John Bitchener (1864 – 10 March 1952) was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He was a cabinet minister from 1933 to 1935 in the

Reform Government of New Zealand The Reform Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1912 to 1928. It is perhaps best remembered for its anti-trade union stance in the Waihi miners' strike of 1912 and a dockworkers' strike the following year. It also govern ...

Early life

Bitchener was born in 1864 in Stagsden,

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

, England. His father was Alfred Bitchener, who was born in 1844 in

Cranfield Cranfield is a village and civil parish in the west of Bedfordshire, England, situated between Bedford and Milton Keynes. It had a population of 4,909 in 2001. increasing to 5,369 at the 2011 Census. The parish is in Central Bedfordshire uni ...

, England. His mother was Mary Ann Bitchener (née Welch), and his parents had married on 9 February 1864. John Bitchener had two younger sisters. After his wife's death, Alfred Bitchener decided to emigrate to New Zealand together with his sister Anne, who had married a brother of his late wife. The Bitchener and Welch families arrived in

Lyttelton Harbour Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand; the other is Akaroa Harbour on the southern coast. It enters from the northern coast of the peninsula, heading in a pred ...

in January 1875 on the ''Lady Jocelyn'' and the Welchs had two infants at the time. Alfred Bitchener moved to the

Waimate Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main No ...

District and worked as a farm labourer for three or four years, and then became a saw milling contractor. John Bitchener received his education at Waimate Public School and then joined his father as a contractor in Waimate, before moving to

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

for four years. His father bought a farm in

Hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

, some southwest of Waimate, and John Bitchener moved to live there, too.

Public roles

Like his father, John Bitchener joined many organisations and took leading roles. He was chairman of the Hook School Committee, he was a member of the Waimate County Council for eleven years, was a member of the

Timaru Boys' High School Timaru Boys' High School (also known as TBHS), established in 1880, is a single sex state (public) secondary school located in the port city of Timaru, South Canterbury, New Zealand. TBHS caters for years 9 to 13 (ages 12 to 19 years). At th ...

Board including chairman for some time, was a member of the Timaru Harbour Board, was on the Waimate High School Board, and was president of the South Canterbury Farmers' Union. He was a member of the Advisory Board of the Farmers' Union in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, was chairman of the Waimate Cooperative Flour Milling Company, and a director of the Canterbury Farmers' Cooperative Association. He was elected as Member of Parliament for Waitaki in the 1919 general election, but was defeated in

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * ...

. He was Minister of Works under George Forbes from 10 April 1933 to 6 December 1935, when the Coalition Government was defeated. 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 J ...

. In the 1950 New Year Honours, Bitchener 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 public and municipal services.

Family

While living in Southland, Bitchener married Mary Laughton from Scotland in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , mi, Waihōpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...

in 1887. Their son was John Alfred Bitchener. They had a daughter, Jessie Laughton Bitchener, who died on 6 December 1895 at age four. Another daughter, Eva Laughton Bitchener, lived until old age and died in 1985 aged 89. His father, Alfred Bitchener, died suddenly in January 1918 at Waimate. His wife, Mary, died on 17 August 1946. John Bitchener died on 10 March 1952. Apart from John Alfred Bitchener, all of these are buried in the Bitchener family grave at Old Waimate Cemetery.

Notes

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bitchener, John 1864 births 1952 deaths Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire Unsuccessful candidates in the 1935 New Zealand general election People from the Borough of Bedford People from Waimate English emigrants to New Zealand Burials at Waimate Cemetery