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Robert Wright (New Zealand politician)

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The Honourable
Robert Wright
JP
10th Minister of Labour
In office
28 November 1928 – 10 December 1928
Prime MinisterGordon Coates
Preceded byGeorge Anderson
Succeeded byBill Veitch
18th Minister of Education
In office
24 May 1926 – 10 December 1928
Prime MinisterGordon Coates
Preceded byJames Parr
Succeeded byHarry Atmore
21st Mayor of Wellington
In office
11 May 1921 – 13 May 1925
Preceded byJohn Luke
Succeeded byCharles Norwood
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Wellington Suburbs
In office
10 December 1914 – 15 October 1938
Preceded byWilliam Henry Dillon Bell
Succeeded byHarry Combs
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Wellington South
In office
2 December 1908 – 19 December 1911
Succeeded byAlfred Hindmarsh
Personal details
Born
Robert Alexander Wright

8 August 1863
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died6 December 1947(1947-12-06) (aged 84)
Wellington, New Zealand
Political partyReform (1909–35)
SpouseElizabeth Coulter
RelationsHercules Richard Wright (brother)
Children2

Robert Alexander Wright JP (8 August 1863 – 6 December 1947) was the Mayor of Wellington from 1921 to 1925, and a New Zealand politician of the Reform Party.

Biography

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Early life and career

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He was born in Dunedin to Robert and Lydia Esther Wright, who moved to Hokitika on the West Coast when he was an infant. He had eight siblings; a brother, Hercules Richard Wright was later a notable Rugby League player. Robert was educated at the Scots Grammar School. He married Elizabeth Coulter from the Wairarapa in 1898, and they had two daughters. He was a printer with the Government Printing Office, then for 17 years with the New Zealand Mail. Then with W. J. Carman he founded the printing firm of Wright and Carman. He was a member of the Church of Christ.[1] On 31 October 1924 Wright opened the de Lux Theatre on the corner of Cambridge Terrace and Majoribanks Street. In 1930 the building was sold and renamed the Embassy Theatre and was the site of the premiere of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.[2]

Parliamentary career

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1908–1909 17th Wellington South Independent
1909–1911 Changed allegiance to: Reform
1914–1919 19th Wellington Suburbs and Country Reform
1919–1922 20th Wellington Suburbs Reform
1922–1925 21st Wellington Suburbs Reform
1925–1928 22nd Wellington Suburbs Reform
1928–1931 23rd Wellington Suburbs Reform
1931–1935 24th Wellington Suburbs Reform
1935–1938 25th Wellington Suburbs Independent

He represented the Wellington South electorate in Parliament from 1908 to 1911 when he was defeated, then the Wellington Suburbs and Country electorate from 1914 to 1919 and the Wellington Suburbs electorate from 1919 to 1938. In the 1935 contest Wright stood as an Independent and was successful.[3] He was defeated for the Wellington West electorate in 1938.[3] In 1935 and 1938 he was not opposed by the National Party, and he habitually voted with National.[4]

He was Minister of Education from 1926 to 1928 in the Reform Government. Towards the end of the Coates Ministry, he was Minister of Labour for less than a fortnight.[5] As Minister of Education he was responsible for a complete revision undertaken in 1927 of the primary school syllabus.[6]

He had the nickname 'Monkey' Wright and in parliament was one of the main Reform MPs who would heckle the Labour Party when it was in opposition. He was particularly critical of Labour's division of credit taunting that Labour's backbenchers were proposing policies not supported by their front bench.[7]

In 1935, Wright was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.[8]

He was selected to stand for the National Party for Wellington Suburbs in the 1941 general election, which was postponed to 1943 because of the war.[9]

Local politics

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He first stood for political office in 1912 when he stood for Mayor of Wellington. One of three centre-right candidates he helped split the vote and enabled the Labour candidate David McLaren to win. Wright finished fourth with 1,557 votes (15.06%).[10] Wright was elected to the Wellington City Council in 1913, remaining a councillor for eight years until he stood for and was elected Mayor of Wellington in his second attempt in 1921, the same time as Wellington's first female Councillor, Annie McVicar, was elected. Two years later he faced a strong challenge to re-election when he was opposed by high-profile Labour councillor and MP Peter Fraser. Wright was only narrowly re-elected by 273 votes (just over 1% of the total) which would remain the closest mayoral election in Wellington until 2010.[11][12] Wright was to remain Mayor until 1925 when he retired from the role.[13]

Wright had three further spells as a member of the city council from 1925 to 1927, 1929 to 1931 and 1935 to 1947.[14] He also made an unsuccessful attempt to return to the council when he stood in a 1933 by-election. Fraser was his main opponent and it was dubbed by the media as a "grudge match" repeat of 1923. Fraser was victorious in a heavy polling contest.[15]

From 1913 to 1921 Wright was a member of the Wellington Harbour Board representing Wellington city before becoming an ex officio member as Mayor of Wellington until 1925.[16]

Death

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He died on 6 December 1947 aged 84 at his home in Kelburn, Wellington.[1]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Obituary in Evening Post, Wellington, 8 December 1947 page 8
  2. ^ "Cutting-edge technology in historic surroundings".
  3. ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 247.
  4. ^ Milne, Robert Stephen (1966). Political Parties in New Zealand. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. p. 76.
  5. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 79.
  6. ^ "Mr R. A. Wright". Northern Advocate. 8 December 1947. p. 4. Retrieved 13 February 2021.
  7. ^ Sinclair 1976, p. 102.
  8. ^ "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. Vol. CXIX, no. 105. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  9. ^ Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. p. 295. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
  10. ^ "The Mayoral Elections". Taranaki Daily News. Vol. LIV, no. 254. 26 April 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  11. ^ "The Mayoralty". The Evening Post. Vol. CV, no. 99. 27 April 1923. p. 4. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  12. ^ "Wellington City Council". The Evening Post. Vol. CV, no. 107. 7 May 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 16 June 2016.
  13. ^ "History - Past Mayors of Wellington - 1921-2001 - Wellington - New Zealand". Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2011.
  14. ^ Betts 1970, p. 261.
  15. ^ "Labour Win". Auckland Star. Vol. LXIV, no. 152. 30 June 1933. p. 12. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  16. ^ Johnson, David (1996). "Members and Officers of the Wellington Harbour Board, Appendix 1". Wellington Harbour. Wellington Maritime Museum Trust. p. 477. ISBN 0958349800.

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Alexander Wright.
  • Betts, G.M. (1970). Betts on Wellington:a city and its politics. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed Ltd. ISBN 0-589-00469-7.
  • Perry, Stuart (1969), No Mean City, Wellington, [N.Z.]: Wellington City Council
  • Sinclair, Keith (1976). Walter Nash. Auckland: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-647949-5.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Labour
1928 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Education
1926–1928 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Mayor of Wellington
1921–1925 		Succeeded by
New Zealand Parliament
In abeyance
Title last held by
John Luke 		Member of Parliament for Wellington Suburbs
1919–1938 		Succeeded by
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