Sir Charles Manley Luke (4 February 1857 – 19 April 1941) was a New Zealand politician and company director. He served as

mayor of Wellington The mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, the city of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional ...

in 1895. His brother, Sir

John Luke John Luke may refer to: *John A. Luke Jr., chief executive officer of MeadWestvaco * John Luke (artist) (1906–1975), Irish artist * John Luke (died 1452), MP for Dunwich (UK Parliament constituency) * John Luke (English politician) (1563–1638), ...

, was later mayor of Wellington from 1913 to 1921.

Biography

Early life and career

Born at

St Just in Penwith St Just (), also known as St Just in Penwith, is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies along the B3306 road which connects St Ives, Cornwall, St Ives to the A3 ...

, near

Penzance Penzance ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port in the Penwith district of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about west-southwest of Plymouth and west-southwest of London. Situated in the ...

, Cornwall, England, Luke came to New Zealand with his parents in July 1874. He married and had four sons and two daughters. His elder daughter Edith Mabel Luke (10 April 1880 – 21 July 1923) married electrical engineer Lawrence Birks on 29 April 1909. They had four children. He was a director of S Luke and Sons Limited up until his retirement in 1913. Luke and Sons were ship builders and engineers. The company erected a number of hydraulic cranes on the Wellington wharfs. The company was located on the Te Aro foreshore and built the steamships ''Matai'' and ''Weka''. It also built equipment for the Cape Palliser lighthouse as well as other lighthouses around the country. S Luke and Sons was merged into

Jas J Niven & Co Jas J Niven & Co Limited, later Niven Engineering, was a New Zealand engineering business based in Wellington with operations throughout the country. The foundry that became Niven's business was established in Napier, New Zealand, Napier in 186 ...

. He was chairman of the Wellington Industrial Association from 1888 to 1889. Luke was one of those responsible for establishing the Associated Chambers of Commerce. Luke was a member of the

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

for over 40 years and actively involved in church affairs. Luke was three times President of the Primitive Methodist Church, Vice President of the United Methodist Church, and New Zealand representative at the 1905 Scarborugh Methodist Conference. He was a foundation member of the ''New Zealand Alliance'' (for the Abolition of the Liquor Traffic).

Political career

From 1885 he was a trustee of the Wellington Hospital for 50 years including chairman of its board for 14 years. In 1894 he was elected

Mayor of Wellington The mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, the city of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional ...

. At the following election he was defeated by George Fisher. He was also president of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce for six years, a member of the Wellington Education Board, the Technical School Board and Wellington College Board of Governors. From 1894 to 1895 he was a member of the

Wellington Harbour Board Wellington Harbour Board was the body which formerly managed the shipping and commercial affairs of the port of Wellington in New Zealand. It was constituted in 1880 and was disestablished in 1989. During its 110-year tenure the Harbour Board ...

. He served on numerous committees. In 1901 the Royal New Zealand Federation Commission was set up to consider Federation between New Zealand and the Australia states. Luke was appointed as a member and toured Australia to determine if the idea was worthwhile. After three months investigation and deliberation the commission dismissed the idea. During the

First World War 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 ...

he was elected a member of the Patriotic Association, vice president of the War Relief Association, and a member of the War Funds Council for 20 years holding the role of chairman of the executive for a time. He was also on the board of Flock House which provided assistance to widows and dependents of sailors of the British Navy and Merchant Marine who had lost their lives during the war. At the 1899 general election he stood unsuccessfully in the

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 ...

electorate as a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

candidate. At the 1902 general election he stood for the seat of Newtown, but was again unsuccessful. He served one term on the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council () was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of New Zealand Legislative Council (1841–1853), legislative councils for the colony and provinces ...

(22 January 1907 – 21 January 1914).

Later life and death

In 1935, Luke 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 ...

. In the

1939 New Year Honours The 1939 New Year Honours were appointments by King George VI to Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the United Kingdom and British Empire. They were a ...

, he 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 Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

, for public services. In 1940 he was appointed a

Commander of the Order of St John The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

. Luke died at the residence of his younger daughter, Grace Winifred Cunningham (1886–1976), in Kelburn on 19 April 1941, and his ashes were buried in

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is the second-largest cemetery in New Zealand. It opened in 1891, and is located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it recei ...

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Luke, Charles 1857 births 1941 deaths People from St Just in Penwith British emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand people of Cornish descent Wellington Hospital Board members Mayors of Wellington Wellington Harbour Board members Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1902 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand Liberal Party MLCs New Zealand Knights Bachelor Commanders of the Order of St John New Zealand temperance activists New Zealand justices of the peace Burials at Karori Cemetery