Bill Brown (New Zealand politician)

William Henry Brown (18 June 1899 – 16 October 1967) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Brown circa 1960

Biography

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Early life

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Brown was born in Napier in 1899, the son of Henry Stafford Brown and his wife Ellen Susannah Brown (née Day).[1]

Political career

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1960–1963 33rd Palmerston North National
1963–1966 34th Palmerston North National
1966–1967 35th Palmerston North National

He was a member of the Palmerston North City Council from 1931 to 1935.[1] In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[2]

Brown first contested the Palmerston North electorate at the 1957 election against the incumbent, Philip Skoglund of the Labour Party. That year, Skoglund was confirmed by the voters. However, in the 1960 election, Brown beat Skoglund by the narrow majority of 123 votes. The election night results had Skoglund in the lead, narrowly, but special votes overturned the initial result in Brown's favour. At the 1963 election, Brown had a 772-vote majority to Skoglund. The 1966 election was contested by Brown against Labour's Joe Walding, with Brown holding a 259-vote majority. Brown died in office in 1967.[1] He was succeeded by Walding through a by-election later in 1967.[3]

Death

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Brown died on 16 October 1967 in Kaiapoi while speaking at a function after the opening a section of the Christchurch Northern Motorway.[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Hancock, Mervyn (December 2005). "George Hamish Ormond Wilson : Member of Parliament for Palmerston North 1960–67" (PDF). Palmerston North Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2011.
  2. ^ "Coronation Medal" (PDF). Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette. No. 37. 3 July 1953. pp. 1021–1035. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  3. ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Palmerston North
1960–1967
Succeeded by