Peter Butler (trade unionist)

Peter Michael Butler CBE (31 May 1901 – 24 September 1995) was a New Zealand seaman, trade unionist, communist and local politician.

Peter Butler

CBE
Butler in 1938
Wellington City Councillor
In office
1933–1941
Personal details
Born(1901-05-31)31 May 1901
Whiteabbey, County Antrim, Ireland
Died24 September 1995(1995-09-24) (aged 94)
Wellington, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
Spouse(s)Doris Cooper
ProfessionTrade unionist

Biography

Early life

He was born in Whiteabbey, County Antrim, Ireland, on 31 May 1901.[1] Butler was largely self-educated, yet proved an effective speaker, writer and organiser later in life. At age 16 Butler joined the Mercantile Marine reserve, serving mostly in the North Sea for the remainder of World War I. After the war Butler became one of the leaders of a militant faction in the seamen's union and briefly courted communist ideology, which he rejected strongly later in life.[1]

During the late 1920s and early 1930s (the duration of the Great Depression), Butler served as secretary of the Wellington Builders' and General Labourers' Union. On 18 December 1930, Peter Butler married Doris Annie Sevina Cooper at St Paul's Cathedral Church in Wellington (an Anglican church despite Butler being a committed Catholic). Later, he and Doris reaffirmed their marriage vows at a Catholic church in Johnsonville on 28 April 1938.[1]

Political career

In 1928, he was an organiser for Bob Semple in his successful election campaign in Wellington East for the Labour Party.[1] In the 1931 election, he unsuccessfully stood for the Labour Party in the Masterton electorate against the incumbent, George Sykes of the Reform Party.[2] In the next election in 1935, he was defeated by Robert Alexander Wright in the Wellington Suburbs electorate.[3] Butler had better success in local government. He was elected to the Wellington City Council in 1933, only after special votes were counted, and was to remain a councillor until 1941.[1]

In 1953, Butler was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.[4] He attempted to make political comeback in the 1960s, standing several times for the council on the Labour ticket in 1965, 1968 and a 1969 by-election.[5][6][7] While polling strongly on all occasions he never managed to regain a seat.

Later life

Butler retired from his union positions in 1972. In the 1985 Queen's Birthday Honours, Butler was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the trade union movement.[8] He died on 24 September 1995 and was buried at Whenua Tapu Cemetery near Pukerua Bay.[9]

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References
  1. Franks, Peter. "Peter Michael Butler". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 1 December 2011.
  2. The General Election, 1931. Government Printer. 1932. p. 3. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  3. "Election Results". The Evening Post. CXX (136). 5 December 1935. p. 5. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  4. Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 86. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
  5. Petersen, G.A. (23 October 1965). Declaration of Election Results (Report). Wellington City Council.
  6. Petersen, G.A. (23 October 1968). Declaration of Election Results (Report). Wellington City Council.
  7. "Final Results of City By-election". The Evening Post. 24 November 1969.
  8. London Gazette (supplement), No. 50155, 14 June 1985. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
  9. "Cemetery search". Porirua City Council. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
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