John George Cobbe (1859 – 29 December 1944) was a New Zealand politician 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 ...

, United Party and the National Party.

Early life

Cobbe was born in King's County, Ireland, in 1859. He received his education in

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...

and

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

, and arrived in New Zealand in 1886. He was first employed in Auckland by Smith & Caughey, and then moved to

Feilding Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has ...

to run a general store. In 1941, he became a sheep farmer in the Waihapi Valley north of the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natur ...

Politics and public offices

He represented the Oroua electorate from

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...

to 1938, having stood and come second in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...

and

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

. In the , Cobbe was returned unopposed. He then represented the Manawatu electorate from 1938 to

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...

, when he retired. He was a cabinet minister from 1928 to 1935 in the United Government and the Liberal-Reform coalition Government;

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

from 1929 to 1935,

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

from 1930 to 1935,

Minister of Marine One of France's Secretaries of State under the Ancien Régime was entrusted with control of the French Navy ( Secretary of State of the Navy (France).) In 1791, this title was changed to Minister of the Navy. Before January 1893, this position als ...

from 1928 to 1930 and 1931 to 1935, Minister of Immigration from 1928 to 1930, and

Minister of Industries and Commerce The Minister of Industries and Commerce in New Zealand is a former cabinet position (existing from 1894 to 1972) appointed by the Prime Minister to be in charge of matters of industrial and commercial growth and trade. In 1972 it was replaced w ...

from 1928 to 1929 in the Ward and Forbes Ministries of the United Government. He held a large number of public offices. He was the first chairman of the Feilding Chamber of Commerce. He was chairman of directors of the Feilding Farmers' Freezing Company. From 1911 to 1929, he represented Manawatu on the

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

. For a time, he was the chairman of the Harbour Boards' Association of New Zealand. In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.

Family and death

Cobbe married Frances Amelia Elders, the daughter of Richard Elders of Phillipstown, Feilding. They had three sons, Ernest, Maurice, Richard, and one daughter. One son, Ernest Cobbe, died in action in

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

, Belgium, in 1917; son, Maurice Cobbe, survived the war. His wife died during the 1935 election campaign on 24 November 1935. He died on 29 December 1944 at a private hospital in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

and was buried in Feilding.

Notes

References

* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobbe, John 1859 births 1944 deaths Irish emigrants to New Zealand (before 1923) Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand defence ministers New Zealand Liberal Party MPs New Zealand National Party MPs United Party (New Zealand) MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election People from County Offaly Wellington Harbour Board members Justice ministers of New Zealand

Early life

Politics and public offices

Family and death

Further reading

Notes

References