Basil Arthur

Sir Basil Arthur
The Honourable; Sir Basil Arthur; Bt
20th Speaker of the House of Representatives
	In office; 14 July 1984 – 1 May 1985
Prime Minister	David Lange
Preceded by	Richard Harrison
Succeeded by	Gerry Wall
Member of the New Zealand Parliament; for Timaru
	In office; 21 July 1962 – 1 May 1985
Preceded by	Clyde Carr
Succeeded by	Maurice McTigue
Personal details
Born	18 September 1928; Timaru, New Zealand
Died	1 May 1985 (aged 56)
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Signature

Sir Basil Malcolm Arthur, 5th Baronet (18 September 1928 – 1 May 1985) served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1984 to 1985. He was a member of the Labour Party.

Early life

Arthur was born in Timaru, New Zealand, and educated at Timaru Boys' High School.[1] His father, a hotel proprietor, inherited the title of 4th Baronet in 1941, and Arthur in turn inherited it on his father's death in 1949. However, he showed a preference for labouring jobs, and made little of his title.[2]

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate	Party
1962–1963	33rd	Timaru	Labour
1963–1966	34th	Timaru	Labour
1966–1969	35th	Timaru	Labour
1969–1972	36th	Timaru	Labour
1972–1975	37th	Timaru	Labour
1975–1978	38th	Timaru	Labour
1978–1981	39th	Timaru	Labour
1981–1984	40th	Timaru	Labour
1984–1985	41st	Timaru	Labour

In 1960 Arthur stood for Labour in the Hamilton electorate, coming second.

In 1962, he contested two by-elections for the Labour Party: first, unsuccessfully, in Waitaki; then, successfully, in Timaru. On entering Parliament at age 33 he was the country's youngest member of parliament. He was reluctant to be called "Sir", but the Speaker at the time, Ronald Algie, said that refusing this honorific would be disrespectful to the Queen.[2]

Cabinet minister

Arthur was both Minister of Transport and Minister in Charge of the State Insurance Office from 1972 until 1975 during the Third Labour Government.[3]

Speaker

When Labour won the 1984 election, Arthur became Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives.[2] He served in that capacity for one year, before dying in office of Legionnaires' disease.[4] The then Prime Minister, David Lange recalled in My Life (2005) that Arthur was gravely ill in Wellington Hospital, and if he resigned from the member's superannuation scheme before he died (but not otherwise) his estate would get a lump-sum payment. He had to answer a question in the house, then went to hospital with a letter of resignation "only to find that he had died hardly a minute before I got there". Labour lost the subsequent Timaru by-election, with a candidate that did not suit "the conservative character of the electorate."[5]

Arthur was the second baronet to serve as Speaker, the first being Sir Charles Clifford, 1st Baronet (the first Speaker of the House of Representatives), although he was made a baronet some time after he had retired from politics.

Honours

In 1977, Arthur was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.[1]

Coat of arms of Basil Arthur
	Crest In front of two swords in saltire Proper pommels and hilts Or a pelican in her piety Sable the nest Or. Escutcheon Or on a chevron Azure between two clarions in chief Gules and a kangaroo sejant in base Proper two swords the points upwards also Proper points and hilts of the first on a chief of the third a horse courant Argent. Motto Stet Fortuna Domus (May The Fortune Of The House Stand) [6]

Notes

Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 50. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
Henderson, John. "Arthur, Basil Malcolm". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
Wilson 1985, p. 92.
Michael Bassett, Working with David: Inside the Lange Cabinet, 2010, Hachette UK, ISBN 978-1-86971-241-9
David Lange (2005). My Life. Viking. ISBN 0-670-04556-X.
Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage & Titles of Courtesy. 1878.

References

Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

External links

Dictionary of New Zealand Biography entry

Political offices
Preceded by Richard Harrison	Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives 1984–1985	Succeeded by Gerry Wall
Preceded by Peter Gordon	Minister of Transport 1972–1975	Succeeded by Colin McLachlan
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Clyde Carr	Member of Parliament for Timaru 1962–1985	Succeeded by Maurice McTigue
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by George Malcolm Arthur	Baronet (of Upper Canada) 1949–1985	Succeeded by Stephen Arthur

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[HBTQ-1] Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 50. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.

[DNZB_Arthur-2] Henderson, John. "Arthur, Basil Malcolm". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 10 April 2017.

[FOOTNOTEWilson198592-3] Wilson 1985, p. 92.

[4] Michael Bassett, Working with David: Inside the Lange Cabinet, 2010, Hachette UK, ISBN 978-1-86971-241-9

[5] David Lange (2005). My Life. Viking. ISBN 0-670-04556-X.

[6] Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage & Titles of Courtesy. 1878.