The Hon. John Rigg MLC CMG (1 November 1858 – 20 October 1943) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Rigg was born in

St Kilda, Victoria St Kilda is an inner seaside suburb in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, 6 km (4 miles) south-east of Melbourne's Melbourne City Centre, Central Business District, located within the City of Port Phillip Local governmen ...

, Australia in 1858 and was a typographer and union secretary. His family came to New Zealand in 1863 or 1864 and initially settled 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 ...

, before moving to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

where Rigg received his education. He was the first President 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 ...

in 1905. Following his father's job loss, Rigg had to leave school aged twelve years to support the family financially. John Rigg experienced poverty and unemployment and this caused 'his private revolution'. He describes this and refers to his Scottish noble heritage: 'found in me the makings of a snob and left me a Socialist.'. John Rigg became active in leading apprentice printers rights and women's rights and later expressed this through his 1892 roles of president of the Wellington Tailoresses' Union, Trades and Labour Council, and Typographical Society. He was first appointed to the Legislative Council as a Labour representative on 15 October 1892, as one of four moderate union leaders appointed. He resigned on 27 May 1893. He was appointed again a fortnight later on 6 June 1893. At the end of the seven-year terms, he was reappointed on 6 June 1900 and 1 July 1907. Rigg was elected Chairman of Committees on 8 July 1903 and held that title until 6 July 1904. He was Acting

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

from 5 January to 7 July 1904. Because he refused to condemn the 1913 waterfront strike in Wellington, the Reform Government did not reappoint him to the Legislative Council in 1914. Rigg sought the Labour Party nominations for the and s, but was not successful. Another highlight in his life was being among the escorts with King George VI in 1903 to the Pacific Islands. He moved to

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

around 1920 and his political activity stopped. In 1937, the First Labour Government acknowledged Rigg's contribution to the formation of the party by awarding him a CMG. He died in Christchurch on 20 October 1943 and was buried two days later at

Bromley Cemetery Bromley Cemetery is a cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand. It occupies approximately 10 hectares to the east of the city centre, on the corner of Keighleys Road and Linwood Avenue. The Christchurch City Council maintains and administers the ce ...

. He was survived by his second wife Louise Rigg, who died in 1955.

Notes

References

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External links

Biography in 1966 ''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rigg, John 1858 births 1943 deaths Australian emigrants to New Zealand Speakers of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand left-wing activists New Zealand trade unionists Independent Political Labour League MLCs Social Democratic Party (New Zealand) MLCs Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council Burials at Bromley Cemetery Politicians from Wellington City Politicians from Melbourne