Guy Powles


Sir Guy Richardson Powles was a New Zealand diplomat, the last Governor of Western Samoa and architect of Samoan independence, and New Zealand's first Ombudsman.

Early life

Powles was born in Otaki, north of Wellington, in 1905. Powles was the son of Lieutenant-Colonel C. Guy Powles, a decorated military soldier who served with distinction during World War I as brigade major of New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade 1914–1916 and AA & QMG ANZAC Mounted Division 1916–1918. In 1922 he wrote the third volume of the Official History of New Zealand's Effort in the Great War, The New Zealanders in Sinai and Palestine, and in 1928 edited The history of the Canterbury Mounted Rifles 1914–1919 by officers of the regiment, and later became Chief of General Staff of the New Zealand Army.
Powles earned his LLB from Victoria University of Wellington and practised as a barrister in Wellington from 1929 to 1940. During the war, Powles went on active military service, and achieved the rank of colonel, commanding the New Zealand artillery regiment in the South Pacific at Guadalcanal and New Caledonia.
Powles was a founding member of the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs in 1934, along with Alister McIntosh, John Cawte Beaglehole, and William Sutch.

Diplomatic career

Powles joined the fledgling Department of External Affairs in 1945, working alongside such notable figures as Alister McIntosh, George Laking, and later Frank Corner and Merwyn Norrish. His first assignment was in Washington, where he served as counsellor working on the Far Eastern Commission, established to work through the issues relating to Japan's surrender during World War II.
In 1949, Powles became New Zealand High Commissioner to Samoa: in this role, he was set to become the last New Zealand governor of that territory. Over the next ten years, Powles worked through the issues relating to Samoa's independence from New Zealand.
In 1960, Powles became New Zealand High Commissioner to India, which he served until 1962.
Powles was involved in a large number of international conferences, including the UN United Nations Trusteeship Council, the South Pacific Commission, the Conference on Japanese Peace Treaty, the International Whaling Conference, the Economic Commission Conference, and the Colombo Plan Conference.

Ombudsman

Powles was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1961 New Year Honours, and was made New Zealand's first Ombudsman in 1962. He served in this role until 1977, by which time he had been joined by another Ombudsman, and acted as Chief Ombudsman. Powles also acted as New Zealand's first Race Relations Conciliator. On the international stage, Powles did a substantial amount of work in promoting the office of the ombudsman.
Powles died in Wellington on 24 October 1994, and his ashes were buried at Karori Cemetery.

Other information

Powles' son is diplomat Michael Powles, a former New Zealand High Commissioner to Fiji, and former Ambassador to Indonesia, China, and the United Nations. His grandson is Timothy Powles, producer, engineer and drummer for Australian band The Church.

Awards