Tom Paul

John Thomas Paul CBE (16 August 1874 – 25 July 1964) was a New Zealand compositor, trade unionist, politician, editor, journalist and censor.

For the Grimsby Town football player, see Tom Paul (footballer).

The Honourable

Tom Paul

CBE
Member of the New Zealand Legislative Council
In office
22 January 1907 – 25 November 1919
Prime MinisterJoseph Ward
Thomas Mackenzie
William Massey
In office
9 September 1946 – 31 December 1950
Prime MinisterPeter Fraser
Sidney Holland
3rd President of the Labour Party
In office
1918–1920
Vice PresidentMichael Joseph Savage
Peter Fraser
LeaderAlfred Hindmarsh†
Harry Holland
Preceded byAndrew Walker
Succeeded byPeter Fraser
Personal details
Born16 August 1874
Boort, Victoria, Australia
Died25 July 1964
Raumati South, Kapiti Coast, New Zealand
NationalityNew Zealand
Political partyLabour Party
United Labour Party
IPLL

Biography

Paul was born in Boort, Victoria, Australia in 1874.[1] He came to New Zealand in 1899.[2]

Paul was a journalist and printer and became President of the Otago Typographical Workers Union in 1902.

He was appointed to the New Zealand Legislative Council on 22 January 1907. At the expiry of his term, he was reappointed on 22 January 1914, but resigned on 25 November 1919 to stand for Labour in the general election after the popular Thomas Sidey had announced that he would retire from the Dunedin South electorate.[3] He was appointed again on 9 September 1946 and served until the abolition of the Legislative Council on 31 December 1950; thus serving for sixteen years in total.[4]

He was deeply involved with the early development of the Labour Party, from establishing the Independent Political Labour League via the original New Zealand Labour Party and the United Labour Party to the current Labour Party formed in 1916.[1] He was New Zealand Labour Party president 1918 to 1920, and stood as Labour Party candidate for Dunedin South in 1919; losing by only 84 votes against Thomas Sidey of the Liberal Party; he did not stand for parliament again.[2][5]

He was also involved in the WEA (Workers' Educational Association), and was Vice-President of the NZ Land Values League which expoused Georgist policies. He was pro-conscription in World War I.

In the 1958 New Year Honours, Paul was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire for services in the fields of journalism and government.[6]

For many years, he looked after his ailing wife, who died in 1961. Paul died on 25 July 1964 at Raumati on the Kapiti Coast. He was survived by their two sons.[1]

Notes
  1. Olssen, Erik. "John Thomas Paul". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
  2. Gustafson 1980, p. 164.
  3. Gustafson 1980, p. 155.
  4. Wilson 1985, p. 161.
  5. Wilson 1985, p. 234.
  6. "No. 41270". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 1958. p. 44.

References
  • Gustafson, Barry (1980). Labour's path to political independence: The Origins and Establishment of the New Zealand Labour Party, 1900–19. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. ISBN 0-19-647986-X.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Andrew Walker		 President of the Labour Party
1918–1920		 Succeeded by
Peter Fraser
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