogers stood for the Hamilton City Council in 1956. He was the highest polling candidate and became deputy mayor. He was the mayor of Hamilton from 1959 to 1968, elected for three terms. During his mayoralty, he campaigned for the poor and for an international airport to be built in Hamilton.<ref name="Rogers family"/>
Rogers was married to Helen Wyn-Hesse and they had three children. He was well known for his like of gardening, and the Rogers Rose Gardens in Hamilton are named after him.<ref name="Rogers family"/>
In the 1964 Queen's Birthday Honours, Rogers was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and in 1985 he was awarded the Freedom of the City of Hamilton. He died of a heart attack in 1987.<ref name="Rogers family"/>
Rogers' brother, Rufus Rogers, was also a well-known political figure in Hamilton. Starting 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, to be succeeded by Rufus Rogers. In 1964, their work was done and the University of Waikato was officially opened by the Governor-General, Sir Bernard Fergusson.<ref name="WT obit">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Denis Rogers was the university's first chancellor from 1964 to 1969.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His brother Rufus represented the Hamilton East electorate in Parliament from Template:NZ election link year to 1975.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
References
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External links
- 1917 births
- 1987 deaths
- 20th-century mayors of places in New Zealand
- Mayors of Hamilton, New Zealand
- Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand
- New Zealand general practitioners
- New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire
- People educated at Nelson College
- Chancellors of the University of Waikato
- 20th-century New Zealand medical doctors
- 20th-century New Zealand politicians
- New Zealand justices of the peace