Ian James Brooks (21 April 1928 – 20 April 2022) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Early life and career

Brooks was born in Blenheim on 21 April 1928, the son of Ernest Brooks, and was educated at

Marlborough College Marlborough College is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Independent school (United Kingdom), independent boarding school) for pupils aged 13 to 18 in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. Founded in 1843 for the sons of Church ...

. He worked in the grocery trade for eight years and was then a senior clerk at the New Zealand Post Office for twenty years. He was a part-time farmer, and his 1940s Allis-Chalmers model C tractor is on display at Marlborough Museum. In 1954, he married Lowis Rita Terrill, the daughter of Leonard Terrill. They had two sons and two daughters.

Political career

Brooks unsuccessfully contested the electorate in the , but he was beaten by the incumbent, Tom Shand of the National Party. After Shand's death only days after the general election, Brooks had a decisive win against Shand's son in the resulting by-election in February turning a 2500 vote loss from three months earlier into an 1100 vote winning margin. The Police once urged him to cancel an electorate meeting in Hanmer Springs as they had received a death threat against him over his opposition to the Vietnam War. He held the Marlborough electorate until he was defeated in by National's

Ed Latter Edward Gale Latter (29 February 1928 – 29 August 2016) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Biography Latter was born in 1928 at Waiau. His parents were Edward Circuit Le Clere Latter and Moana Latter (née Gale). He rec ...

for what was usually a safe National seat. He stood once more in the Marlborough electorate in the but was narrowly defeated by National's Doug Kidd.

Life after politics

In his spare time, Brooks grew

bulbs In botany, a bulb is structurally a short stem with fleshy leaves or leaf basesBell, A.D. 1997. ''Plant form: an illustrated guide to flowering plant morphology''. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K. that function as food storage organs durin ...

. His parents were in The Salvation Army and Brooks joined them as a child, and remained an active member in Blenheim, playing the bass saxhorn in the Salvation Army band. Brooks was widowed by the death of his wife, Lowis, in 2016. He died on 20 April 2022 at

Wairau Hospital The Nelson Marlborough District Health Board (Nelson Marlborough DHB or NMDHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough districts of New Zealand. In July 2022, it was merged into ...

in Blenheim, the day before his 94th birthday.

References

External links

Wedding photo
hosted by Marlborough Museum {{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Ian 1928 births 2022 deaths New Zealand Labour Party MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1975 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1969 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates People educated at Marlborough Boys' College