William Theophilus Anderton (16 March 1891 – 20 January 1966) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He served as

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in the

second Labour Government The second MacDonald ministry was formed by Ramsay MacDonald on his reappointment as prime minister of the United Kingdom by King George V on 5 June 1929. It was the second time the Labour Party had formed a government; the first MacDonald m ...

, from 1957 to 1960.

Early life

Anderton was born in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ), commonly known as West Brom, is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is northwes ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. He married Annie Gertrude Mason in 1913, and they had two daughters and one son. He served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

(

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

) in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The family arrived in New Zealand in 1921 and settled in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

for a year, before moving to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Political career

1933 Events January * January 11 – Australian aviator Sir Charles Kingsford Smith makes the first commercial flight between Australia and New Zealand. * January 17 – The United States Congress votes in favour of Philippines independen ...

Anderton was elected to the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...

on a Labour Party ticket. He was re-elected in both 1935 and 1938 but was defeated in 1941. In

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

he was Labour's candidate for

Mayor of Auckland City The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and ...

, but was defeated by

John Allum Sir John Andrew Charles Allum (27 January 1889 – 16 September 1972) was a New Zealand businessman and engineer, and was Mayor of Auckland City from 1941 to 1953. Biography Early life and career Allum was born in London and educated at Golds ...

in an election which saw all Labour candidates defeated. Anderton was one of five candidates for the Eden electorate in the , and came second after the incumbent,

Arthur Stallworthy Arthur John Stallworthy (18 April 1877 – 1 August 1954) was a New Zealand politician of the United Party, and a Cabinet minister. Biography Early life and career Stallworthy was born in 1877 in Auckland, New Zealand. He was the eldest son ...

of the United Party. He represented the Eden electorate from

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

to 1946, and then the electorate from

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

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 * Janu ...

, when he retired. In 1947 Anderton was one of three Labour MPs who supported

Frank Langstone Frank Langstone (10 December 1881 – 15 June 1969) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister and High Commissioner to ''Canada'' . Biography Early life Langstone was born in Bulls probably on 10 December 1881. He was the four ...

's contentious proposal that the government make the state-owned

Bank of New Zealand Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is one of New Zealand's Big Four (banking)#New Zealand, big four banks. It has been operating since October 1861, and since 1992 has been owned by National Australia Bank (NAB), retaining local governance with a New Z ...

the sole legal issuer of bank credit over loans and overdrafts in an attempt to secure state control over the means of exchange. The proposal was rejected as too radical however. In 1953, Anderton was awarded the

Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal () is a commemorative medal instituted to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II on 2 June 1953. Award This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir from the Queen to members of the Royal Family ...

. Anderton was an agitator against the leadership of

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havi ...

during Labour's spell in opposition in the 1950s. He was one of the main instigators of the challenge to Nash in June 1954, which was unsuccessful. As a result, Anderton together with Phil Connolly and

Arnold Nordmeyer Sir Arnold Henry Nordmeyer (born Heinrich Arnold Nordmeyer, 7 February 1901 – 2 February 1989) was a New Zealand politician and Presbyterian minister. As a member of Parliament (MP) he played a crucial role in the Labour Party, serving fr ...

were called before Labour's National Executive and given warnings about the threat of divisiveness to the party. After Labour won the Anderton was nominated as a candidate for the position of

Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives In New Zealand, the speaker of the House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House (), is the presiding officer and highest authority of the New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives () is the ...

, but lost the caucus ballot to Christchurch mayor Robert Macfarlane. He was then nominated to stand for a seat in cabinet in the

Second Labour Government The second MacDonald ministry was formed by Ramsay MacDonald on his reappointment as prime minister of the United Kingdom by King George V on 5 June 1929. It was the second time the Labour Party had formed a government; the first MacDonald m ...

. In the third ballot for the final seat he was tied with Mount Albert MP

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 to . He is internationally known as the first Western politician to ever ...

. Freer cast his own vote in the next ballot for the 66 year old Anderton out of gratitude as he had helped Freer into politics years earlier. He was appointed as

and Minister of Civil Defence from

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

in the

Private life

Anderton was the father-in-law of Labour MP

Norman Douglas George Norman Douglas (8 December 1868 – 7 February 1952) was a British writer, now best known for his 1917 novel ''South Wind''. His travel books, such as ''Old Calabria'' (1915), were also appreciated for the quality of their writing. ...

. Two of Anderton's grandchildren, brothers

Malcolm Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Malcom (footballer) (born 1997), Brazilian football forward * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerp ...

and

Roger Douglas Sir Roger Owen Douglas (born 5 December 1937) is a retired New Zealand politician, economist and accountant who served as a minister in two Labour governments. He is most recognised for his key involvement in New Zealand's radical economic rest ...

, also became MPs. He died in the Auckland suburb of

Ōrākei Ōrākei is a suburb of Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on a peninsula five kilometres to the east of the city centre, on the shore of the Waitematā Harbour, which lies to the north, and Hobson Bay and Ōr� ...

in 1966.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderton, Bill 1891 births 1966 deaths Military personnel from the West Midlands (county) Royal Artillery soldiers British emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party MPs New Zealand Methodists Auckland City Councillors Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates British Army personnel of World War I Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1931 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election People from West Bromwich