Peter James O'Brien (8 June 1874 – 28 September 1947) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Early life

O'Brien was born in 1874 at Forest Creek, near Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia. His parents of Irish descent were Terence O’Brien, a miner, and Bridget O’Leary. He was christened Peter James, but his first name was never used; many knew him as Jim or Briney. After having worked as a miner in various Australian states, O'Brien emigrated to New Zealand in 1904 and found employment as a coalminer in Reefton. O'Brien became active in the socialist circles that developed on the West Coast. He became president of the Westland Certificated Engine-drivers' and Firemen's Union, and was the president of the Runanga Co-operative Society.

Political career

Standing on a socialist ticket, he was voted onto the inaugural Runanga Borough Council in 1912. In 1913, he supported Paddy Webb's successful by-election campaign in the electorate for the Social Democratic Party, and later became the president of the Runanga branch of the party. He was a member of the Greymouth Borough Council for eight years and he was deputy mayor for three of them. He was also a member of the Grey Power Board. O'Brien was twice president of the Grey branch of the Labour Party and helped to establish the ''

Grey River Argus Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

'' as a Labour daily newspaper. He represented the Westland electorate in Parliament from the , when he defeated

Tom Seddon Thomas Edward Youd Seddon (2 July 1884 – 22 January 1972) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party, and a lawyer in Greymouth. He was the son of New Zealand's longest-serving Prime Minister Richard Seddon, and succeeded his father as ...

. He lost the electorate in the to Tom Seddon, but won it back in , and held it to 1947, when he died. He was the senior Government whip from 1939 until his promotion to the cabinet in 1942. He was a Minister in the

First Labour Government The first MacDonald ministry of the United Kingdom lasted from January to November 1924. The Labour Party, under Ramsay MacDonald, had failed to win the general election of December 1923, with 191 seats, although the combined Opposition tall ...

. He was Minister of Transport (9 December 1942 – 28 September 1947), Minister of Marine (9 December 1942 – 28 September 1947), Minister of Labour (27 June 1946 – 19 December 1946) and Minister of Mines (27 June 1946 – 19 December 1946). He remained an MP until his death, which caused a by-election held in December 1947 that was won by Labour's Jim Kent. In 1935, he 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 ...

Family and death

O'Brien married Kate Teresa Flaherty on 29 June 1909 in Greymouth. He died in Wellington on 28 September 1947. His wife survived him; they had no children.

Notes

References

* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, James 1874 births 1947 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs Social Democratic Party (New Zealand) politicians Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand people of Irish descent Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Australian emigrants to New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1919 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election People from Castlemaine, Victoria