Sir Frederic Lang led a busy life
Farmer, MP — and a handy rugby forward, apparently
The eighth speaker of the House of Representatives, Sir Frederic William Lang, was not only an MP for Waipā, Waikato and Manukau in the late 19th century, but also an avid rugby player.
Lang was born in Blackheath, Kent, England, in 1852 to Oliver William Lang Esquire and Louisa Lang. He was the youngest of six children.
Oliver had been a master shipwright of HM Dockyard, Chatham and lieutenant colonel of the Royal Dockyard Brigade a similar role to what his father had done.
Oliver died in 1868 and Louisa the year after.
They were both laid to rest with Oliver Senior at St Luke’s Churchyard in Charlton.
Lang then emigrated to New Zealand in 1872 at the age of 19 and settled as a farmer in Tuhikaramea (now known as Ngāhinapōuri) near the Waipā River.
In 1878 and 1880-1882 Lang represented the Waikato District rugby team as a forward along with playing for a civilians side, Ngahinepouri,
haupō, Te Awamutu and Waipā teams.
He also represented the Auckland
Province in 1880. In the
New Zealand Rugby Records 1880 to 1886 book by Mike Parkinson it mentions an 1881 match between Alexandra (now Pirongia) and
haupō before the Auckland v Waikato clash.
That was the only Waikato District match that year with John Grierson as the sole Alexandra rep alongside
haupo’s captain George MacFarlane and Lang while the rest of the squad was unattached.
“Club rugby was almost absent once again this season, with the exception being a late-season game where Alexandra came out on top against Ohaupo. Despite this, the district managed to cobble together a team to play Auckland, with Waikato providing some surprisingly strong opposition,” the book states.
“After Waikato showed some early dominance, Auckland crossed for a try in the second quarter, but sound Waikato defence meant that remained as the only score when time was called.
“For Waikato, the long punting of the captain, James Wood, got his team out of trouble on several occasions, and Arthur Beale pulled off a trysaving tackle. Up front, Harry Kallender and Frederic Lang put in a lot of hard work for their team.”
Lang had his fingers in many pies. He was involved in countless sporting, council and political organisations over the years.
In cricket, he captained Ngahinepouri and played for Alexandra while also a member of the Waikato Cricket Association.
He was on the Waikato Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards for some time and from at least 1880 was the Tuhikaramea Highway Board chairman.
A member of the Waipā County Council for over a decade, including six years as chairman, he was elected to a seat in the General Assembly for Waipā in 1893.
He was elected by a majority of 905 votes over Gerald Peacock, and three years later was returned for the electorate of Waikato by an overwhelming majority.
At the general election of 1899, he polled 2337 votes to his opponent’s 2015.
Lang was the MP for Waikato until 1905 when he was defeated.
Around this time, he sold his farm and moved north to Onehunga, Auckland.
From December 1906 until 1922 he was Manukau’s MP and Chairman of Committees (1912-1913) and the eighth Speaker of the House of Representatives (1913-1922).
The list goes on.
In 1916, he was given the title of Knight Bachelor and in 1924 he was appointed to the Legislative Council, serving for one term until 1931.
Two years prior to his 1937 death, Lang was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.
Sir Frederic Lang died at his Onehunga home on March 5, 1937 at the age of 85.
He was unmarried, most likely due to his continuously busy lifestyle, and now lays at rest in the Waikaraka Cemetery — “a benefactor of mankind”.