Charles Henry Chapman (politician)

Charles Henry Chapman (1876 – 2 March 1957) was a New Zealand unionist and politician of the Labour Party and various predecessor parties.

This article is about the New Zealand politician. For the British cartoonist, see C. H. Chapman.

Charles Henry Chapman
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Wellington North
In office 14 November 1928 – 27 November 1946
Preceded by	John Luke
Succeeded by	seat abolished
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Wellington Central
In office 27 November 1946 – 13 November 1954
Preceded by	Peter Fraser
Succeeded by	Frank Kitts
Personal details
Born	1876 London, England
Died	2 March 1957 Wellington, New Zealand
Political party	Labour (1916–57) Social Democratic (1913–16)
Signature

Early life

Chapman was born in London, England, in 1876. At the age of 17 he joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP) and was later secretary of the London ILP Federation. Chapman was a linotype operator by trade as well as a union secretary. Upon leaving England he was made a life member of the ILP. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1905.[1]

He settled in Wellington and became secretary of both the Wellington Typographical Union and Wellington Journalists Union. During World War I he was an advocator for dependents of servicemen and their rehabilitation. He became a member of the National Reparation Board.[2]

He was keenly interested in the work of the Red Cross Movement and was President of the New Zealand Red Cross for 25 years. He was also a worker for the Wellington Free Ambulance as a representative of the Red Cross. He was also a member of the Wellington Technical Board of Governors.[2]

Political career

He was on the executive of the Independent Political Labour League (IPLL) in 1906/07.[1] He was on the Advisory Committee of the Social Democratic Party in 1915–1916.[1]

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1928–1931	23rd	Wellington North		Labour
1931–1935	24th	Wellington North		Labour
1935–1938	25th	Wellington North		Labour
1938–1943	26th	Wellington North		Labour
1943–1946	27th	Wellington North		Labour
1946–1949	28th	Wellington Central		Labour
1949–1951	29th	Wellington Central		Labour
1951–1954	30th	Wellington Central		Labour

Local body politics

He was a Wellington City Councillor from 1919–1925 and 1929–1941, and also served on the Wellington Hospital Board.[1] Chapman served three separate terms on the Wellington Harbour Board from 1919–21, 1925–31 and 1933–41.[3]

In 1915, Chapman ran for Mayor of Wellington as the Social Democratic candidate. In a three horse race, he came a distant third.[4] He ran for mayor a further three times as the Labour Party's nominee. He ran in 1925, 1927 and 1938 placing second on each occasion.[5][6][7]

Member of Parliament

He contested the Wellington South electorate in the 1908 election and came third behind Robert Alexander Wright and William Henry Peter Barber.[8]

He contested the Hawke's Bay electorate in the 1919 election for the Labour Party and came third behind Hugh Campbell and Gilbert McKay.[9] In 1922, he stood in the Hawke's Bay electorate again and came a distant third (and last) after Gilbert McKay and Andrew Hamilton Russell.[10] In the 1925 election, he stood in the Wellington Suburbs electorate and was beaten by the incumbent, Robert Alexander Wright, who had also beaten him in 1908.[11]

In 1928, Chapman was elected as the Member of Parliament for Wellington North which he held until the seats abolition in 1946. He then became the Member for Wellington Central from 1946 until 1954 when he retired.[12]

In 1945 he was appointed a member of the Wellington Rehabilitation Committee.[2]

Later life

In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.[13]

Chapman died in Wellington in 1957, aged 80, survived by a step-son and step-daughter.[2] He was buried at Karori Cemetery in Wellington.[14]

Notes

1. Gustafson 1980, p. 155.
2. "Mr. C. H. Chapman Dies After Long Public Service". The Evening Post. 4 March 1957.
3. Johnson, David (1996). "Members and Officers of the Wellington Harbour Board, Appendix I". Wellington Harbour. Wellington Maritime Museum Trust. p. 477. ISBN 0958349800.
4. "Wellington City Council". The Evening Post. LXXXIX (108). 8 May 1915. p. 8. Retrieved 18 March 2016.
5. "The Mayoral Election". Evening Post. CIX (102). 4 May 1925. p. 6. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
6. "Election Notices". Evening Post. CXIII (103). 4 May 1927. p. 6. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
7. "Election Recounts". Evening Post. CXXV (114). 17 May 1938. p. 12. Retrieved 27 October 2016.
8. "The General Election, 1908". National Library of New Zealand. 1909. p. 31. Retrieved 14 April 2012.
9. "Hawke's Bay Province". Colonist. LXII (15259). 22 December 1919. p. 2. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
10. "How The Electorates Went". Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle. XVIII (909). 12 December 1922. p. 2. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
11. "Wellington Province". Auckland Star. LVI (262). 5 November 1925. p. 9. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
12. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 189. OCLC 154283103.
13. "Official jubilee medals". The Evening Post. CXIX (105). 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
14. "Cemeteries search". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 30 April 2015.

References

• Gustafson, Barry (1980). Labour's path to political independence: The Origins and Establishment of the New Zealand Labour Party, 1900–19. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. ISBN 0-19-647986-X.

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Peter Fraser	Member of Parliament for Wellington Central 1946–1954	Succeeded by Frank Kitts
Preceded by John Luke	Member of Parliament for Wellington North 1928–1946	Succeeded by Seat abolished