Sir Charles Manley Luke (4 February 1857 – 19 April 1941) was a New Zealand politician and company director. He served as

mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representati ...

in 1895. His brother, Sir

John Luke John Luke may refer to: * John A. Luke Jr., chief executive officer of MeadWestvaco * John Luke (artist) (1906–1975), Irish artist * John Luke (New Zealand politician) (1858–1931), New Zealand politician * John Luke (MP) (1563–1638), English p ...

, was later mayor of Wellington from 1913 to 1921.

Biography

Early life and career

Born at

St Just in Penwith St Just ( kw, Lan(n)ust), known as St Just in Penwith, is a town and civil parish in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies along the B3306 road which connects St Ives to the A30 road. The parish encompasses the ...

, near

Penzance Penzance ( ; kw, Pennsans) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is the most westerly major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated ...

, Cornwall, England, Luke came to New Zealand with his parents in July 1874. He married and had four sons and two daughters. His elder daughter Edith Mabel Luke (10 April 1880 – 21 July 1923) married electrical engineer

Lawrence Birks Lawrence Birks (19 May 1874 – 25 July 1924) was an Australian-born electrical engineer noted for his pioneering work on hydro-electric power generation in New Zealand. History Lawrence was born in Norwood, a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, ...

on 29 April 1909. They had four children. He was a Director of S Luke and Sons Limited up until his retirement in 1913. Luke and Sons were ship builders and engineers. The company erected a number of hydraulic cranes on the Wellington wharfs. The company was located on the Te Aro foreshore and built the steamships ''Matai'' and ''Weka''. It also built equipment for the Cape Palliser lighthouse as well as other lighthouses around the country. S Luke and Sons was merged into

Jas J Niven & Co Jas J Niven & Co Limited later Niven Engineering, was a New Zealand engineering business based in Wellington with operations throughout the country. The foundry that became Niven's business was established in Napier in 1866. It was taken over ...

. He was Chairman of the Wellington Industrial Association from 1888 to 1889. Luke was one of those responsible for establishing the Associated Chambers of Commerce. Luke was a member of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

for over 40 years and actively involved in church affairs. Luke was three times President of the Primitive Methodist Church, Vice President of the United Methodist Church, and New Zealand representative at the 1905 Scarborugh Methodist Conference. He was a foundation member of the ''New Zealand Alliance'' (for the Abolition of the Liquor Traffic).

Political career

From 1885 he was a Trustee of the Wellington Hospital for 50 years including Chairman of its Board for 14 years. In 1894 he was elected

Mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representati ...

. At the following election he was defeated by George Fisher. He was also President of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce for six years, a member of the Wellington Education Board, the Technical School Board and Wellington College Board of Governors. From 1894 to 1895 he was a member of the

Wellington Harbour Board (Strong but true) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , founder = , founding_location = , dissolved = , merger = , type ...

. He served on numerous committees. In 1901 the Royal New Zealand Federation Commission was set up to consider Federation between New Zealand and the Australia states. Luke was appointed as a member and toured Australia to determine if the idea was worthwhile. After three months investigation and deliberation the Commission dismissed the idea. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

he was elected a member of the Patriotic Association, vice President of the War Relief Association, and a member of the War Funds Council for 20 years holding the role of Chairman of the Executive for a time. He was also on the Board of Flock House which provided assistance to widows and dependents of sailors of the British Navy and Merchant Marine who had lost their lives during the war. At the 1899 general election he stood unsuccessfully in the

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

electorate as a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

candidate. At the 1902 general election he stood for the seat of Newtown, but was again unsuccessful. He served one term on the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...

(22 January 1907 – 21 January 1914).

Later life and death

In 1935, Luke was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

. In the

1939 New Year Honours The 1939 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were announced on 30 December 1938.United Kingdom and Britis ...

, he was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...

, for public services. In 1940 he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of St John The Order of St John, short for Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (french: l'ordre très vénérable de l'Hôpital de Saint-Jean de Jérusalem) and also known as St John International, is a British royal order of c ...

. Luke died at the residence of his younger daughter, Grace Winifred Cunningham (1886–1976), in Kelburn on 19 April 1941, and his ashes were buried in

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first cremato ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luke, Charles 1857 births 1941 deaths People from St Just in Penwith British emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand people of Cornish descent Wellington Hospital Board members Mayors of Wellington Wellington Harbour Board members Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1902 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand Liberal Party MLCs New Zealand Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of St John New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods New Zealand temperance activists New Zealand justices of the peace Burials at Karori Cemetery