Peter Neilson (politician born 1879)

Peter Neilson
Neilson in 1935
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Dunedin Central
In office
27 November 1935 – 27 November 1946
Preceded byCharles Statham
Succeeded byPhilip Connolly
Personal details
Born1879
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died (aged 69)
Gisborne, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
SpouseMary Dalrymple Laing (1875–1945)
OccupationBaker

Peter Neilson (1879 – 3 November 1948) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

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Early life and career

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He was born in Dunedin in 1879 and was educated locally at George Street Public School. He then became an apprentice baker before gaining employment at a local bakery firm. He was then a business partner of Jim Munro from 1914. When Munro was elected to Parliament in 1922 the partnership was dissolved and Nielson found employment as foreman at another bakery, which he held until 1935. He became a trade union member and was later president of the Dunedin Bakers' Union.[1]

Member of Parliament

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1935–1938 25th Dunedin Central Labour
1938–1943 26th Dunedin Central Labour
1943–1946 27th Dunedin Central Labour

He had been active in the Socialist Party and Social Democratic Party, and had been a member of the Maori Hill Borough Council for four years.[2] He was elected to the Dunedin City Council at the 1935 local-body elections, serving until 1938.[3] Mayor Edwin Thoms Cox appointed Neilson chairman of the council's library committee for the triennium.[1]

Neilson had unsuccessfully stood in the Dunedin Central electorate in the 1931 election.[4] He stood again for Dunedin Central in Labour's landslide win in the 1935 election, holding the seat until 1946 election, when he retired from Parliament for personal reasons.[5] He was succeeded by fellow Labour member and future Minister of Defense Philip Connolly.

Later life and death

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Neilson died on 3 November 1948 at Cook Hospital aged 69 after a three-week illness, survived by his daughter.[1] He was buried at Taruheru Cemetery, Gisborne.[6]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c "Former M.P. Dies: Mr. Peter Neilson". Gisborne Herald. Vol. LXXV, no. 22785. 4 November 1948. p. 8. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  2. ^ Gustafson, Barry (1986). From the Cradle to the Grave: a biography of Michael Joseph Savage. Auckland: Reed Methuen. p. ?. ISBN 0-474-00138-5.
  3. ^ "Past Dunedin City Councils - Council 1929 - 1938". Dunedin City Council. Archived from the original on 26 September 2003. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  4. ^ "Prospects in Otago". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXVIII, no. 21037. 23 November 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  5. ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 223. OCLC 154283103.
  6. ^ "Cemetery record search". Gisborne District Council. Retrieved 31 July 2018.

References

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  • Gustafson, Barry (1986). From the Cradle to the Grave: a biography of Michael Joseph Savage. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00138-5.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Dunedin Central
1935–1946
Succeeded by