Fred Hobbs

Fred Hobbs JP
Portrait of Fred Hobbs
8th Mayor of Christchurch
In office 17 December 1874 – 2 January 1877
Preceded by	Michael Hart
Succeeded by	James Gapes
Personal details
Born	17 December 1841 Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England
Died	13 May 1920(1920-05-13) (aged 78) Waitati near Dunedin, New Zealand
Spouse(s)	Bessie Murray
Relations	Frederick Hobbs (son)

Frederick (Fred) Hobbs JP (17 December 1841 – 13 May 1920) was Mayor of Christchurch, New Zealand 1874–1877 for two terms; he was the first mayor who served more than one term. He is credited with having made significant improvements to the drainage system, and thus improving health in the wider Christchurch area. Upon his lobbying, The Christchurch District Drainage Act 1875 was passed, and Hobbs became the first chairman of the Christchurch Drainage Board. The family were tailors and the location of their business premises in the north-east quadrant of Cathedral Square gave the area the name of Hobbs' corner. Fred Hobbs commissioned a new building of permanent materials for the site, which became known as Cathedral Chambers and which stood there from the mid-1880s to the 1970s. The locality changed name to Broadway corner, based on the popular café that occupied the first floor; this name is no longer in use in Christchurch.

The Hobbs family was known for singing. Fred Hobbs was involved in establishing at least two choirs in Christchurch, and his son Frederick Henry Hobbs worked for the English D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.

Hobbs was born in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England, in 1841. His parents were William (Bill) Hobbs and Maria Hobbs (née Streek). The family knew George Gould senior (father of George Gould, the later director of The Press), who was an early immigrant to Christchurch. The letters that Gould senior sent home encouraged the Hobbs family to emigrate to Christchurch.

The family with four children emigrated to New Zealand on the Caroline Agnes, and arrived in Lyttelton on 17 August 1855.

Fred Hobbs had three siblings:

Hobbs was 13 when he left England; he received no further formal education in Christchurch, where the family settled.

The Hobbs family had a business as tailors and woollen drapers. From 1858, they advertised as 'Hobbs & Son', and this changed to 'Hobbs & Sons' in August 1862. Whilst his father had come out to New Zealand to do manual labour, the demand for clothing was so great that he soon went back to his old trade. They leased the top floor of a building in the north-east quadrant of Cathedral Square, with a frontage to Colombo Street. The business name was prominently painted onto the weatherboard. Although the building was leased, it became known as Hobbs' Building, and over time, the north-east quadrant of the Square became known as Hobbs' corner (the latter name first appearing in the newspapers in 1868).