Sir Hugh John Dyke Acland KBE JP (17 January 1904 – 26 January 1981) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Sir Jack Acland
Acland in 1956
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Temuka
In office
1942–1946
Preceded byThomas Burnett
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Personal details
Born
Hugh John Dyke Acland

(1904-01-17)17 January 1904
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died26 January 1981(1981-01-26) (aged 77)
Political partyNational
Spouse
Katherine Wilder Ormond
(m. 1935)
RelationsHugh Acland (father)
John Acland (grandfather)
Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet (great-grandfather)
John Ormond (brother-in-law)

Early life edit

Acland was born in 1904 in Christchurch.[1] His parents were Sir Hugh Acland (1874–1956), a prominent surgeon in New Zealand, and Evelyn Mary Acland (née Ovans). His great-grandfather was Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, 10th Baronet. His brother-in-law was Sir John Ormond. His cousin was Felicity Lusk, headmistress. He was educated at Waihi School and Christ's College.[2]

When riding his motorbike, Acland was hit by a car on Christchurch's Park Terrace in October 1924. He suffered a complex break of his leg just above the ankle, and spent over a month in bed at his parents’ house, Chippenham Lodge. With Frederick Wilding KC as his lawyer, he won a substantial compensation from the driver, and used the money to have his leg reset in England, where he spent one year. Despite this, he limped for the rest of his life.[3][4]

On 12 June 1935, Acland married Katherine "Kit" Wilder Ormond, daughter of John Davies Ormond Jr. and granddaughter of John Davies Ormond Sr. The wedding was held at St Mary's Church at Waipukurau.[5][6]

He worked on farms in South Canterbury, was a stockman and a driver. He worked in various jobs in Australia for some time before taking on the management of Mount Peel Station, which had been established by his grandfather, John Acland.[1][7] Due to his leg injury, he was rejected by the army.[1]

Political career edit

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1942–1943 26th Temuka National
1943–1946 27th Temuka National

He was elected to Parliament in the Canterbury electorate of Temuka in the 1942 by-election,[8] filling the vacancy caused by the death of Thomas Burnett.[9] He was confirmed in the 1943 general election.[8] The Temuka electorate was abolished for the 1946 election, when he stood in the Timaru electorate and was defeated by the incumbent from the Labour Party, Clyde Carr.[10]

Acland gained prominence in the wool industry. He chaired the New Zealand Wool Board (1960–1972) and was vice-president of the International Wool Secretariat. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1968 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services to the wool industry.[11] He died on 27 January 1981.[1]

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c d Gustafson 1986, p. 295.
  2. ^ "Sir Hugh John Dyke Acland". Timaru District Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 May 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  3. ^ "A broken leg". The Press. Vol. LXI, no. 18309. 17 February 1925. p. 3. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  4. ^ Welch, David (June 2015). Chippenham Lodge: Linked in History. Christchurch: Heartwood Community Inc. Te Ngakau O Te Rakau. p. 35.
  5. ^ "Picturesque Wedding". The Evening Post. Vol. CXIX, no. 138. 13 June 1935. p. 18. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  6. ^ "Parochial Notes". Waiapu Church Gazette. Vol. 26, no. 7. 1 July 1935. p. 5. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  7. ^ McLintock, A. H., ed. (22 April 2009) [1966]. "ACLAND, John Barton Arundel". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga. Retrieved 2 September 2012.
  8. ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 179.
  9. ^ Gustafson 1986, p. 302.
  10. ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 179, 188, 273.
  11. ^ "No. 44602". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 8 June 1968. p. 6340.

References edit

  • 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.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Temuka
1942–1946
Electorate abolished