John William Andrews (8 May 1892 – 27 June 1983) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He was

Mayor of Lower Hutt The city of Lower Hutt, New Zealand, was first proclaimed a borough on 1 February 1891. Prior to this it had been part of Hutt County, initially as a Roads Board and from 1881 as a Town Board. Since 2019, the mayor has been Campbell Barry. Li ...

from 1933 to 1947.

Biography

Andrews was born in

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

in 1892. He was educated at Masterton District High School before enlisting in the army during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was a captain in the

New Zealand Rifle Brigade The New Zealand Rifle Brigade (Earl of Liverpool's Own), affectionately known as The Dinks, was formed on 1 May 1915 as the third brigade of the New Zealand Division, part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. During the First World War it fough ...

and was wounded in action during the

Battle of Messines Battle of Messines may refer to: *Battle of Messines (1914) *Battle of Messines (1917) The Battle of Messines (7–14 June 1917) was an attack by the British Second Army (General Sir Herbert Plumer), on the Western Front, near the village of ...

. After the war he founded and operated a joinery manufacturing business in Masterton and was elected to the Masterton Borough Council. He stood in the in the electorate for the Liberal Party, but was defeated by the incumbent, Reform's George Sykes. In 1927 he moved to

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

and opened a joinery factory. As the company director of the factory he was elected president of the Lower Hutt Chamber of Commerce. He became involved in politics in Lower Hutt as well and joined the United Party and organised James Kerr's campaign at the

1929 Hutt by-election The Hutt by-election was a by-election in the New Zealand electorate of Hutt, an urban seat at the bottom of the North Island. The by-election was held on 18 December 1929, and was precipitated by the resignation of sitting United member of pa ...

. From 1933, he was

for five consecutive terms. He was also a member of the

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

. He was first elected in 1938 (after being defeated in 1935) and served three terms until 1947. As mayor he worked to provide welfare and support to the unemployed. He began a public works scheme to provide employment relief during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

by upgrading the facilities of the

Hutt Recreation Ground The Hutt Recreation Ground is a football, cricket and rugby union ground in Lower Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. The grounds are owned by the Hutt City Council and managed for them by Downer. History In 1905 the area was first used for recre ...

, including a new grandstand being erected. In 1935 he adopted Lower Hutt's first ever systematic town plan. He stood in the in the electorate for the National Party, but could not unseat the incumbent, Labour's

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havin ...

. The 1940s was a period of rapid population growth in the area with the addition of thousands of new state houses in the new suburbs of

Epuni Epuni is a suburb of Lower Hutt, New Zealand situated in the south of the North Island of New Zealand. The suburb lies around one kilometre east of the Lower Hutt CBD. The suburb takes its name from the Te Āti Awa chief Honiana Te Puni. In 2 ...

, Waddington and

Naenae Naenae (, occasionally spelled NaeNae) is a suburb of Lower Hutt. It lies on the eastern edge of the floodplain of the Hutt River, four kilometres from the Lower Hutt Central business district. A small tributary of the Hutt, the Waiwhetu Strea ...

. He was a Battalion Commander in the Home Guard during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. In 1945 he revamped the city's rating system from unimproved value to annual rental value. He was president of the Municipal Association of New Zealand from 1944 to 1947 leading him to take up an appointment as a member of the Local Government Commission. He resigned from the mayoralty towards the end of the triennium to take up his role at the commission. He had another try at winning a parliamentary seat standing in Hutt again at the against Nash (who by this time was party leader). He was unsuccessful once again. In 1954 he retired from the Local Government Commission. Andrews died on 27 June 1983. He was survived by his son and daughter, his wife predeceased him by five years.

Awards and honours

In the 1950 King's Birthday Honours, Andrews was appointed an

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

, in recognition of his 15 years of service as mayor of Lower Hutt. In 1953, he was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal (french: link=no, Médaille du couronnement de la Reine Élizabeth II) is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded a ...

. Andrews Avenue in

city was named after him.

Notes

References

* * 1892 births 1983 deaths People from Masterton New Zealand military personnel of World War I Mayors of Lower Hutt Wellington Harbour Board members New Zealand Liberal Party politicians United Party (New Zealand) politicians New Zealand Legion politicians New Zealand National Party politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1938 New Zealand general election New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire New Zealand military personnel of World War II Unsuccessful candidates in the 1951 New Zealand general election {{NewZealand-mayor-stub