James Wright Munro (22 February 1870 – 27 May 1945) was a New Zealand politician of the
Labour Party.
Early life
Munro was born in
Dunedin
Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...
in 1870. He was a baker by trade, and president of the Dunedin Bakers' Union in 1907. He started his own business in partnership with
Peter Neilson (who also became a Labour MP) after victimisation by employers. Munro was president of the Dunedin branch of the
Independent Political Labour League
The Independent Political Labour League (IPLL) was a small New Zealand political party. It was the second organised political party to win a seat in the New Zealand House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and was a forerunner of the m ...
(IPLL) in 1907. In 1911, he was national president of the
New Zealand Socialist Party
The New Zealand Socialist Party was founded in 1901, promoting the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangible success, but it neverthe ...
.
Political career
He first stood for Parliament when he contested the electorate in the for the IPLL. On this occasion, he was beaten by
John A. Millar of the
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 ...
. He contested the same electorate in the for the Socialist Party as one of three candidates and was eliminated in the
first ballot.
He unsuccessfully contested the in the electorate for the
United Labour Party against
Charles Statham
Sir Charles Ernest Statham (10 May 1875 – 5 March 1946) was a New Zealand politician, and the ninth Speaker of the House of Representatives, from 1923 to 1935.
Private life
He was born in Dunedin in 1875, and trained in law, practising in hi ...
of the
Reform Party. Statham resigned after the election after irregularities in the counting of the vote turned a 12-vote lead for Munro into a 12-vote loss. Munro and Statham contested the resulting , which was narrowly won by Statham.
Munro and Statham contested the Dunedin Central electorate again in the , Munro standing for the Labour Party, and Statham as an
Independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
. The incumbent was successful.
Munro represented the electorate of
Dunedin North
Dunedin North, also known as North Dunedin, is a major inner suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin, located northeast of the city centre. It contains many of the city's major institutions, including the city's university, polytechnic, ma ...
in Parliament from the to 1925, and from to 1945, when he died.
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 ...
.
He was not appointed a minister in 1935 as he had a reputation for being lazy, and had embarrassed
Savage
Savage may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land
* Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land
* Savage Ridge, Victoria Land
United States
* Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community
* Savage, Minnesota, a city
* Savage, Mi ...
a week before the 1935 election by stating that:
:"if anyone tried to stop a Labour government carrying out its policy, Labour might have to ‘smash things’ and put directors and managers in gaol on a bread and water diet ‘as some of our Communist friends were dealt with’ until they learnt to obey the government".
He was on the
Dunedin City Council
The Dunedin City Council ( mi, Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ōtepoti) is the local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Dunedin is Jules ...
(1927–1945) and
Otago Harbour Board. From 1937 until 1938 he was Deputy Mayor of Dunedin. He died in Dunedin on 27 May 1945, and his ashes were buried at
Andersons Bay Cemetery
Andersons Bay Cemetery is a major cemetery in the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located to the southeast of the city centre, on a rocky outcrop which forms the inland part of Lawyers Head, a promontory which juts into the Pacific Ocean. The ...
.
His son, David Johnston Munro, was Labour's parliamentary candidate for the electorate at the . He lost to National MP
Tom Macdonald.
He later sought the Labour nomination at the
1953 North Dunedin by-election but was not selected.
Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Munro, Jim
1870 births
1945 deaths
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
United Labour Party (New Zealand) politicians
Independent Political Labour League politicians
New Zealand Socialist Party politicians
Dunedin City Councillors
Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand
New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1908 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1911 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1914 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1919 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election
Burials at Andersons Bay Cemetery