Ed Bate

Born in Greenmeadows on 12 March 1901, Bate was the son of Peter Bate and Florence Eleanor Bate (née Broadley).[1][2] He was educated at Napier Boys' High School,[1] and went on to study law at Victoria University College, graduating LLM with first-class honours in 1923.[3]

In 1925, Bate married Annie Louise Jordan, and the couple went on to have three children.[2]

Bate worked as a barrister, solicitor and notary public, first in Taumarunui from 1923 to 1926, and then in Hastings until retiring in 1980.[1]

From 1941 to 1974, Bate served as chairman of the Hawke's Bay Hospital Board, and between 1954 and 1975 he was president of the Hospital Boards Association of New Zealand.[1] He was elected mayor of Hastings in 1953, and remained in that role until 1959.[1]

Bate was the first president of the Hawke's Bay Trustee Savings Bank.[1] A Freemason, Bate served as grand master of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand from 1972 to 1974.[1]

Bate died on 12 September 1999, and was buried in Havelock North Cemetery.[4] He had been predeceased by his wife, Louise, in 1988.[4]

In the 1955 Queen's Birthday Honours, Bate was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to local government.[5] In 1960, he was made an Officer of the Order of St John.[6] He was appointed a Knight Bachelor, for services to local government and the community, in the 1969 New Year Honours.[7]