Sir Stanley Austin Whitehead (8 October 1907 – 9 January 1976) was a New Zealand politician of the
Labour Party. He was the eighteenth
Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1973 to 1976, and Member of Parliament for the
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
electorate from 1957 to 1976.
Biography
Early life and family
Whitehead was born in
Reefton
Reefton is a small town in the West Coast region of New Zealand, some 80 km northeast of Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is 44 km south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is 34 km to the north, Maruia is 63  ...
, on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
of New Zealand. He was brought up in the mining town of
Waiuta
Waiuta is the location of a historic mining town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is now abandoned and considered a ghost town. Located 58 km north of Greymouth and 21 km south of Reefton in Ikamatua, New Zealand ...
, and left school at the age of 14 to enter work as a saw miller. He was an active sportsman in his youth competed in axemen's events.
Whitehead played
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
for Inangahua and Blackball on the West Coast as a . He later was a referee and controlled provincial matches.
[''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1994'', ]New Zealand Rugby Football League
The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...
, 1994. p.209
In 1928, he married Frances Edna Clark, at Greymouth. They had seven children together. The family moved to
Inangahua Junction
Inangahua is a small settlement in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. It consists of three settled areas: Inangahua Junction at the confluence of the Inangahua and Buller Rivers, north of Reefton and southeast of Westport; Inagahua L ...
and he became secretary of the Inangahua school committee. He moved to
Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
and worked for Transport Nelson. He was on the Auckland Point school committee and was also the president of the parent teacher association. He was also on the council of the
Nelson Polytechnic. He was an active trade unionist and was a member of the Nelson Trades Council for over 20 years.
Local political involvement
In 1953 he was elected
Nelson City Council
Nelson City Council is a unitary local authority. It has its headquarters in Nelson.
History
Nelson City Council was created in 1992.
Local governance of Nelson began with Nelson Province in 1853, which covered the entire upper South Island ...
and served four terms, including being
Deputy Mayor
The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments.
Duties and functions
Many elected dep ...
in his final term (1962–65).
In 1957 he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Nelson Harbour Board and became heavily involved with the development of
Port Nelson. In 1971 he was elected the board's deputy chairman and was still a member of the board at the time of his death.
He was on multiple school boards including over 20 years on the Board of Governors of Nelson College. He was the patron of several sporting clubs, including rugby, boxing, soccer, marching, bowls, and rugby league.
He gave up most sporting participation with age but took up playing bowls which became his favourite form of relaxation.
Member of Parliament
Whitehead was first elected to Parliament in the in the electorate. He held the electorate until his death in 1976. He had contested the seat twice unsuccessfully before in and . After he became Labour leader in 1965,
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 ...
designated Whitehead as Shadow Minister of Internal Affairs, Local Government and Civil Defence.
Whitehead featured along with
Sonja Davies
Sonja Margaret Loveday Davies (née Vile; 11 November 1923 – 12 June 2005) was a New Zealand trade unionist, peace campaigner, and Member of Parliament. On 6 February 1987, Davies was the third appointee to the Order of New Zealand."The ...
in protests over the closure of the
Nelson railway line, which Davies wrote about in her book ''Bread and Roses'', and also in the television series of same name. Davies was secretary of Whitehead's first successful election campaign in 1957.
In 1972, Whitehead was asked by
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
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 ...
to become the
Speaker of the House of Representatives during the
Third Labour Government. Whitehead hosted
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
and
Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...
at the
1974 Commonwealth Games
The 1974 British Commonwealth Games ( mi, 1974 Taumāhekeheke Commonwealth) were held in Christchurch, New Zealand from 24 January to 2 February 1974. The bid vote was held in Edinburgh at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games. The Games were off ...
and had the duty of presiding after the death of Kirk later that year. Whitehead stated that his time as speaker was the highlight of his career.
He suffered a heart attack in the last parliamentary session of 1975. After a period in hospital he recovered enough to campaign for re-election in Nelson. A day after his re-election he suffered a further attack and was hospitalised for 10 days.
In the
1976 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1976 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. They were announced on 1 January 1976 to celebra ...
, Whitehead was appointed a
Knight Bachelor
The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are the ...
, in recognition of his long public service to central and local government. After the surprise defeat of the Labour government he planned to retire at the .
Death
Less than a week after being awarded his knighthood, at the age of 68 years, he died of a heart attack while welcoming a British ship,
HMS ''Berwick''. He was attending the official welcome luncheon at
Port Nelson and having a drink with Captain Chatterton Dickson when he said he was "going to have a turn" then he collapsed on the deck. One of the ship's lieutenants and first aid men gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and a heart massage while the Mayor
Roy McLennan
Roy Alexander McLennan (30 October 1924 – 18 September 2013) was a New Zealand local-body politician. He served as Mayor of Nelson, New Zealand, mayor of Nelson from 1971 to 1980.
Early life and family
Born in Wellington in 1924, McLennan wa ...
rang an ambulance.
He was rushed to Nelson Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
He was awarded a civic funeral by the
Nelson City Council
Nelson City Council is a unitary local authority. It has its headquarters in Nelson.
History
Nelson City Council was created in 1992.
Local governance of Nelson began with Nelson Province in 1853, which covered the entire upper South Island ...
in honour of his service to the city. The outpouring of grief from the local people was unprecedented as Nelson stopped for his service which was relayed by loud speakers to the thousands lining the streets outside
Nelson Cathedral. Large crowds lined the streets to show their respect when the funeral procession passed. He was survived by his wife and seven children.
As a new session of Parliament had not begun Whitehead was still legally the Speaker of the House. As such, the
Governor-General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
,
Denis Blundell
Sir Edward Denis Blundell, (29 May 1907 – 24 September 1984) was a New Zealand lawyer, cricketer and diplomat who served as the 12th Governor-General of New Zealand from 1972 to 1977.
Early life and family
Denis Blundell was born in W ...
, gazetted the vacancy of the seat as the acting speaker and gave the instructed the Clerk of the Writs to issue a writ for the by-election. The
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
for Whitehead's seat was won by
Mel Courtney
Melvyn Francis Courtney (born 2 October 1943) is a Nelson City Councillor and a former Labour then Independent Member of Parliament for Nelson, in the South Island of New Zealand.
Early life and family
Courtney was born in Christchurch on 2 ...
, retaining the seat for Labour.
Following his death, he was succeeded as Speaker by
Roy Jack
Sir Roy Emile Jack (12 January 1914 – 24 December 1977) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. He was a cabinet minister and Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Biography Early life and career
Jack was born in New Plym ...
.
Notes
References
*
*
* Who's Who in New Zealand, 10th Edition 1971.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Stanley
1907 births
1976 deaths
New Zealand Labour Party MPs
Speakers of the New Zealand House of Representatives
People from Reefton
People from Nelson, New Zealand
New Zealand rugby league players
New Zealand rugby league referees
Rugby league five-eighths
Blackball players
Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
New Zealand Knights Bachelor
New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods
Unsuccessful candidates in the 1951 New Zealand general election
New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates
Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand