Edward Emanuel Isbey (3 August 1917 – 25 July 1995) was a New Zealand politician of the
Labour Party.
Biography
Early life and career
Isbey was born in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
in 1917, the son of Alec Isbey a tailor who immigrated from
Lithuania. He received his education in London and gained a diploma in industrial management. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, he served in the
Merchant Navy. For 17 years he worked on a whale factory ship in the
Antarctic Ocean
The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-small ...
. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1947.
Isbey was a clothing factory manager from 1948 to 1953, then went into dairy farming in
Mercer
Mercer may refer to:
Business
* Mercer (car), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925)
* Mercer (consulting firm), a large human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City
* Mercer (occupation), a merchant or trader, ...
and later
Hokianga
The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand.
The original name, still used by local Māori, is ' ...
, before working on the waterfront (1954–1969). In 1955 he stood successfully for election to the executive of the Auckland Watersiders Union and in 1956 he was elected vice-president before being elected president several months later after the sudden resignation of Bill Hooker.
He was then elected the president of the New Zealand Watersiders Union, retaining the role for 11 years from 1959 to 1970 in conjunction with being the Auckland president for 12 years from 1956 to 1967. As president he led the Auckland Watersiders to affiliate with the
Labour Party. In 1963 the union voted with a two-to-one majority to formally affiliate via a postal ballot. He was a close friend and associate of leading unionists such as
Tom Skinner
Sir Thomas Edward Skinner (18 April 1909 – 11 November 1991) was a New Zealand politician and Trades Union leader.
Sir Tom served as President of the Auckland Trades Council from 1954 to 1976, and President of the New Zealand Federation of ...
and
Jim Knox.
He was also the vice-president of
New Zealand Rugby League
The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood '' ...
and an administrator of several theatres in Auckland including the board of the
Mercury Theatre
The Mercury Theatre was an independent repertory theatre company founded in New York City in 1937 by Orson Welles and producer John Houseman. The company produced theatrical presentations, radio programs and motion pictures. The Mercury als ...
and the Auckland Theatre Trust.
He was also the chairman of the special committee of the
New Zealand Shipping Corporation.
Political career
He joined the Labour Party upon arriving in New Zealand (his parents having been active members of the
Labour Party in London) and served as a delegate to the Auckland Labour Representation Committee and later the Auckland Labour Regional Council.
He was selected as the Labour candidate for the electorate of ahead of the . He was successful and resigned his trade union roles after entering parliament. Initially he found it hard to transition from a union spokesperson to a parliamentary
backbench
In Westminster and other parliamentary systems, a backbencher is a member of parliament (MP) or a legislator who occupies no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the " ...
er.
In the lead up to the Labour leader
Norman Kirk
Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974.
Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at a ...
sent Isbey to
Tokoroa
Tokoroa ( mi, Te Kaokaoroa o Pātetere) is the fifth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the ...
to pacify striking timber workers and prevent the issue interfering with the election.
After Labour won the 1972 election, Isbey put himself forward for a seat in the cabinet of the
Third Labour Government. In the ensuing caucus ballot he polled reasonably well, but after nine other Auckland MPs were elected to cabinet the subsequent voting reflected a concern for regional representation and neither Isbey or any other Aucklander was elected for the remaining positions.
However he was appointed as a Parliamentary
Under-Secretary to the Minister of Labour, Minister of Civil Aviation & Meteorological Services and Minister of Transport from 1973 to 1974 by Norman Kirk. When
Bill Rowling became Prime Minister he appointed Isbey Under-Secretary to the Minister of Railways.
In 1973 he was elected vice-president of the Labour Party, after withdrawing from the ballot for president in favour of
Charles Bennett. His win was something of a surprise with
Stan Rodger, President of the
Public Service Association
The Public Service Association ( mi, Te Pūkenga Here Tikanga Mahi) or PSA is a democratic trade union
that represents over workers in the Aotearoa New Zealand public sector.
The aims of the PSA are:
* strong public and community services
* ...
, seen as the front-runner. Other aspirants were
Ron Barclay
Ronald Morrison Barclay (2 September 1914 – 29 April 2003) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Early life and family
Born in Little River, New Zealand in 1914, he received his education at the Christchurch Technical College. ...
,
Roger Drayton,
Jonathan Hunt,
Gerald O'Brien
John Gerald O’Brien (2 December 1924 – 13 December 2017), known as Gerald O'Brien, was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Early life
O'Brien was born in Wellington on 2 December 1924, the son of John Thomas O'Brien, and was ed ...
and
Trevor Young
Trevor James Young (28 August 1925 – 13 May 2012) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.
Biography Early life
Young was born in 1925 in Turua on the Hauraki Plains. The son of Leslie Robert Young, he grew up in Cambridge and Bl ...
(all MPs). As vice-president he pledged himself to bring about greater unity between the industrial and political wings of the Labour movement.
When Labour was in opposition (1975–84) Isbey was shadow minister for Labour, Immigration, the Arts and Sport and Recreation. He was one of the earliest proponents of
nuclear-free legislation. He introduced a bill to make New Zealand nuclear-free in 1976 but it was voted down by the
Muldoon Government.
Later, in 1982 Isbey received a public anti-nuclear petition when it was presented to parliament.
In 1977, Isbey received the
Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.
In 1978 his seat of Grey Lynn was abolished, absorbed mostly into , in an electoral redistribution. In danger of his political career being ended by a redistribution, he was given the unflattering nickname Eddie 'Was-bey'. He stood against Labour's incumbent Auckland Central MP,
Richard Prebble
Richard William Prebble (born 7 February 1948) is a former member of the New Zealand Parliament. Initially a member of the Labour Party, he joined the newly formed ACT New Zealand party under Roger Douglas in 1996, becoming its leader from 19 ...
, for the nomination but was beaten by Prebble. He then set his sights on unrelated seats after allegedly being promised "we will find you a safe seat Eddie" by the party hierarchy. Isbey put himself forward for the seat of before withdrawing at the last moment on a tip he would win the nomination. However he was defeated in an upset by
Ralph Maxwell. After the initial selection for was deadlocked between
Mike Moore and
Colin Moyle
Colin James Moyle (born 18 July 1929) is a former politician of the New Zealand Labour Party who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1963 to 1976 and again from 1981 to 1990. He was a Government minister in the Third Labour and Fourth ...
, Isbey was invited to contest the seat at the second selection meeting and was successful.
He won the seat and represented it from to 1987, when he retired. During the
Fourth Labour Government
The Fourth Labour Government of New Zealand governed New Zealand from 26 July 1984 to 2 November 1990. It was the first Labour government to win a second consecutive term since the First Labour Government of 1935 to 1949. The policy agenda o ...
he was appointed as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary to the Minister of Labour, Minister of Employment and Minister of Immigration by
David Lange
David Russell Lange ( ; 4 August 1942 – 13 August 2005) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 32nd prime minister of New Zealand from 1984 to 1989.
Lange was born and brought up in Otahuhu, the son of a medical doctor. He became ...
. He was replaced in the Papatoetoe electorate by
Ross Robertson.
Later life and death
In the
1988 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1988 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...
, Isbey was appointed a
Companion of the Queen's Service Order
The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...
for public services. In 1990, he was awarded the
New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.
Isbey died in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...
on 25 July 1995 aged 77.
Personal life
On 9 June 1953, he married Annette Constance Graham, the daughter of Walter (Mick) Graham. They had two sons and one daughter. He met Annette (who was an artist) while attending an art exhibition in Auckland.
His pastimes included theatre, boats, reading, art, watching football, and boxing. In 1978, he lived in
Herne Bay
Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local governmen ...
, Auckland.
His brother Dave Isbey (1915–1994) was likewise a unionist and Labour politician. He crewed a whaling ship to
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
in 1939 before joining Merchant Navy (like his brother) during World War II. After the war he came to New Zealand and got job with the
Auckland Harbour Board
The Auckland Harbour Board was a public body that operated the ports of both Auckland and Onehunga from 1871 to 1988 and was dissolved in 1989. Its successor organisation is Ports of Auckland, which assumed the possessions and responsibilities of ...
. He was president of the Auckland Labour Representation Committee and stood twice for the
Auckland City Council
Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...
in
1959
Events January
* January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance.
* January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...
and
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
, but was unsuccessful.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Isbey, Edward Emanuel
1917 births
1995 deaths
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
New Zealand trade unionists
Companions of the Queen's Service Order
New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
20th-century New Zealand politicians
Politicians from London
English emigrants to New Zealand
British Merchant Navy personnel of World War II