Roderick Braithwaite

Braithwaite was born in Dunedin on 13 August 1901,[1] one of the youngest sons of Joseph Braithwaite, bookseller and later mayor of Dunedin, and his wife, Mary Ann Braithwaite (née Bellett). He was one of at least 16[2][3] and as many as 22 children,[4] born to the couple.

His brothers included John Braithwaite, who was convicted and executed for mutiny during World War I and pardoned by the New Zealand government in 2000;[2][3] Rewi Braithwaite, who played in New Zealand's first official international soccer match, against Australia in 1922;[5] and Warwick Braithwaite, who became an orchestral conductor.[4]

Braithwaite married Nora Kathleen Arey, the daughter of bookseller William Ewbank Arey, on 21 June 1932.[6][7]

Braithwaite served two terms as mayor of Hamilton, from 1953 to 1959.[8] He called the first public meeting that led to the establishment of the Waikato Savings Bank in 1958, and served as the first chair of its board of trustees.[9]

Braithwaite died on 3 April 1963, and was buried at Hamilton Park Cemetery.[10] His widow, Kathleen Braithwaite, served as a Hamilton city councillor between 1962 and 1974, including a period as deputy mayor,[8] and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to the community in the 1963 Queen's Birthday Honours.[11] Their son, David Braithwaite, unsuccessfully stood for the Hamilton mayoralty in 1998, but was elected to that office in 2001.[8] He was defeated in his bid for re-election in 2004.[12]