William Mortimer Clarence Denham (August 1888 – 21 September 1969) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life and career

Denham was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia, in August 1888, and was educated both there and in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

. He shifted to New Zealand in 1907 and settled in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

working as a farmer and later as a tramway worker. For 12 years he was an employee representative to the Tramways Appeal Board.

Political career

Denham began his political career in local-body affairs. He was elected to the Invercargill City Council in 1928 and was also a member of the Southland Technical College Board. Denham first stood for Parliament in in the Awarua electorate, placing third. He then unsuccessfully contested the

electorate in the ; of the three candidates, he came last. He represented the Invercargill electorate in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from

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 ...

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

, when he was defeated. He was defeated twice more for the seat in the and general elections. While an MP he legislated for the establishment of the Invercargill Licensing Trust in 1944 and advocated for a special fund for writers, resulting in the formation of the Literary Grants Advisory Board. Denham was also a strong advocate for state housing and was largely responsible for much of the progress in the government's state house building scheme. Denham was a strong supporter of John A. Lee, and was on his side all throughout the controversy that resulted in Lee being expelled from the Labour Party. He did not go as far as to join Lee's Democratic Labour Party however. In

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

he stood for the Invercargill mayoralty against incumbent

Abraham Wachner Abraham (Abie) Wachner (15 August 1892 – 23 August 1950) was the 35th Mayor of Invercargill from 1942 to 1950. He was awarded the OBE in 1946. Early life He was born in London; his father was a furniture manufacturer of Polish-Jewish ancest ...

. Denham polled respectably but was defeated by a margin of 997 votes.

Later life and death

Denham was a vocal critic of New Zealand's 1960 rugby tour of South Africa due to the exclusion of Māori players from the touring squad at the insistence of South Africa's

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

government. He was a member of the Citizens All Black Tour Association (CABTA) who opposed the tour on the grounds of racial discrimination. He travelled to Wellington as part of a CABTA deputation. There he made a speech critical of Labour Prime Minister

Walter Nash Sir Walter Nash (12 February 1882 – 4 June 1968) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th prime minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960. He is noted for his long period of political service, havi ...

, accusing Nash of taking a "weak position" on the issue by neither supporting or opposing the tour. He also highlighted Nash's ideological inconsistency given that he had hitherto been an opponent of racism throughout his political career. Denham later became chairman of the Invercargill Savings Bank. He died on 21 September 1969 at the age of 81. He is buried at Invercargill's Eastern Cemetery, along with his wife Gwendolyn who died 1 January 1971, and his mother-in-law Ada Meadows.

Notes

References

* * * 1888 births 1969 deaths Australian emigrants to New Zealand Burials at Eastern Cemetery, Invercargill Invercargill City Councillors New Zealand Labour Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1931 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1946 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1949 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1954 New Zealand general election {{NZLabour-politician-stub