Robert Frederick Way (1872 – 30 June 1947) was a New Zealand politician and trade unionist. He was an organiser and candidate for the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

then the Labour Party standing many time for office himself.

Biography

Early life

Way was born in 1872 in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He spent his early years working as a journalist and studied at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

without graduating before moving to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in 1900. Once in New Zealand he likewise worked as a journalist and became involved in the local labour movement. He was a regular contributor to the ''

Maoriland Worker The ''Maoriland Worker'', later called ''The Standard'', was a leading New Zealand labour journal of the early 20th century. It was launched in 1910 by the Shearers' Union and was initially published monthly (Frank Langstone was involved). The ne ...

'', New Zealand's leading labour journal of the time. Prior to

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 highly active in the Auckland trade unions and was involved in the

Waihi miners' strike The Waihi miners' strike was a major strike action in 1912 by gold miners in the New Zealand town of Waihi. It is widely regarded as the most significant industrial action in the history of New Zealand's labour movement. It resulted in one strik ...

. Way was secretary of the Auckland Waterside Workers' Union and president of the Auckland Coopers' and Curriers' Unions.

Political career

Way stood for election to the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...

five times. He stood for the

New Zealand Socialist Party The New Zealand Socialist Party was founded in 1901, promoting the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangible success, but it neverthe ...

in in and in in . He later stood as a Labour Party candidate in in , in in and in in . He also unsuccessfully stood for the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

in 1905, 1907,

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 ...

and 1921. He also sought the Labour nomination for the in the seat, but was beaten by

John A. Lee John Alfred Alexander Lee (31 October 1891 – 13 June 1982) was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialism in New Zealand, socialists in New Zealand's political history. Lee was elected as a me ...

Death

Way died in 1947.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Way, Robert Frederick 1872 births 1947 deaths Australian emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand trade unionists New Zealand journalists New Zealand Labour Party politicians Social Democratic Party (New Zealand) politicians New Zealand Socialist Party politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1905 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1908 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1919 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election