{{Short description|New Zealand politician}} {{For|the rugby union player|Fred Hobbs (rugby union)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2013}} {{Infobox officeholder | honorific_prefix = | name = Fred Hobbs | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|JP|size=100%}} | image = Fred Hobbs portrait.jpg | image_size = | caption = Portrait of Fred Hobbs | order = 8th | office = Mayor of Christchurch | term_start = 16 December 1874 | term_end = 2 January 1877 | predecessor = Michael Hart | successor = James Gapes | term_start2 = | term_end2 = | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | birth_date = 17 December 1841 | birth_place = Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England | death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1920|05|13|1841|12|17}} | death_place = Waitati near Dunedin, New Zealand | spouse = Bessie Murray | relations = Frederick Hobbs (son) | party = | profession = }} '''Frederick (Fred) Hobbs''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|JP|size=85%}} (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.
==Early life== thumb|left|upright|William Hobbs, the father of Fred Hobbs, during the 1860s thumb|left|upright|Fred Hobbs at age 18 Hobbs was born in Hambleden, Buckinghamshire, England, in 1841.<ref name="NZETC">{{cite book |title=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Canterbury Provincial District) |publisher=Cyclopedia Company Limited|location=Christchurch |year=1903 |chapter=Ex Mayors |url= http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc03Cycl-t1-body1-d3-d9-d9.html#name-420452-mention |access-date=16 March 2010}}</ref> 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''<ref>{{DNZB|Rice|Geoffrey W.|4g16|George Gould|23 April 2017||Geoffrey Rice}}</ref>),<ref name="William Hobbs obit">{{cite news |title=The Late Mr William Hobbs |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18780529.2.12 |access-date=15 April 2013 |newspaper=The Star |date=29 May 1878|issue=3163 |page=2}}</ref> who was an early immigrant to Christchurch.<ref name="NZETC Gould sen">{{cite book |title=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Canterbury Provincial District |year=1903 |url= http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc03Cycl-t1-body1-d3-d57-d30.html |publisher=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand |author= Cyclopedia Company Limited |access-date= 31 March 2013 |location=Christchurch |chapter=Mr. George Gould}}</ref> The letters that Gould senior sent home encouraged the Hobbs family to emigrate to Christchurch.<ref name="William Hobbs obit" />
The family with four children emigrated to New Zealand on the ''Caroline Agnes'', and arrived in Lyttelton on 17 August 1855.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shipping News |url= http://www.paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=LT18550822.2.5 |access-date=14 July 2012 |newspaper=Lyttelton Times |volume=V |issue=293 |date=22 August 1855 |page=4}}</ref>
Fred Hobbs had three siblings:
*William Alfred Hobbs (4 March 1838 – 12 August 1903), his older brother, married in 1862 at Holy Trinity Avonside and died at Timaru.<ref>{{cite news|title=Marriage |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=LT18620625.2.18 |access-date=14 July 2012|newspaper=Lyttelton Times|volume=XVII |issue=1004 |date=25 June 1862|page=5}}</ref> *Anne (Annie) Hobbs (13 November 1839 – 27 December 1900), his only sister, married the publican Jesse Hall of the Eastern Hotel (Cashel Street, Christchurch) and died at the hotel;<ref>{{cite news|title=Deaths|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=CHP19001228.2.5|access-date=14 July 2012|newspaper=The Press|volume=LVII |issue=10850 |date=28 December 1900|page=1}}</ref> she is buried at Linwood Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web|title=Christchurch City Council Cemeteries Database|url= http://librarydata.christchurch.org.nz/Cemeteries/interment.asp?id=20932 |publisher=Christchurch City Council|access-date=14 July 2012}}</ref> *Francis (Frank) Hobbs (3 December 1844 – 20 January 1918), his younger brother, died in Christchurch and is buried at Linwood Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web|title=Christchurch City Council Cemeteries Database|url= http://librarydata.christchurch.org.nz/Cemeteries/interment.asp?id=89944 |publisher=Christchurch City Council|access-date=14 July 2012}}</ref>
Hobbs was 13 when he left England; he received no further formal education in Christchurch, where the family settled.{{sfn|NZ Federation of University Women|1995|p=26}}
==Professional life== [[File:Warner's Hotel and Lyttelton Times Company, 1910.jpg|right|thumb|Cathedral Chambers, the Lyttelton Times Building, and Warner's Hotel (from left) in circa 1910]] The Hobbs family had a business as tailors and woollen drapers. From 1858, they advertised as 'Hobbs & Son',<ref>{{cite news |title=Page 3 Advertisements Column 5 |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=LT18590212.2.7.5| access-date=19 April 2013| newspaper=Lyttelton Times| volume=XI |issue=654 |date=12 February 1859| page=3}}</ref> and this changed to 'Hobbs & Sons' in August 1862.<ref>{{cite news |title=Page 6 Advertisements Column 2 |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=LT18620816.2.17.2 |access-date=19 April 2013| newspaper=Lyttelton Times| volume= XVIII |issue= 1019 |date= 16 August 1862 | page=6}}</ref> 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.<ref name="William Hobbs obit" /> 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).{{sfn|NZ Federation of University Women|1995|pp=25–26}}<ref name="Lost Christchurch">{{cite web |url= http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/PlaceNames/LostChristchurch.pdf |title=Lost Christchurch |last=Harper |first=Margaret |publisher=Christchurch City Libraries |page=21 |date=February 2013 |access-date=20 April 2013}}</ref>
Partners in the business were Fred Hobbs, his father William, and his brother William Alfred. The partnership was dissolved in August 1872, and his brother continued managing the branch in Timaru on his own account.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dissolution of Partnership |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=THD18720830.2.13.2 |access-date=14 April 2013 |newspaper=The Timaru Herald |volume=XVII |issue=793 |date=30 August 1872 |page=3}}</ref> The Christchurch business continued as 'Hobbs and Co', and at the time of the death of the company's founder in May 1878, it was the oldest business in Christchurch.<ref name="William Hobbs obit" />
In 1883, Hobbs and Co announced that they would replace the wooden building with a three-storey masonry structure.<ref>{{cite news |title=City Improvements |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18831017.2.25 |access-date=19 April 2013 |newspaper=The Star |date=17 October 1883|issue=4825 |page=3}}</ref> The building was designed by William Armson and was known as Cathedral Chambers. Hobbs' corner became known as Broadway corner, based on the popular café that occupied the first floor.{{sfn|NZ Federation of University Women|1995|pp=27–28}}<ref name="Lost Christchurch"/> Cathedral Chambers was in turn replaced by the CML Building in 1975.{{sfn|NZ Federation of University Women|1995|pp=27–28}}
==Political career== Before 1916, elections for Christchurch City Council were held annually. Hobbs was elected onto the city council four times: in 1870, 1873, 1875 and 1876.<ref name="Councillors">{{cite web |url= http://www1.ccc.govt.nz/handbook/councillorsofthecityofchristchurch.asp |title=Councillors of the City of Christchurch |publisher=Christchurch City Council |access-date=12 May 2010 |location=Christchurch | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720010657/http://www1.ccc.govt.nz/handbook/councillorsofthecityofchristchurch.asp | archive-date = 20 July 2011}}</ref>
At the Christchurch City Council meeting on 16 December 1874, a new mayor was elected. The councillors decided unanimously on Hobbs as the successor to Michael Hart.<ref name="CCC">{{cite web|url=http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/howthecouncilworks/ourhistory/chairmenmayors.aspx |title=Chairmen and mayors |publisher=Christchurch City Council |access-date=10 February 2010 |location=Christchurch |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522063807/http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/howthecouncilworks/ourhistory/chairmenmayors.aspx |archive-date=22 May 2010 }}</ref><ref name="Mayoral election 1874, Star">{{cite news |title=Election of Mayor of City of Christchurch |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18741217.2.14 |access-date=16 February 2012 |newspaper=Star |date=17 December 1874|issue=2114 |page=3}}</ref><ref name="Mayoral election 1874, Press">{{cite news |title=Mayoral Election : Christchurch |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18741217.2.13 |access-date=16 February 2012 |newspaper=The Press |volume=XXII |issue=2910 |date=17 December 1874 |page=2}}</ref> Shortly after his election, Hobbs was sworn in as a Justice of the Peace.<ref>{{cite news |title=Local and General |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18750104.2.8 |access-date=15 April 2013| newspaper=The Star| date=4 January 1875|issue=2126 |page=2}}</ref>
One of the dominant issues at the time was illness caused through poor drainage and open sewers. Just after the election, ''The Press'' devoted a detailed and long editorial to the topic, urging the council to act and to devise a solution that would not just address the issue in Christchurch, but also in the suburbs, which at the time were all under the control of separate councils. They praised Hobbs for the initiative that he had already shown as a councillor.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Press| url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18741219.2.8 |access-date=15 April 2013| newspaper=The Press| volume=XXII |issue=2912 |date=19 December 1874| page=2}}</ref> Indeed, Hobbs invited suburban and local bodies to a conference in 1875 to tackle the issue in a comprehensive manner.<ref>{{cite news |title=Typhoid and Drainage |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&=TS18890814.2.10 |access-date=15 April 2013 |newspaper=The Star |date=14 August 1889|issue=6623 |page=2}}</ref>
The work and lobbying of Hobbs was instrumental in the establishment of The Christchurch District Drainage Act 1875.<ref name="Star Drainage Board">{{cite news |title=Christchurch Drainage Board |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18760105.2.13 |access-date=14 April 2013 |newspaper=The Star |date=5 January 1876|issue=2429 |page=3}}</ref> When the drainage board first met on 4 January 1876,<ref>{{cite news|title=News of the Day|url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18751229.2.10|access-date=14 April 2013|newspaper=The Press|volume=XXIV |issue=3222 |date=29 December 1875|page=2}}</ref> Henry Tancred was proposed as chairman. H. J. Hall proposed Hobbs, not because he was the current mayor of Christchurch, but because of his lobbying on the drainage question. After some discussion, the original motion was withdrawn, and Hobbs became the first chairperson of the Christchurch Drainage Board.<ref name="Star Drainage Board" /><ref>{{cite news |title=Christchurch District Drainage Board |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18760105.2.14 |access-date=14 April 2013| newspaper=The Press| volume=XXV |issue=3228 |date=5 January 1876| page=3}}</ref>
During Hobbs' first term in office, The Municipal Corporations Acts Amendment Act, 1875, was passed, and this legislation stipulated that mayors had to be elected at large (i.e. by eligible voters).<ref>{{cite web |title=Municipal Corporations Acts Amendment Act 1875 |url= http://www.enzs.auckland.ac.nz/document?wid=2168 |publisher=University of Auckland |access-date=20 April 2013 |date=21 October 1875}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Election Notices |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18751203.2.2.4 |access-date=20 April 2013 |newspaper=The Press |volume=XXIV |issue=3201 |date=3 December 1875 |page=1}}</ref> Hobbs was the only candidate nominated, so the returning officer, Edward Bishop, declared him elected unopposed on 17 December 1875.<ref>{{cite news |title=Christchurch |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18751218.2.13.1 |access-date=20 April 2013 |newspaper=The Press |volume=XXIV |issue=3214 |date=18 December 1875 |page=3}}</ref>
After having served two terms, Hobbs did not seek election for a third term. This was regretted by one of the local newspapers, ''The Star'', as they regarded him as having "discharged his duties with a thoroughness and zeal which will not be readily equalled by his successor."<ref>{{cite news |title=The Star |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18761102.2.6| access-date=15 April 2013| newspaper=The Star| date=2 November 1876|issue=2684| page=2}}</ref> The mayor was for the first time elected by voters on 20 December 1876.<ref>{{cite news |title=To the Electors of the City of Christchurch |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18761208.2.12.1 |access-date=13 April 2013| newspaper=The Star| date=8 December 1876|issue=2713| page=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| title=Christchurch City Council |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18761212.2.18.1 |access-date=13 April 2013 |newspaper=The Press |volume=XXVI |issue=3516 |date=12 December 1876 |page=4}}</ref>
The 20 December 1876 mayoral election was contested by James Gapes and Charles Thomas Ick, with Gapes representing working class interests, whereas Ick represented the wealthier part of the population.<ref>{{cite news |title=Telegrams |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=BH18761222.2.14 |access-date=13 April 2013 |newspaper=Bruce Herald |volume=IX |issue=865 |date=22 December 1876 |page=5}}</ref> Gapes won the election,<ref>{{cite news| title=Christchurch |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18761221.2.11.1 |access-date=13 April 2013| newspaper=The Star| date=21 December 1876|issue=2724| page=2}}</ref> and was sworn in as mayor at the next Christchurch City Council meeting on 2 January 1877.<ref>{{cite news |title=City Council |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18770103.2.14 |access-date=13 April 2013 |newspaper=The Press |volume=XXVII |issue=3584 |date=3 January 1877 |page=3}}</ref>
In September 1883, a deputation asked Hobbs to run for a position on the city council again. He stood in the South-East Ward against the incumbent, Charles Kiver. Despite having the support of the influential John Ollivier<ref>{{cite news |title=City Council Election—S.E. Ward |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18830913.2.30 |access-date=20 April 2013 |newspaper=The Press |volume=XXXIX |issue=5612 |date=13 September 1883 |page=3}}</ref> and ''The Star'' newspaper,<ref>{{cite news |title=The Star |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18830912.2.10 |access-date=20 April 2013 |newspaper=The Star |date=12 September 1883|issue=4795 |page=2}}</ref> Kiver had a significant majority with 751 votes to 393.<ref>{{cite news |title=The City Wards |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18830915.2.21.1 |access-date=20 April 2013 |newspaper=The Press |volume=XXXIX |issue=5614 |date=15 September 1883 |page=3}}</ref>
Hobbs was regarded as outspoken, and he was a man of strong opinions.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Star |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18830905.2.10 |access-date=19 April 2013 |newspaper=The Star |date=5 September 1883|issue=4789 |page=3}}</ref> In an editorial, ''The Star'' described him thus:<ref>{{cite news |title=The Star |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18830905.2.10| access-date=19 April 2013| newspaper=The Star| date=5 September 1883|issue=4789| page=3}}</ref>
<blockquote>We admire the blunt, outspoken honesty of purpose which Mr Hobbs possesses in an eminent degree. Everybody, we imagine, will admit that he forms his own opinions on men and things, and that those opinions are fearlessly stated and acted upon when occasion serves.</blockquote>
Later in 1883, it is said that Hobbs "seems to have faded from the scene".{{sfn|NZ Federation of University Women|1995|p=27}}
==Community involvement== Hobbs was a founding member of the choir of St John the Baptist Church. He was also a founding member of the Christchurch Liedertafel, a choir founded in 1885 that still exists today.{{sfn|NZ Federation of University Women|1995|p=27}}<ref>{{cite web |title=About Us |url=http://www.liedertafel.org.nz/what-we-believe |publisher=Christchurch Liedertafel Choir |access-date=20 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130205104813/http://www.liedertafel.org.nz/what-we-believe |archive-date=5 February 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> For the Liedertafel choir, he acted as treasurer and librarian.{{sfn|NZ Federation of University Women|1995|p=27}}
==Family and death== thumb|Waitati Cemetery, with plot 22 the unmarked grave of Fred Hobbs On 5 July 1866, Hobbs married Elizabeth (Bessie) Hobbs (née Murray) at St John's Church, Ferry Road, Woolston.<ref>{{cite news |title=Married |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18660707.2.8 |access-date=14 July 2012 |newspaper=The Press |volume=X |issue=1143 |date=7 July 1866|page=2}}</ref> His wife was born on 17 April 1846 in Taunton, England. They had nine sons and three daughters:<ref name=NZETC /><ref name="Hobbs family">{{cite web |last=Byrne |first=Jude |title=Family Group – Hobbs |url= http://webspace.webring.com/people/cu/um_5903/hobbs.htm |publisher=Web Ring |access-date=15 April 2013}}</ref>
*Edith Mary Hobbs (17 April 1867 – ?) *Francis William (Harry) Hobbs (24 March 1869 – 1 March 1958 in Christchurch)<ref name="F W Hobbs">{{cite news |title=A Christchurch Singer |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TS18951026.2.48 |access-date=15 April 2013 |newspaper=The Star |date=26 October 1895|issue=5398 |page=5}}</ref> *Miriam Ellen Hobbs (15 March 1871 in Christchurch – 18 April 1957 in Christchurch) *Lewis Frederick Charles Balfour Hobbs (1 February 1873 in Taunton, England – May 1873 in Taunton) *Frederick Henry Hobbs (29 July 1874 in Christchurch – 11 April 1942)<ref>{{cite news |title=Birth |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18740731.2.9| access-date=15 April 2013| newspaper=The Press |volume=XXII |issue=2801 |date=31 July 1874| page=2}}</ref><ref name=Stone>{{cite web |last=Stone |first=David |title=Frederick Hobbs (1914–20) |url= https://www.gsarchive.net/whowaswho/H/HobbsFrederick.htm |publisher=Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company|date=25 October 2002 |access-date= 11 January 2010}}</ref> *John Leonard Hobbs (29 August 1876 in Christchurch – ?) *Charles Hubert Hobbs (20 March 1878 in Christchurch – 10 July 1957 in Christchurch) *Reginald James Hobbs (1 October 1879 in Christchurch – 14 February 1994) *Hugh Septimus Hobbs (9 November 1880 in Christchurch – 6 February 1963 in Christchurch) *Kenneth (Keith) Murray Hobbs (3 January 1882 Christchurch – September 1882 in Christchurch) *Bessie Gertrude Hobbs (24 April 1883 Christchurch – 24 December 1974) *Alan Edgar Hobbs (8 December 1887 Christchurch – 21 December 1973), who got married at Holy Trinity Church in Devonport, Auckland.<ref>{{cite news |title=Marriages |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP19131110.2.2.2 |access-date=14 July 2012 |newspaper=The Press |volume=XLIX |issue=14819 |date=10 November 1913 |page=1}}</ref>
The Hobbs family had a musical background. Fred Hobbs was well known as a singer; his cousin J. W. Hobbs was a tenor in England who trained William Hayman Cummings. His son Francis William, known as Harry, was also known for his singing.<ref name="F W Hobbs" /> His son Frederick Hobbs made an international career and worked with and then for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company.<ref name=Stone/> The 1858 jury list shows the Hobbs family as living in Armagh Street.<ref>{{cite news |title=Proposed Jury List for the Province of Canterbury |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=LT18580210.1.9| access-date=19 April 2013| newspaper=Lyttelton Times| volume=IX |issue=550 |date=10 February 1858| page=9}}</ref> In 1875, the family was living in Gloucester Street opposite Christchurch East School.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wanted |url= http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18751204.2.2.5| access-date=20 April 2013 |newspaper=The Press |volume=XXIV |issue=3202 |date=4 December 1875 |page=1}}</ref>
Fred Hobbs died at Waitati near Dunedin on 13 May 1920. He is buried at Waitati Cemetery in block 10 plot 22.<ref>{{cite web |title=Cemetery Details |url= http://www.dunedin.govt.nz/facilities/cemeteries/cemeteries_search?recordid=92179&type=Burial |publisher=Dunedin City Council |access-date=15 April 2013}}</ref> His grave is unmarked.<ref>{{cite web |last=Schwede66 |title=Waitati Hobbs |url= http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Waitati_Hobbs.jpg |publisher=Wikimedia Commons |access-date=20 April 2013}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==Sources== {{Commons category}} *{{cite book | title = Round the Square : A History of Christchurch's Cathedral Square | year = 1995 | publisher = Clerestory Press | location = Christchurch | isbn = 0-473-03399-2 | author = NZ Federation of University Women }}
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef | before = Michael Hart}} {{s-ttl | title = Mayor of Christchurch |years = 1874–1877}} {{s-aft | after = James Gapes }} {{s-end}}
{{Mayors of Christchurch}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hobbs, Fred}} Category:1841 births Category:1920 deaths Category:19th-century mayors of places in New Zealand Category:Mayors of Christchurch Category:Christchurch City Councillors Category:New Zealand tailors Category:19th-century tailors