Peter James O'Brien (8 June 1874 – 28 September 1947) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Early life

O'Brien was born in 1874 at Forest Creek, near

Castlemaine, Victoria Castlemaine ( , Variation in Australian English, non-locally also ) is a town in west central Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, in the Goldfields region of Victoria, Goldfields region about 123 kilometres (76 miles) northwest by road ...

, Australia. His parents of Irish descent were Terence O’Brien, a miner, and Bridget O’Leary. He was christened Peter James, but his first name was never used; many knew him as Jim or Briney. After having worked as a miner in various

Australian states The states and territories are the national subdivisions and second level of government of Australia. The states are partially sovereign, administrative divisions that are self-governing polities, having ceded some sovereign rights to the feder ...

, O'Brien emigrated to New Zealand in 1904 and found employment as a coalminer in

Reefton Reefton is a small town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast region of New Zealand, approximately northeast of Greymouth, New Zealand, Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is to ...

. O'Brien became active in the socialist circles that developed on the West Coast. He became president of the Westland Certificated Engine-drivers' and Firemen's Union, and was the president of the Runanga Co-operative Society.

Political career

Standing on a socialist

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, he was voted onto the inaugural Runanga Borough Council in 1912. In 1913, he supported Paddy Webb's successful

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

campaign in the electorate for the

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 Form ...

, and later became the president of the Runanga branch of the party. He was a member of the Greymouth Borough Council for eight years and he was deputy mayor for three of them. He was also a member of the Grey Power Board. O'Brien was twice president of the Grey branch of the Labour Party and helped to establish the '' Grey River Argus'' as a Labour daily newspaper. He represented the Westland electorate in Parliament from the , when he defeated Tom Seddon. He lost the electorate in the to Tom Seddon, but won it back in , and held it to 1947, when he died. He was the senior Government whip from 1939 until his promotion to the cabinet in 1942. He was a Minister in the First Labour Government. He was Minister of Transport (9 December 1942 – 28 September 1947),

Minister of Marine One of France's Secretaries of State under the Ancien Régime was entrusted with control of the French Navy ( Secretary of State of the Navy (France).) In 1791, this title was changed to Minister of the Navy. Before January 1893, this position als ...

(9 December 1942 – 28 September 1947),

Minister of Labour Minister of labour (in British English) or labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

(27 June 1946 – 19 December 1946) and Minister of Mines (27 June 1946 – 19 December 1946). He remained an MP until his death, which caused a by-election held in December 1947 that was won by Labour's

Jim Kent William James Kent (born February 10, 1960) is an American research scientist and computer programmer. He has been a contributor to genome database projects and the 2003 winner of the Benjamin Franklin Award (Bioinformatics), Benjamin Franklin Aw ...

. In 1935, he was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

Family and death

O'Brien married Kate Teresa Flaherty on 29 June 1909 in

Greymouth Greymouth () (Māori language, Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast List of regions in New Zealand, region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The populat ...

. He died in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on 28 September 1947. His wife survived him; they had no children.

Notes

References

* * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, James 1874 births 1947 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs Social Democratic Party (New Zealand) politicians Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand people of Irish descent Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Australian emigrants to New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1919 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election People from Castlemaine, Victoria