Reginald Alfred Keeling (15 January 1904 – 7 August 1991) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life and career

Keeling was born in 1904 in

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies in a loop on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea, London, Chelsea ...

to Alfred J. Keeling. He was educated at Fulham Central School. Upon leaving school he joined Maypole Margarine Works as a cadet in the accounting department. After obtaining his articles he emigrated to New Zealand in 1928 to join Waitemata Electric Power Board as accountant. In 1932 he was appointed manager of Morris Hedstrom Tonga. He was a social activist and an active member of the Labor Party in both England and New Zealand upon returning to New Zealand in 1936, he moved from accounting to social work with the newly formed Child Welfare Division of the Education Department. He was promoted to District Child Welfare Officer for the East Coast based in Gisborne. He remained in that post until entering Parliament in 1949. An avid sportsman, he was a football referee for twenty years, played senior club tennis well into his thirties and was a keen keel boat sailor. He was President of Poverty Bay Football Association 1940-61, President NZFA 1960-61, President of Auckland Football Association 1961-87.

Local politics

From that point he made a career well into his eighties out of both national and local body politics. He was Deputy Mayor of Gisborne 1953-59, Member of Cook Hospital Board 1953-61, Member Waitemata Electric Power Board 1965-87, Mayor of Henderson 1965-74, Member Auckland Regional Authority 1965-81, Deputy Mayor of Waitemata City 1977-80. In the 1980 New Year Honours, Keeling was appointed a

Companion of the Queen's Service Order The King's Service Order () established by royal warrant (document), royal warrant of Queen regnant, Queen Elizabeth II on 13 March 1975, is used to recognise "valuable voluntary service to the community or meritorious and faithful services to t ...

for public services.

Member of Parliament

He represented the

Poverty Bay Poverty Bay (Māori language, Māori: ''Tūranganui-a-Kiwa''), officially named Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay, is the largest of several small bays on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island to the north of Hawke Bay. It stretches for ...

electorate of Gisborne from to 1951, when he was defeated by Harry Dudfield of

National National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, and again from

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

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 was again defeated, this time by the National candidate Esme Tombleson. Keeling was Chairman of Committees during 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 ...

(1957–60). The Labour government held a working majority of one meaning the management of business in the house became vital to avoid the government losing an important vote. Keeling was praised for his skills in conducting committee business, especially for his quick rulings which were both firm and stuck, setting good precedence. He then represented the

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 ...

electorate of

Grey Lynn Grey Lynn is an inner suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, located to the west of the city centre. Originally a separate borough, Grey Lynn amalgamated with Auckland City in 1914. Grey Lynn is centred on Grey Lynn Park, which was not part of t ...

briefly in from 18 May to 29 October, after the death of Fred Hackett. He stood for North Shore in the 1963 general election but was defeated.

Death

Keeling died on 7 August 1991, aged 87.

Notes

References

* * *
Richard Keeling's obituary
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Keeling, Reginald 1904 births 1991 deaths Deputy mayors of places in New Zealand New Zealand Labour Party MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1963 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1960 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1951 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Companions of the Queen's Service Order Auckland regional councillors Members of district health boards in New Zealand