Kenneth Williams (politician)

Kenneth Stuart Williams (13 September 1870 – 25 November 1935) was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He was Minister of Public Works from 1926 to 1928 in the Reform Government.

Williams, circa 1930.

Early life

Williams was born in Pakaraka in the Bay of Islands in 1870 to parents John William Williams and Sarah Busby. He was a grandson of the missionary Henry Williams and of James Busby. He was educated at Heretaunga School in Hastings and Christ's College in Christchurch.[1]

Political career
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1920–1922 20th Bay of Plenty Reform
1922–1925 21st Bay of Plenty Reform
1925–1928 22nd Bay of Plenty Reform
1928–1931 23rd Bay of Plenty Reform
1931–1935 24th Bay of Plenty Reform

In 1903–09, he was chairman of Waiapu County. He won the Bay of Plenty electorate in a 1920 by-election[2] after the death of the previous MP, William MacDonald;[3] and held it [1] until 1935.[2] He was elected unopposed three times; in 1922, 1925 & 1931; in 1928 he was opposed by Alexander Moncur for Labour.

He was Minister of Public Works (12 June 1926 – 10 December 1928) in the Reform Government under Gordon Coates, and briefly Minister of Lands, and Commissioner of State Forests (28 November 1928 – 10 December 1928).[4]

In 1934, he had decided to retire at the end of the term because of health problems from an accident, but died on 25 November 1935 at a garden party held in his honour, just two days before the 1935 general election.[1]

In 1935, Williams was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.[5]

Notes
  1. Robinson, Sheila. "Williams, Kenneth Stuart 1870–1935". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  2. Scholefield 1950, p. 148.
  3. Scholefield 1950, p. 122.
  4. Scholefield 1950, p. 47.
  5. "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. CXIX (105). 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
gollark: You could use something known as the "mean".
gollark: Geometric mean?
gollark: They would be briefly unhappy when dying, but the minimum would go up.
gollark: yes, that is a problem.
gollark: The product of ALL happiness? This would result in a moral imperative to maximize the number of people as long as they are just barely at nonnegative happiness.

References
  • Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by
William MacDonald		 Member of Parliament for Bay of Plenty
1920–1935		 Succeeded by
Gordon Hultquist


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