Edward John Phelan (1874 – 28 March 1961) was a New Zealand trade unionist, politician and rugby league administrator.

Biography

Early life and union career

Phelan was born in

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 ...

in 1874 and attended Wellesley Street School. He left school aged 14 and attained a job as a tally boy in a sawmill north of

Wairoa Wairoa is the largest town in the Wairoa District and the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mā ...

. He married Ellen McIlroy in 1896. They had one son and two daughters. In Wairoa Phelan made a name for himself in public affairs. He was elected a member of the local hospital board and was a prominent member of the local branch of the Timber Workers' Union. He later returned to Auckland and in 1907 became national secretary of the Timber Workers' Union. He held this post for a record 30 years. He then proceeded to serve as Dominion President of the union.

Political career

He 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 ...

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

on a Labour Party ticket, remaining a member for 13 years. He was a popular councillor and "topped the poll", receiving more votes than any other candidate, in

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 ...

. He declined nomination to stand for the mayoralty in

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 ...

citing a conflict of interest, as he was also running the Hotel Auckland for Ernest Davis, who had already declared his candidacy. In 1938 he was unexpectedly denied re-nomination by the Labour Party alongside sitting councillors Arthur Rosser and George Gordon Grant. Phelan was approached to stand for Parliament in the 1930 Parnell by-election, but he declined the invitation to seek the Labour Party nomination. He was also a member of the

Auckland Harbour Board The Auckland Harbour Board was a public body that operated the ports of both Auckland and Onehunga from 1871 to 1988 and was dissolved in 1989. Its successor organisation is Ports of Auckland, which assumed the possessions and responsibilities o ...

and Auckland Transport Board. He retired from his last political office, the Auckland Transport Licensing Authority, in 1953 after nearly 30 years of public service.

Other activities

He was also involved in various pro-war and veteran support causes during and after

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 ...

. He was a board member of both the Rehabilitation Board and the War Relief Commission Patriotic Association. Phelan was actively involved in the

Rugby League Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

movement in New Zealand. He was a trustee of

Carlaw Park Carlaw Park was a multi-purpose stadium in Parnell, a central suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It neighboured the Auckland Domain's Northern end. It was primarily used for rugby league and had a peak spectator capacity of around 28,000 in the 19 ...

in Auckland and helped oversee the construction, use and maintenance of the ground. His involvement in the sport peaked when he was appointed the manager of the New Zealand team's 1911 tour of Australia, their first official overseas tour. He donated a shield named after himself to the Auckland rugby league (the Phelan Shield) which is still played for today.

Later life and death

Phelan died in 1961 aged 87 years. He was survived by three children. Ellen has predeceased him by 25 years, having died in 1936.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Phelan, Edward John 1874 births 1961 deaths New Zealand trade unionists New Zealand rugby league administrators Auckland City Councillors Auckland Harbour Board members New Zealand Labour Party politicians 20th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand justices of the peace