Patrick Joseph O'Regan (6 February 1869 – 24 April 1947) was a Member of Parliament for Inangahua and Buller, in the South Island of New Zealand. He was later appointed to the Legislative Council.
Patrick O'Regan | |
|---|---|
 O'Regan c. 1940 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Inangahua | |
| In office 1893–1896 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Stout |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Buller | |
| In office 1896–1899 | |
| Preceded by | Roderick McKenzie |
| Succeeded by | James Colvin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Patrick Joseph O'Regan 6 February 1869 Charleston, New Zealand |
| Died | 24 April 1947 (aged 78) Wellington, New Zealand |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse |
Clara Emma Haycock (m. 1898) |
| Children | 6 |
| Relatives | Rolland O'Regan (son) Tipene O'Regan (grandson) Hana O'Regan (great-granddaughter) |
Early life
editO'Regan was born in Charleston, on the West Coast of New Zealand to Patrick O'Regan (an Irish immigrant and goldminer) and his wife Mary.
Political career
edit| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1893–1896 | 12th | Inangahua | Liberal | ||
| 1896–1899 | 13th | Buller | Liberal | ||
O'Regan represented Inangahua (1893–1896) and Buller (1896–1899) in the New Zealand House of Representatives. He was defeated in the 1899 election when he stood for re-election in Buller.[1]
He was involved with the Knights of Labour and Henry George's Single Tax Movement. In 1896, O'Regan introduced the Proportional Representation Bill into Parliament: it failed to carry the second reading by only 6 votes.[2]
A lawyer by profession, O'Regan represented striking workers in 1913 and conscientious objectors charged with sedition in World War I.
O'Regan supported Labour's Peter Fraser in the 1918 by-election in Wellington Central and Harry Holland in the 1918 by-election in Wellington North. However, he did not join the Labour Party.[3]
O'Regan was made a judge of the Court of Arbitration in 1937 and a member of the Legislative Council on 9 September 1946 and he held that position for the few months until his death in Wellington on 24 April 1947.[4][5]
He was the father of surgeon and activist Rolland O'Regan.
Further reading
edit- Hamer, David A. (1988). The New Zealand Liberals: The Years of Power, 1891–1912. Auckland: Auckland University Press. ISBN 1-86940-014-3.
- The Parliamentary Record: 1840–1984 by J.O. Wilson (1985, Government Printer, Wellington)
References
edit- ^ "The General Election, 1899". Wellington: Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives. 19 June 1900. p. 2. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ Yesterdays in Golden Buller, by Ella Matthews, p. 203, 1999, Cadsonbury Publications
- ^ Labour's Path to Political Independence: the Origins and Establishment of the NZ Labour Party 1900–1919 by Barry Gustafson (1980, Oxford University Press, Auckland), p. 163
- ^ Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Government Printer. p. 82.
- ^ Sweetman, Rory. "O'Regan, Patrick Joseph". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 27 April 2019.