Abraham Saul Goldsmith (17 February 1911 – 4 November 1988) was an importer and merchant from

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

, New Zealand. He was a foundation member of the National Party and was active at a local level. Goldsmith was also a noted chess player.

Early life

Goldsmith was born in 1911 in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

. His parents were Joseph Isaac Goldsmith and Deborah Goldsmith (née Cohen). Goldsmith received his education at

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

School and at Wellington College. He was also the cousin of Auckland Mayor Dove-Myer Robinson. In the 1920s he started work as a messenger-clerk before leaving to start his own business. In 1930, he founded the General Agencies Company and was its managing director; the company concerned itself with importing goods. By 1980 the company imported over two thousand product lines, the majority tobacconist lines.

Political career

Goldsmith was for many years an executive member of the Brooklyn Municipal Electors Association. He was also a member of the Wellington Travel Club and the Brooklyn Progressive Association. He was a foundation member of the Independent United Action Group and led ten candidates—including himself—in the 1959 Wellington City Council election; none of the group were elected. In the 1962 Wellington City mayoral election, Goldsmith was one of three mayoral candidates, and came a distant last. Goldsmith stood out as a proponent of the retention of the Wellington tramway system. Later, he was the president of the Wellington Municipal Electors Association. Despite never winning office he found alternative ways to bring about change. One such occasion was when he was concerned by the under-utilisation of land in Jam Tin Gully, a former landfill. Goldsmith rang the wives of city councillors and asked that they discuss the matter with their husbands. Soon afterwards the area was designated the site of the soon to be to be constructed Wellington Show Buildings. His status as a lively

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

in Wellington made him his own brand of local celebrity. A reporter for '' The Dominion'' newspaper said in 1971 Goldsmith was a "...political novelty. He is Wellington's best known and perennial loser. In the last 14 years he has been defeated in two parliamentary, five City Council and two mayoral elections. Plus one council by-election and lost more causes than

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

ever dreamed of". His notoriety was such that he was the subject of an entire chapter in a social studies textbook used in New Zealand schools in the 1970s. Published by Farland and McLeod, the chapter was titled the "Lone Campaigner", and discussed Goldsmith's campaigns on local issues and his methods of electioneering and advocacy. Quoted examples were his "save the trams" campaign and his disputes with the

Ministry of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

over the accuracy of its microwave speed detectors. In 1936, Goldsmith was a foundation member of the National Party. He was involved in local political affairs in Wellington, and was active in the and electorates. He stood in the Island Bay electorate for National in the and s. The death of

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 ...

caused the 1974 Sydenham by-election and the National Party decided not to stand a candidate, but Goldsmith decided to stand as an independent National candidate; he came a distant fourth in the by-election. As Goldsmith had gone directly against the decision of the party's dominion executive, party president

George Chapman George Chapman (Hitchin, Hertfordshire, – London, 12 May 1634) was an English dramatist, translator and poet. He was a classical scholar whose work shows the influence of Stoicism. Chapman has been speculated to be the Rival Poet of Sh ...

recommended the suspension of his membership. After discussions with the Canterbury-Westland division of the party it was felt that it was no longer necessary to suspend Goldsmith and that public announcements that he was neither an official candidate nor party endorsed had made the party's stance clear to the public. Political historian

Barry Gustafson Barry Selwyn Gustafson (born 1938) is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as professor of political studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Direct ...

described him as "a colourful character and an entertaining platform speaker". One famed instance at a National Party conference in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, Goldsmith gave a hilarious speech to the delegates which left them all in hysterics. In the 1979 Queen's Birthday Honours, Goldsmith was appointed a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

, for services to the community. His mother had received the same honour in the 1947 New Year Honours, for her services in connection with patriotic and social welfare movements during and after World War II.

Other interests

Goldsmith's parents were "chess enthusiasts". Goldsmith himself also played chess and joined the committee of the Wellington Chess League at age 23; his father was the inaugural president of the club. Goldsmith contested chess championships in both New Zealand and Australia. He played at the New Zealand championships in 1936

, and in 1939 in Wellington. When Goldsmith's brother Lionel was killed in Europe during World War II, his parents donated the Goldsmith Chess Trophy in his memory. From 1948 to 1950, Goldsmith travelled through the United States and Canada and lectured on New Zealand. He was a board member of the

Wellington Tramway Museum The Wellington Tramway Museum is located at Queen Elizabeth Park on the lower North Island of New Zealand, near the overbridge at McKay's Crossing between Paekakariki and Paraparaumu. Trams have been in operation on a line through the park si ...

, and was the organisation's president from 1969 to 1974. In 1974, he was president of the Kelburn Cable Car Preservation Society. Goldsmith died in 1988. On 7 November, he was buried in the Jewish section of

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first cremat ...

next to his mother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsmith, Abraham Saul 1911 births 1988 deaths People educated at Wellington College (New Zealand) Unsuccessful candidates in the 1957 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1966 New Zealand general election New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Burials at Karori Cemetery New Zealand chess players People from Wellington City Jewish New Zealand politicians New Zealand National Party politicians 20th-century chess players