William Denham

Denham was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, in August 1888,[1] and was educated both there and in Melbourne.[2] He shifted to New Zealand in 1907 and settled in Invercargill working as a farmer and later as a tramway worker.[3] For 12 years he was an employee representative to the Tramways Appeal Board.[2]

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.[2]

Denham first stood for Parliament in 1928 in the Awarua electorate, placing third.[4] He then unsuccessfully contested the Invercargill electorate in the 1931 election; of the three candidates, he came last.[5] He represented the Invercargill electorate in the House of Representatives from 1935 to 1946, when he was defeated.[6] He was defeated twice more for the seat in the 1949 and 1954 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.

In 1947 he stood for the Invercargill mayoralty against incumbent Abraham Wachner. Denham polled respectably but was defeated by a margin of 997 votes.[7]

Denham later set up a hotel in Invercargill and also became chairman of the Invercargill Savings Bank. He died on 21 September 1969 at the age of 81.[3] 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.[8]