Community Leaders

Minister of Finance
Hon. H R Lake

Harry Lake was a highly regarded member of the Society of Accountants, the former name of the Institute today. He qualified for membership in 1933 and was a past chairman of the Canterbury Branch. 

He was a member of the Canterbury Manufacturers' Association and was a senior partner in the public accountancy firm of Lake, Glynn and Smith.

Lake entered politics in 1951 when he was elected to represent Lyttelton. He held the seat for two terms before losing it in 1957. In 1960, he won the seat of Fendalton and was appointed Minister of Finance, a position he held till his untimely death in 1967. On his death, tributes flowed from the leaders and members of both parties as well as from fellow members of the Society.

Educator of accountants
Mr E L Enting 

Ted Enting’s life work was the education and development of accountants and accounting students. 

He attended Napier Boys’ High School and graduated from Victoria University with a Bachelor of Commerce. He was a fine rugby player.

He served with the Army Service Corps in Flanders during World War I.  While awaiting his return to New Zealand, and on the passage home, he taught classes in accountancy and other subjects to his fellow soldiers.

After the war, he was head of the Commercial Department at the Wellington Technical College and was a staff member of Banks Commercial College. In the early 1930s, he established Enting’s Commercial College where he taught many classes himself. Many students studied at his college, and his teaching was greatly admired. The College continued until the mid 1950s when changes in university requirements made private coaching no longer feasible.

Enting wrote many reference books like the secondary school textbook Whitcombe’s Practical Book-keeping and the standard reference for students and practitioners, New Zealand Advanced Accounts.

First Secretary of the Society, President and
patron of the arts
Ernest W Hunt (1880–1964)

Hunt was the first secretary of the Society of Accountants and President in 1927–8. He also founded the Wellington Accountant Students’ Society in 1903 which was one of many throughout the country that promoted student activities. He was a life member, and patron of the Wellington Students' Society for many years.

When the Society of Accountants was formed in 1909, Hunt became its first secretary and held this position until 1919. He played a large part in ensuring the Society started out on a sound foundation. At his insistence a Benevolent Fund was established which paid tens of thousands of pounds to members and their families. He later became President of the Society and was later Vice-President of the Chartered Institute of Secretaries.

Hunt was also a great patron of the arts. He was President of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts and led the movement that established the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum in Wellington. He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Art Gallery and Dominion Museum in 1940 and remained a trustee until he retired for health reasons in 1962. He was also involved with the Wellington Branch of the Trinity College of Music.

He served the community and was active with a number of organisations, including the Plunket Society, the Dominion Council of Boy Scouts and the Soldiers’ Financial Assistance Board.

Commander of Maori Battalion and rehabilitator
Lieut.-Colonel Frederick Baker

Lieut.-Colonel Frederick Baker had an outstanding career in the army and public service, helping former servicemen back into civilian life.

Of Nga Puhi descent, he completed his accountancy exams in 1931 and became a member of the Society of Accountants the following year. He worked in the public sector in clerical and accounting roles.  He was also very active playing rugby for Waikato and the Bay of Plenty and he was an officer in the Territorial Force.

At the outbreak of World War II he joined the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force as intelligence officer in the 28th (Maori) Battalion and fought in the Greek and Crete campaigns. A very able commander, he won a DSO in the Battle of Alamein in which he commanded the Maori Battalion until he was seriously wounded.

After the war he became Director of Rehabilitation, and in 1954 a member of the Public Service Commission. The Rehabilitation Department aimed to help ex-servicemen with employment and housing. Baker was committed to ensuring equality in the standard of services to Maori and Pakeha ex-servicemen.

Baker took a keen interest in the affairs of the Society and was a valuable member of the practical experience sub-committee which drafted proposals which were expected to be implemented by legislation.

Prime Minister and accountant
Sir Robert Muldoon

Sir Robert Muldoon was Prime Minister from 1975 to July 1984. A member of the Institute, he trained and worked as an accountant before entering politics.

He was born in Auckland in 1921 and won a scholarship to Mt Albert Grammar, where he was educated. He was studying accountancy when World War II began. He enlisted and did his Stage III accounting course work while training at Waiouru.

During World War II he served with the 2nd New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the Pacific, Middle East and Italy. He completed his accountancy training while serving overseas, sitting his final exams in Italy at the end of the war.

He then went to England and studied cost accounting on an armed forces bursary, working in a chartered accountancy firm. He passed the exams of the Institute of Cost and Works Accountants which he joined, later becoming President in 1956. He won the Leverhulme prize for the top student in final papers. He lectured in auditing for a number of years and joined a firm of chartered accountants, later becoming partner.

In 1960 he entered Parliament as MP for Tamaki, an electorate he would represent for 31 years. He held a number of government positions, including Under-Secretary to the Minister of Finance Harry Lake (another former Institute member) where he took responsibility for the successful introduction of decimal currency in 1967. In 1967 when Lake died suddenly, Sir Robert became Minister of Finance, the youngest person to hold this position since the 1890s. He remained Minister of Finance until 1972 when he became Deputy Prime Minister.

After National’s loss at the 1972 election, a group called the Young Turks became dissatisfied with the then National Party leader Sir Jack Marshall and replaced him with Muldoon in 1974. As Leader of the Opposition, Muldoon continuously attacked the government and won the 1975 election. He resumed his role as Minister of Finance.

He presided over difficult economic times with oil crises in the 1970s, Britain’s entry into the European Economic Community and high inflation. Sir Robert’s interventionist policies like the Wage and Price Freeze which froze prices, wages, interest rates and dividends, or Think Big projects which aimed to create jobs and make New Zealand less reliant on energy from overseas, were ultimately ineffective in solving the economic problems. 

There was also controversy as he borrowed money to support the economy and his decision to allow the Springbok Tour of 1981 caused great social division.

Sir Robert implemented the Closer Economic Relations agreement for free trade with Australia, which currently celebrates 15 successful years.

Muldoon was Prime Minister for three terms until he lost a snap election in July 1984. The Fourth Labour Government which gained power at the 1984 election began reforming the economy and removing many restrictions. Sir Robert continued to represent Tamaki in Parliament until shortly before his death in 1992.

Muldoon had three children with his wife Thea who had studied accountancy and was a company secretary.