Sir John Pearce Luke (16 July 1858 – 7 December 1931) was a New Zealand politician. Luke was Mayor of Wellington from 1913 to 1921 and Member of Parliament for Wellington Suburbs 1908–1911 and

Wellington North Wellington North was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1953. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act, 1867 which divided the County of Well ...

1918–1928. His brother

Charles Manley Luke Sir Charles Manley Luke (4 February 1857 – 19 April 1941) was a New Zealand politician and company director. He served as mayor of Wellington in 1895. His brother, Sir John Luke, was later mayor of Wellington from 1913 to 1921. Biography Ear ...

had previously also been Mayor of Wellington in 1895. Sir John Pearce was nicknamed ''Peanut'' because he was short.

Early life

Born at St Just, 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, to Samuel and Ann Luke, John Luke came to New Zealand with his parents in July 1874 after the Cornish tin industry failed. He completed two years of an apprenticeship as an engineer before leaving for Feilding, New Zealand from where, the family were informed, they would be able to take up engineering work 50 kilometres away on the coast at Foxton while they developed the Fielding property. However, "When the Luke's landed at Wellington they discovered that Foxton was merely a paper township; it was a name on the map and the only industry there was the extraction of pipis from the beach by Maoris." Luke completed his engineering apprenticeship with The Lion Foundry, and worked on various projects before joining his father's newly established Te Aro Engineering Works in 1879. After initially struggling the business was successful and constructed several steamships. In June 1886 his oldest brother William died "after a short and painful illness in his 34th year" followed by his next oldest brother, Samuel, at 32 years of age, in December.

City council and mayor

Luke was first elected to the city council in 1898 and served between that year and 1911. He was responsible for the expansion of the Wellington tramway system. For many years he was president of the New Zealand Engineers and Iron Masters Association, and was actively associated with the Wellington Industrial Association, the Wellington District Hospital Board, the Wellington Technical Education Board, and the Navy League. The ''Returned Soldiers Association'' conferred upon them the honour of life membership of the organisation. Luke contested the

1905 Wellington City mayoral election The 1905 Wellington City mayoral election was part of the New Zealand local elections held that same year. In 1905, elections were held for the Mayor of Wellington plus other local government positions including fifteen city councillors. The pol ...

and of the six candidates, he came fourth, with Thomas William Hislop elected.

Member of Parliament

His parliamentary career began in

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

with his election as member for Wellington Suburbs for the Liberal Party, but he lost his seat at the 1911 general election to Reform candidate William Henry Dillon Bell. From 1911 until 1918 he was not a member of Parliament, and was defeated for

Wellington South Wellington South was a Canadian federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 as the "South Riding o ...

, standing now as a Reform candidate, by Labour's

Alfred Hindmarsh Alfred Humphrey Hindmarsh (18 April 1860 – 13 November 1918) was a New Zealand politician, lawyer and unionist. He died in the 1918 influenza epidemic. He served as the first leader of the modern New Zealand Labour Party. Early life Hindmars ...

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

. He was re-elected to Parliament in the as a member of the Reform Party and again

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

, in the

electorate. After the he was put forward as a candidate for Speaker of the House of Representatives after the previous speaker Sir

Frederic Lang Sir Frederic William Lang (1852 – 5 March 1937) was a New Zealand politician, initially an independent conservative, then from 1914 a member of the Reform Party. He was the eighth Speaker of the House of Representatives, from 1913 to 1922. ...

lost his parliamentary seat. As the Reform government had lost their overall majority, Luke declined nomination for speaker to allow an independent MP,

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 ...

, to become speaker thereby helping the government's voting strength. He held this electorate continuously until the 1928 general election, when he was defeated by the

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate Charles Chapman, by a margin of 47 votes. Luke was married in 1880 to Jacobina McGregor. He appointed a Knight Bachelor in the 1921 King's Birthday Honours, having previously been made a

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

in the

1917 King's Birthday Honours The 1917 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

. He was leader of the New Zealand delegation which visited South Africa in 1924 in connection with the Empire Parliamentary Association. He died suddenly on 7 December 1931, and was survived by his wife, four sons, and one daughter. His funeral service was held at

St. Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Gr ...

in Wellington, followed by a private cremation, with his ashes buried at Karori Cemetery.

Miscellanea

* ''Lukes Lane'' in the

Wellington CBD Wellington Central is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, and the financial heart of the both the city and the Wellington Region. It comprises the northern part of the central business district, with the majority of Wellington's high-rise build ...

is named after the family business, Lukes' Foundry, which was sited there; years later, Sir John Pearce's sons set up Luke Bros foundry near Chaffers Street. Lukes' Foundry built New Zealand's first steel ship, and several lighthouses. * Sir John Pearce and his wife, Lady Jacobina Luke, donated the decorative iron gates at the entrance to Central Park, in Brooklyn, Wellington. * Lady Luke was President of the

Victoria League The Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship (1901–present) is a voluntary charitable organisation that connects people from Commonwealth countries. There are currently branches in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand with affiliated organisatio ...

Wellington Branch from 1920 to 1922Stokes, Brian (1979) ''A History of Victoria League for Commonwealth Friendship in New Zealand''

References

External links