Reginald Alfred Keeling (15 January 1904 – 7 August 1991) was a New Zealand politician of the
Labour Party.
Biography
Early life and career
Keeling was born in 1904 in
Fulham
Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
to Alfred J. Keeling. He was educated at Fulham Central School. Upon leaving school he joined Maypole Margarine Works as a cadet in the accounting department. After obtaining his articles he emigrated to New Zealand in 1928 to join Waitemata Electric Power Board as accountant. In 1932 he was appointed manager of Morris Hedstrom Tonga. He was a social activist and an active member of the Labor Party in both England and New Zealand upon returning to New Zealand in 1936, he moved from accounting to social work with the newly formed Child Welfare Division of the Education Department.
He was promoted to District Child Welfare Officer for the East Coast based in
Gisborne. He remained in that post until entering Parliament in 1949. An avid sportsman, he was a football referee for twenty years, played senior club tennis well into his thirties and was a keen keel boat sailor. He was President of Poverty Bay Football Association 1940-61, President NZFA 1960-61, President of Auckland Football Association 1961-87.
Local politics
From that point he made a career well into his eighties out of both national and local body politics. He was Deputy Mayor of Gisborne 1953-59, Member of Cook Hospital Board 1953-61, Member Waitemata Electric Power Board 1965-87, Mayor of Henderson 1965-74, Member Auckland Regional Authority 1965-81, Deputy Mayor of Waitemata City 1977-80. In the
1980 New Year Honours
The 1980 New Year Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 31 December 1979 to celeb ...
, Keeling was appointed a
Companion of the Queen's Service Order
The Queen's Service Order, established by royal warrant of Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to the Crown or similar services within the pu ...
for public services.
Member of Parliament
He represented the
Poverty Bay
Poverty Bay (Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa'') is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for from Young Nick's Head in the southwest to Tuaheni Point in the north ...
electorate of
Gisborne from to 1951, when he was defeated by
Harry Dudfield
Harry Dudfield (12 May 1912 – 19 July 1987) was a New Zealand politician of the New Zealand National Party, National Party.
Biography
Dudfield was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, Gisborne in 1912. He worked for A. and T. Burt until World War ...
of
National
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
, and again from
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
to
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
, when he was again defeated, this time by the National candidate
Esme Tombleson
Esme Irene Tombleson (née Lawson, 1 August 1917 – 30 July 2010) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. An Australian child prodigy who recited Shakespeare, she had a career in theatre and ballet. During the war, her sharp mind ...
.
Keeling was
Chairman of Committees during the
Second Labour Government
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds eac ...
(1957–60). The Labour government held a working majority of one meaning the management of business in the house became vital to avoid the government losing an important vote. Keeling was praised for his skills in conducting committee business, especially for his quick rulings which were both firm and stuck, setting good precedence.
He then represented the
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
electorate of
Grey Lynn
Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914.
Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of the ...
briefly in from 18 May to 29 October, after the death of
Fred Hackett
Frederick Hackett (1901 – 19 March 1963) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was a minister in both the First and Second Labour Governments of New Zealand and later the deputy leader of the opposition.
Early life
Hackett w ...
. He stood for
North Shore in the
1963 general election but was defeated.
Death
Keeling died on 7 August 1991, aged 87.
Notes
References
*
*
*
Richard Keeling's obituary
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeling, Reginald
1904 births
1991 deaths
Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1963 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1951 New Zealand general election
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates
New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates
Companions of the Queen's Service Order
Auckland regional councillors
Members of district health boards in New Zealand