Lindsay Verrier
Lindsay Verrier | |
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Representatives | |
| In office 1966–1972 | |
| Constituency | Northern and Eastern General |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1907 United Kingdom |
| Died | 20 April 1981 (aged 73) Suva, Fiji |
| Political party | Alliance, Liberal |
Dr Walter Lindsay Isaac Verrier (1907 – 20 April 1981) was an English-born physician and politician in Fiji.
Biography
[edit]Born Walter Lindsay Isaac in England,[1] Verrier qualified as a doctor before emigrating to Fiji in 1938 where he worked as a medical officer in Suva, Levuka and Nadroga.[2][1] In 1940 he was transferred to the Gilbert Islands, but returned to Fiji following the Japanese invasion.[2] Upon his return he was asked to compile a national register for administering compulsory military service, leading to a lifelong interest in compiling Fijian family histories in the Bua and Macuata districts.[1] He changed his surname to Verrier in the 1940s and became responsible for compiling medical statistics.[1] He spent several months at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne in 1947–48,[3] and was later appointed a medical officer for Suva City Council.[1]
After funding the medical studies of future Prime Minister Kamisese Mara in the 1950s, he was a founder member of Mara's Alliance Party,[2] serving as its first secretary-general.[4] In the 1966 general elections he was returned unopposed from the Northern and Eastern general electors cross-voting constituency. With the Alliance winning and Mara becoming Leader of Government Business, Verrier was appointed Secretary to the Leader of Government Business.[5] However, following an argument with Mara he left the Alliance in 1968 and established the Liberal Party.[6]
When Fiji became independent in 1970, he was the second person awarded Fijian citizenship.[7] He contested the 1972 elections with the support of the National Federation Party,[8] but failed to be elected. He reconciled with Mara in 1980 when dying from cancer. After a short spell working at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney, he died at Suva's Home of Compassion in April 1981 at the age of 73.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Fiji, Volumes 2–4
- ^ a b c d Dr Lindsday Verrier Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1981, p98
- ^ Dr. Lindsay Verrier Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1948, p18
- ^ New political party aims for racial unity in Fiji Pacific Islands Monthly, April 1966, p13
- ^ Fiji's new government Pacific Islands Monthly, November 1966, p11
- ^ New parties, new directions, perhaps even a 'grand new era' Pacific Islands Monthly, December 1968, p29
- ^ People Pacific Islands Monthly, September 1971, p84
- ^ The choice for the Fiji voter: The known or the unknown Pacific Islands Monthly, May 1972, pp23–25