Robert Julian Dashwood (1899 – 5 September 1970) was a British-born Cook Islands writer and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly between 1963 and 1966 and served in the territory's first two cabinets.
Biography Dashwood was born in England in 1899,Collection MS 519 – White natives' (a novel) Pacific Manuscripts Bureau the son of a vicar.Graeme Lay (2004) The Miss Tutti Frutti Contest: Travel Tales of the South Pacific, p26 During World War I he served in the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Following the war, a varied career saw him become a teacher in England, a farmer in Transvaal and a rubber plantation owner in Malaya. He also worked as a car salesman and shell dealer.
He relocated to the Cook Islands in 1929, where he became manager of a shop owned by A.B. Donald & Co.They've Been Too Long In The Bush Pacific Islands Monthly, September 1963, p13 Initially settling in Rakahanga, he later moved to Mauke, where he married a local woman named Kopu.Mauke – East of Eden The Cook Islands He began writing under the pen name Julian Hillas (his mother's maiden name), publishing books including I Know an Island and Today is Forever (republished as South Seas Paradise),Tropicalities Pacific Islands Monthly, January 1964, p15 as well as having several articles printed in Pacific Islands Monthly.
Dashwood was elected to Legislative Assembly from the Mauke constituency in a 1963 by-election.David J. Stone Self rule in the Cook Islands: The government and politics of a new micro-stateThe Journal of the Polynesian Society 1970, p130 In November 1963 the Executive Committee was revamped, with members given specific portfolios. Leader of Government Business Dick Charles Brown appointed Dashwood as the Member for Broadcasting, Health, Justice, Police, Prisons and Social Development.Talks Soon On Political Future Of The Cooks Pacific Islands Monthly, January 1964, p35 However, he was sacked in August 1964 after refusing to resign,Cook Is. Minister Fired–But No One Quite Knows Why Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1964, p35 due to suspicions that he supported Brown's rival Albert Henry.
Dashwood subsequently joined Henry's Cook Islands Party, and was re-elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 1965 elections. He was then reappointed to the Executive Committee in May.Independents Walk Out Of Cook Islands Assembly Pacific Islands Monthly, June 1965, p31 In August a new cabinet was formed, with Dashwood appointed Minister of Police and Social Development and Associate Minister for the Post Office, Hotel and Printing Office.Era of Self-Government Begins In The Cook Islands Pacific Islands Monthly, September 1965, pp27–29 Soon afterwards he swapped portfolios with Tiakana Numanga, becoming Minister for Public Works and Survey. However, he resigned from the cabinet in May 1966,Thomas R.A.H. Davis & R.G. Crocombe (1979) Cook Islands Politics: The Inside Story, p32 and the following month was convicted of corruptly attempting to obtain a bribe whilst a Minister of the Crown. As a result, he lost his seat in the Legislative Assembly.Ex-minister seeks seat he lost in bribe case Pacific Islands Monthly, November 1966, p75
He died at his home on Mauke in September 1970.Mr. Robert Julian Dashwood Pacific Islands Monthly, October 1970, p139
References