Fred Ambler

Frederick Norman Ambler OBE JP (28 February 1894 – 1983) was a pioneering New Zealand businessman in the clothing trade and a long serving local-body politician.

Fred Ambler OBE JP
13th Deputy Mayor of Auckland
In office 1957–1962
Mayor	Keith Buttle Dove-Myer Robinson
Preceded by	Keith Buttle
Succeeded by	Fred Glasse
Personal details
Born	28 February 1894 Yorkshire, England
Died	1983 Auckland, New Zealand
Spouse(s)	Ella Skelton
Profession	Clothing manufacturer

Biography

Early life

Ambler was born in Yorkshire, England in 1894 to Herbert Ambler.[1] He emigrated with his family to Christchurch when he was 13 years old. He gained employment in the clothing industry at the Kaiapoi Woollen Mills.

In 1917 he left for World War I as part of the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. He was seriously wounded in action and was returned to New Zealand. He married Helen (Ella) Skelton in Christchurch in 1919.[1]

Business career

Ambler began Ambler & Company Ltd in Browns Bay in 1919 after applying for assistance from the Patriotic Fund. A clothing manufacturer, it used mass production methods for the first time in New Zealand following a trip by Ambler to Canada where he brought back more modern machinery. The company was to make its name initially by producing men's pyjamas and distinguished itself with its slogan "No one ever regretted buying quality" (which is still used to this day).[2]

He was involved in an early "buy New Zealand-made" advertising campaign and was a member of the Manufacturers Association, serving as its President in 1940–42. His son, Norman, replaced him as managing director of Ambler & Co in 1964.[3]

Political career

In 1941 he stood on the Citizens & Ratepayers ticket for the Auckland City Council and was elected a member.[4] He held a seat on the council for thirty years before he was finally defeated in 1971. In August 1954 he was disqualified from the council on a technicality, but was re-elected in October that year in the subsequent by-election.[5] He served for many years as chairman of the Parks and Library committee and in 1957 he was appointed deputy-mayor following the election of Keith Buttle to the mayoralty.[6] He remained deputy for five years until he was dropped from the Citizens & Ratepayers ticket ahead of the 1962 elections. Ambler was re-elected nonetheless as an independent candidate for a further three terms.[6]

He was also a member of the Auckland Harbour Bridge Authority, Auckland Drainage Board and was chairman of the St John Ambulance Association.[7]

Death and legacy

In the 1957 New Year Honours he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.[8] Fred Ambler's Lookout in Parnell Park is named in his honour.

Ambler died in 1983.

Notes

1. Petersen 1971, pp. 64.
2. "About Ambler". Ambler & Company. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
3. "Ambler & Co". New Zealand Fashion Museum. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
4. "Electoral". The New Zealand Herald. LXXVIII (23973). 24 May 1941. p. 3. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
5. "Declaration of Poll". The New Zealand Herald. 21 October 1954. p. 6.
6. Bush 1971, pp. 585.
7. Petersen 1971, pp. 64–5.
8. "No. 40962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1957. pp. 45–47.

References

• Petersen, George Conrad (1971). Who's Who in New Zealand, 1971 (10th ed.). Wellington: A.H & A.W. Reed.
• Bush, Graham W. A. (1971). Decently and in Order: The Government of the City of Auckland 1840–1971. Auckland: Collins.