Ronald Morrison Barclay (2 September 1914 – 29 April 2003) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Early life and family

Born in Little River, New Zealand in 1914, he received his education at the Christchurch Technical College. When he was 12 his father died and the burden of financial provision for his family fell to him at an early age which curtailed his aspiration of training to be a teacher which in later life he admitted still causing him to feel embittered. He came from a deeply political family with his father, Morrison Barclay, being a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

member and his uncle John was a Reform Party member. Barclay's other uncle Jim Barclay represented the electorate for the Labour Party from until his defeat in 1943. His cousin Bruce Barclay represented Christchurch Central for the Labour Party from until his death in 1979. He himself joined the Labour Party and in 1933 he was a campaign committee member for Dan Sullivan's mayoral campaign in Christchurch. Likewise in he was a campaign committee member for

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. ...

in . Barclay married Joy Margaret Lusty in 1940 and they had one son and one daughter. Barclay was on home service 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 opposing ...

. Following the war he became a farmer, purchasing land in Kaiwaka. In 1955 he and his family moved to New Plymouth and took over ownership of a shoe store at the suggestion of mayor Everard Gilmour. He was a member of the Auckland Education Board (1949–1954) and the New Plymouth High School board (1958–1960). He was a member of the Taranaki Hospital board from 1960 to 1966. He was a trustee of the TSB Bank from 1958, and was the bank's president in 1963 and 1974.

Political career

Upon his discharge from the army he became active in his local branch of the Labour Party and was on the party campaign committee in the electorate in both the 1946 and 1949 elections. He was invited to be Labour's candidate in Rodney at the

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

election but declined, citing family responsibilities. He was likewise offered the candidacy in 1954 but again refused as he was preparing to leave the electorate and was already in the process of selling his farm. Barclay eventually agreed to stand for the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...

for the

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

electorate of New Plymouth, but was narrowly defeated. He stood twice more unsuccessfully in

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 * Jan ...

and

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Co ...

before finally winning the seat on the fourth attempt in 1966. He served as Senior Government Whip in

Norman Kirk Norman Eric Kirk (6 January 1923 – 31 August 1974) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 29th prime minister of New Zealand from 1972 until his sudden death in 1974. Born into poverty in Southern Canterbury, Kirk left school at a ...

's 1972–1975

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

, and colleague

Warren Freer Warren Wilfred Freer (27 December 1920 – 29 March 2013) was a New Zealand politician and member of the Labour Party. He represented the Mount Albert electorate from 1947 to . He is internationally known as the first Western politician ever ...

said Barclay was an outstanding whip. When Barclay realised that Arthur Faulkner had the votes to win the first ballot for deputy to Bill Rowling in 1974, he got Freer (who was not interested in the position, but who agreed that Faulkner was not leadership material) nominated to split the first ballot vote. They both preferred either

Colin Moyle Colin James Moyle (born 18 July 1929) is a former politician of the New Zealand Labour Party who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1963 to 1976 and again from 1981 to 1990. He was a Government minister in the Third Labour and Fourth ...

(Barclay) or

Bob Tizard Robert James Tizard (7 June 1924 – 28 January 2016) was a Labour politician from New Zealand. He served as the sixth deputy prime minister, the minister of Finance, minister of Health and minister of Defence. Biography Early life and career ...

(Freer), and Tizard won on the fourth ballot. He was the first Deputy Chairman of Committees (1975). He was unexpectedly defeated in the swing against Labour in the . He declined the offer to stand for New Plymouth in and subsequently he entered local politics serving as a New Plymouth city councillor from 1977 to 1989, including three years as deputy mayor.

Honours and awards

Barclay was appointed a

Member 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 the community, in the

1978 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1978 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, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginn ...

. In the 1986 New Year Honours, he was made 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. In 1990, Barclay was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.

Death and legacy

Barclay died in New Plymouth on 29 April 2003 and his ashes were buried in Awanui Cemetery. He was survived by his wife Joy. Ron Barclay Drive in the New Plymouth coastal suburb of

Fitzroy Fitzroy or FitzRoy may refer to: People As a given name *Several members of the Somerset family (Dukes of Beaufort) have this as a middle-name: **FitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan (1788–1855) ** Henry Charles FitzRoy Somerset, 8th Duke of Beau ...

was named in his honour in 2004.

Notes

References

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, Ron 1914 births 2003 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs People from Taranaki New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Companions of the Queen's Service Order Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand Local politicians in New Zealand Burials at Awanui Cemetery Unsuccessful candidates in the 1957 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1963 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election People from Banks Peninsula New Zealand military personnel of World War II