Hawke’s Bay man Frank Bannerman Logan (1884-1981) had a prodigious memory.
“For many years I have been meaning to make use of a reasonably good memory and my diaries which I have kept since 1908 to build up for you the story of my life. It may or may notbe of interest to you, but I am quite looking forward to my task.”
Frank sat down on Christmas Day in 1965 and began to write a summary of his 70 diaries with the fountain pen that his late father Francis, a founding member of Napier law firm Sainsbury, Logan and Williams, had given him. This process took 28 months.
When Stuart Webster, then a partner in Sainsbury, Logan and Williams, was over a decade ago compiling information for a book on its history, he came across Frank’s son, Hamilton Logan.
Fascinated by the record of not only Frank’s memoirs, but the hundreds of short biographical sketches of Hawke’s Bay people he compiled, Stuart persuaded Hamilton this volume of work should be published.
This resulted in a limited release book, recently published by Stuart and Hamilton called My Story: The Private Memoirs of Frank Bannerman Logan (1884-1981).
Like many of his generation who came from business or farming backgrounds, Frank after schooling at Wanganui Collegiate, went to Oriel College, Oxford, England, in 1903.
A legal life, like his father Francis, would not be for him, and instead he chose farming at Pukekino. And it was through his association with farming that he was elected and became chairman of the Hawke’s Bay County Council from 1928 to 1938 (which was abolished in the 1989 Local Government reforms).
Interestingly, many issues relating to the condition of Hawke’s Bay roads were present during his time. Frank noted: “I decided to give a week to 10 days to travel over every riding [area] to be familiar with all the problems. That meant much travelling over good roads and bad.”
The county was then conservative and reluctant to borrow. He reflects the best course of action was probably to have borrowed to have sealed the roads quicker, such was the uptake of motor vehicles occurring in 1929.
In those days local government positions were unpaid, but in 1929 the county decided to either give an allowance of 6 pence per mile or a £100 per annum to the chairman in lieu of the mileage rate. This still did not cover his costs: “So, to be chairman of the county if you attended to your business properly, entailed a loss.”
Hamilton Logan and Stuart Webster at the launch of Frank Bannerman Logan’s memoirs in September at the Hawke’s Bay Club. Photo / Michael Fowler
After 10 years as chairman of the Hawke’s Bay County Council, he noted it was time to go: “I have seen a great deal of men hold onto office for too long – they had been useful while young, but become useless in their old age.”
An attempt at politics on a national level occurred when a deputation of 80 men “waited upon him” to request Frank seek the nomination in 1935 for the seat for Napier. Such was the nature of Frank, during the campaign he had a couple of cups of tea with opponent, sitting Labour Party member Bill Barnard.
Frank’s National Party supporters were horrified: “Much to the annoyance and confusion of some of my supporters.”
He could not see anything wrong with it as “he had always been on friendly terms with the man”. The first Labour government was elected in landslide, and Frank was soundly beaten by Barnard.
“So ended my political career and I was not sorry. In my short campaigning life, I learned many things that did not appeal to me.”
Frank and his wife Dorothy had six children, three boys and three girls. The oldest was James, born in 1913, who was in the Royal New Zealand Air Force during World War II. He was killed when his bomber was shot down over Normandy on November 10, 1942.
Frank records that “On the 10th poor old Jim was lost in the English Channel when his bomber was brought down … Dorothy and I heard on the short-wave of the loss of three Boston Bombers and we just thought Jim might have been on this venture.”
His matter-of-a fact recording of this event was an awareness many others’ sons had suffered the same fate. He also records Jim’s dog becoming ill and having to be put him down later that month.
Frank Logan’s memoirs are a rare and fascinating insight into life in Hawke’s Bay during the mid-20th century from one of its central characters of the time. A list of hundreds of biographical sketches of Hawke’s Bay people he had encountered rounds off his very interesting life.
My Story: The Private Memoirs of Frank Bannerman Logan (1884-1981) Hardback book, 448 pages $150. Limited edition – available from Hamilton Logan hammietim@gmail.com
Clarification: My last column week featured a photo of Baloo going down the airport runway in Napier in 1973. The credit for this photo should have been Warwick Clayton.
