William Lee Martin (7 February 1870 – 21 December 1950), known as Lee Martin, was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life

Martin was born in

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the rai ...

in 1870. He received his education at

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 High School and at

Christchurch Normal School Cranmer Court, the former Christchurch Normal School, was one of the most significant heritage buildings in Christchurch, New Zealand. Its demolition, due to some damage in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, was controversial. History The Canter ...

. After school, he was an officer for

The Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestant church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. The organisation reports a worldwide membership of over 1.7million, comprising soldiers, officers and adherents col ...

for six years. Afterwards, he was a painter and joined the Labour movement in

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

in 1902, was Secretary of the Wanganui Painters’ Union (1909–1912) and, for 4 years, a member of the Wanganui Technical School Board. He became a dairy farmer at

Matangi Matangi ( sa, मातङ्गी, ) is a Hindu goddess. She is one of the Mahavidyas, ten Tantric goddesses and an aspect of the Hindu Divine Mother. She is considered to be the Tantric form of Saraswati, the goddess of music and learning. ...

in the Waikato and had two years as president of the Waikato Farmers’ Union. He was in the Salvation Army and Methodist Church and served for many years on school committees,

Tamahere Tamahere is a locality (located on a semi-rural ward that bears the same name) within Waikato District, New Zealand; on the outskirts of Hamilton. The majority of the Ward is zoned as Country Living, with a minimum lot size of 0.5ha. The la ...

Road Board, Matangi Glaxo Factory Suppliers' Committee and as a member of the Central Waikato Electric Power Board from its formation in 1920. He was a committee member of the

Workers' Educational Association The Workers' Educational Association (WEA), founded in 1903, is the UK's largest voluntary sector provider of adult education and one of Britain's biggest charities. The WEA is a democratic and voluntary adult education movement. It delivers lea ...

(WEA) and member of the

League of Nations Union The League of Nations Union (LNU) was an organization formed in October 1918 in Great Britain to promote international justice, collective security and a permanent peace between nations based upon the ideals of the League of Nations. The League of N ...

co-operation committee.

Political career

He was unsuccessful when he stood for

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

, but in a won Raglan, which was a big upset for the Reform Party. He held Raglan until 1931. He then lost it to Stewart Reid of

Reform Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...

, but won the electorate back in the 1935 general election. He was

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

from 1935 to 1941 in the First Labour Government, first under

Savage Savage may refer to: Places Antarctica * Savage Glacier, Ellsworth Land * Savage Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Savage Ridge, Victoria Land United States * Savage, Maryland, an unincorporated community * Savage, Minnesota, a city * Savage, Mi ...

and then under

Fraser Fraser may refer to: Places Antarctica * Fraser Point, South Orkney Islands Australia * Fraser, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Belconnen * Division of Fraser (Australian Capital Territory), a former federal e ...

. In September 1939 when Cabinet was passing nearly 30 war regulations as laid down in the War Book, Lee Martin denied knowledge of one of his regulations. Fraser became tetchy until Nash leaned over and silently pointed to the minister's signature on the paper. While still a member of the Cabinet he retired as a minister in 1941 owing to ill-health. He subsequently retired from Parliament at the 1943 general election. He was appointed to the Legislative Council on 31 January 1946, and served there until his death on 21 December 1950, only days before the Legislative Council was abolished (on 31 December). He was buried at Hamilton East Cemetery.

Family

In 1894 Lee Martin married Harriet Wilhelmina Warnes, of Greymouth, at the Salvation Army Citadel,

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, she also being a Salvation Army officer. They lived in Wellington and Wanganui before farming at Matangi from about 1912. They had three sons and three daughters, one of whom was nurse Iris Martin.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, William Lee 1870 births 1950 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand farmers Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand Methodists Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand Labour Party MLCs People from Oamaru New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1931 New Zealand general election Burials at Hamilton East Cemetery