Joseph Auty Harley (29 September 1895 – 26 September 1973) was the

Mayor of Nelson, New Zealand The mayor of Nelson is the head of the municipal government of Nelson, New Zealand, and presides over the Nelson City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a single transferable vote electoral system. The current mayor is Nick Smith, wh ...

from 1947 to 1956.

Early life

Harley was the son of Charles Robert Harley and was born on 29 September 1895. He was educated at Hampden Street Primary School and attended

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

from 1910 to 1912.''Nelson College Old Boys' Register, 1856–2006'', 6th edition After college he was apprenticed to Anchor Foundry in Nelson.

Military service

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 ...

Harley enlisted in the New Zealand Army and served as a lieutenant in

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 ...

. He was wounded twice, once on 16 September 1916 in the Somme, probably during the second day of the Brigades involvement in the

Battle of Flers-Courcelette A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and again on 14 May 1918.

Business career

Returning to New Zealand, Harley joined his family's brewing business. In 1945, his family merged their brewing business with Dobson's Breweries and Harley became the Managing Director of the new companies: Nelson Breweries Limited, Nelson Hotels Limited, Accommodation Nelson Limited, and Hotel Investments Limited.

Political career

In 1936 Harley was elected as a City Councillor and became Mayor in 1947 when

Edgar Neale Edgar Rollo Neale (24 November 1889 – 25 July 1960), often called Gar Neale, was Mayor and Member of Parliament for Nelson, New Zealand, a strong supporter of the Nelson railway, and a representative cricketer. Background Gar Neale's ...

was elected to Parliament. He remained in office until 1956 when he was succeeded by

Stanley Russell Stanley Ivan Russell (26 March 1906 – 29 November 2005) was a New Zealand local-body politician. He served as Mayor of Nelson from 1956 to 1962. Early life and family Russell was born in Christchurch, the son of George Philip Russell. Hi ...

. He 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 the

1953 Coronation Honours The 1953 Coronation Honours were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours on the occasion of her coronation on 2 June 1953. The honours were published in ''The London Gazette'' on 1 June 1953.New Zealand list: The reci ...

Public service

Harley was Vice President of the Municipal Association of New Zealand, South Island Local Bodies Association, and Nelson College Old Boys' Association; Chairman of the Nelson-West Coast League of Local Bodies; President of the Brewers Association of New Zealand, Nelson Historical Committee, Rotary Nelson, and the Nelson Branch of the Institute of Horticulture; and Patron of the Nelson Civic Music Council, and Nelson Power Boat Club. He was also a member of the Cawthron Trust, Nelson Progress Association, Pelorus Scenic Board, Abel Tasman Park Board, and Nelson Housing Commission.

Personal life

Harley married Hilda Condell in 1920 and they had three children: two sons and a daughter. He died at Nelson on 26 September 1973, and his ashes were buried at

Wakapuaka Cemetery Wakapuaka Cemetery is a cemetery located in Brooklands, Nelson, New Zealand. "Wakapuaka" is Māori for "heaps of aka leaves". Location Wakapuaka Cemetery is located at the southern end of Atawhai Drive in Nelson. The cemetery is located on a hi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harley, Joseph Auty 1895 births 1973 deaths People educated at Nelson College Mayors of Nelson, New Zealand New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Burials at Wakapuaka Cemetery New Zealand military personnel of World War I 20th-century New Zealand politicians