William James Gaudin (17 April 1877 – 19 November 1969) was a New Zealand merchant and politician.

Biography

Early life and career

Gaudin was born in Wellington in 1877, his parents having migrated to New Zealand from Jersey. He was educated at Te Aro School and Wellington College. He was a participant in multiple sports as a youth, particularly rugby and rowing. He was a captain of the Wellington Rowing Club and later was the club president for over fifty years. He entered business as a merchant, later opening his own firm of coal and grain merchants, W. J. Gaudin and Sons. On 11 June 1902, Gaudin married Olive Banks at St Mark's Church, Wellington, and the couple went on to have four sons and two daughters. Gaudin Street in Rongotai was named after his father, William Gaudin senior.

Political career

At the 1919 local elections, Gaudin stood for the Wellington City Council on the Citizens League ticket, but was unsuccessful. At a 1920 by-election he was elected to the council, remaining a member until 1925 when he did not seek re-election. Despite retiring from the council, he contested another by-election in 1926, but was defeated by the Labour Party candidate John Glover. At the 1927 election he was elected for a second spell on the council. He remained a member until 1947 when he retired. He was chairman of the council's library committee and was also elected president of the New Zealand Library Association Inc. between 1936 and 1937. Ahead of the 1944 election he put himself forward for the mayoralty, one of two councillors challenging incumbent Thomas Hislop for the Citizens' nomination. He was beaten by Hislop, but the challenge eventually led him to reconsider and retire (albeit reluctantly). Gaudin stood for parliament as an independent candidate at the in the electorate, but polled only 4.25% of the vote. In 1939, Gaudin was appointed a member of the Wellington Hospital Board to fill a mid-term vacancy after the death of Sarah Snow. His appointment was controversial as Ruby Muriel Collins was expected to be awarded the vacated seat owing to being the highest polling unsuccessful candidate at the 1938 election. Despite Gaudin not having contested the previous election, he was appointed by the city council to fill the vacancy. Labour councillors opposed this and voted for Collins, arguing it was more fitting to replace a female Labour member with a female Labour candidate. The appointment was also crucial as it shifted the balance of power on the board, giving the Citizens' a majority of 10 seats to 8 (having previously been 9 seats each). He remained a member until 1950 when he retired. From 1947 to 1950, he was the board's chairman, defeating the incumbent

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in a ballot by eleven votes to five at the first meeting of the term. Gaudin was a member of the Wellington Harbour Board for one term from 1947 to 1950 for the Wellington City constituency.

Later life and death

In the

1958 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1958 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries ...

, Gaudin 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 ...

, for services to local government in Wellington. In later life, Gaudin lived in

Paekākāriki Paekākāriki () is a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island, New Zealand, and one of the northernmost suburbs of Wellington. It lies north of Porirua and northeast of the Wellington CBD. The town's name comes from ...

. In November 1958, he suffered shock and scalp injuries when he drove his car off the road and rolled down a bank between

Pukerua Bay Pukerua Bay is a small seaside suburb at the southern end of the Kapiti Coast, New Zealand. In local government terms it is the northernmost suburb of Porirua City, in the Wellington Region. It is 12 km north of the Porirua City Centre on ...

and

Plimmerton The suburb of Plimmerton lies in the northwest part of the city of Porirua in New Zealand, adjacent to some of the city's more congenial beaches. State Highway 59 and the North Island Main Trunk railway line pass just east of the main shopping an ...

. Two passengers were also injured and all three were admitted to

Wellington Hospital Wellington Hospital might refer to: * Wellington Hospital, New Zealand, a hospital in Wellington, New Zealand * Wellington Hospital, London The Wellington Hospital in St John's Wood, London is the largest private hospital in the United Kingdom, an ...

. Gaudin died on 19 November 1969 at Wellington Hospital. He was survived by three of his sons and two daughters. His wife and one son had predeceased him.

Personal life

Gaudin was a religious man and was an active in the congregation of St Mark's Church in Wellington. He served in many offices for the church, including as synodsman from 1913 to 1953. He was a member of the

St Mark's Church School , motto_translation = Make your mark every day , denomination = Anglican Church of Australia , type = Private, Independent Christian school , established = , staff = 46 , address = 13 Dufferin Street , region = Basin ...

committee from 1917 until 1965. He was also a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and was a past master of the New Zealand Pacific No. 2, Wellington's oldest lodge.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaudin, William James 1877 births 1969 deaths People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand Freemasons 20th-century New Zealand politicians Wellington City Councillors Wellington Harbour Board members Wellington Hospital Board members Unsuccessful candidates in the 1935 New Zealand general election New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire