Bill Jordan (politician)
KCMG | |
---|---|
7th High Commissioner from New Zealand to the United Kingdom | |
In office 1 September 1936 – 31 August 1951 | |
Preceded by | James Parr |
Succeeded by | Frederick Doidge |
11th President of the Labour Party | |
In office 29 March 1932 – 18 April 1933 | |
Vice President | William Atkinson |
Preceded by | Rex Mason |
Succeeded by | Frank Langstone |
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Manukau | |
In office 7 December 1922 – 1 September 1936 | |
Preceded by | Frederic Lang |
Succeeded by | Arthur Osborne |
Personal details | |
Born | William Joseph Jordan 9 May 1879 Ramsgate, Kent, England |
Died | 8 April 1959 Auckland, New Zealand | (aged 79)
Political party | Labour Party |
Military service | |
Allegiance | New Zealand Army |
Rank | Warrant officer |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Sir William Joseph Jordan
Early life
Jordan was born in
Jordan emigrated to New Zealand in 1904, initially working as a labourer and bush farming. He joined the Labour Party in 1907, as the first secretary of the Wellington branch of the party. In 1911 he unsuccessfully stood for the Wellington City Council on a Labour Party ticket,[4] as he did in the 1919 election in the Raglan constituency.[5][6]
First World War
Unlike many other early Labour Party leaders, e.g. Harry Holland, Michael Joseph Savage and Peter Fraser, Jordan was not a conscientious objector. He enlisted in the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force in France in 1917. In March 1918, Jordan saw action for the first time, and suffered serious wounds in action two weeks later. He transferred to the Army Education Service, where he served as an instructor on beekeeping until the end of the war, returning to New Zealand in 1919.
Parliamentary career
Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1922–1925 | 21st | Manukau | Labour | ||
1925–1928 | 22nd | Manukau | Labour | ||
1928–1931 | 23rd | Manukau | Labour | ||
1931–1935 | 24th | Manukau | Labour | ||
1935–1936 | 25th | Manukau | Labour |
In 1922, Jordan was surprisingly elected as one of 17 Labour Party MPs, winning the seat of Manukau increasing his majority at each of the four subsequent elections, until he had one of the largest votes and majorities. Jordan had an earlier unsuccessful attempt to win the Raglan seat for Labour in the 1919 general election.[7]
In early 1935 the Jordan affair pitted Jordan against the Auckland Labour Representation Committee when he proposed to stand for the Auckland Electric Power Board as an independent when the LRC decided not to nominate an official Labour candidate, but he was supported by Labour leader Michael Joseph Savage.[8]
He was the Labour Party's senior whip from December 1935 until he resigned in June 1936.[9]
Jordan was a diligent local MP, and held his seat until Labour won the government benches in 1935. Jordan had expected to be elevated to cabinet; instead he was appointed to the post of New Zealand High Commissioner to London, which had until that point been traditionally a retirement post for former cabinet ministers; Labour being first elected to power in 1935 had no MPs with previous cabinet experience.
Sporting involvement
Jordan was also involved in sports. He was the patron of the Ellerslie Rugby League Club from 1933 to 1935.[10]
New Zealand High Commissioner to London
Jordan served as New Zealand's
Jordan was highly regarded during the war for his loyalty to New Zealand servicemen and women, and his care for soldiers.
Jordan's reputation among officials and cabinet colleagues was much less warm. He frequently refused instructions from Wellington on the basis that remote officials at home could not accurately assess New Zealand's position. Jordan was loathed by his deputies, Major General W. G. Stevens and Dick Campbell. Secretary of External Affairs Alister McIntosh had frequent difficulties with Jordan. Deputy Prime Minister Walter Nash had feuds with Jordan, stemming from Nash's position representing the Prime Minister at international gatherings that Jordan felt was his own right to represent.
Despite this, Jordan remained a popular figure among the public in New Zealand. In 1949, with the Labour Party defeated from office, the incoming National Government decided to retain Jordan in his post, until 1951. He was appointed a
Awards
- Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG)
- Honorary doctorates from St Andrews University
- Privy Councillor
- Freedoms of the cities of London and Ramsgate.
Notes
- ^ "Alumni - St George's Church of England Foundation School".
- ^ Templeton, Malcolm. "Jordan, William Joseph". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
- ISBN 1-84342-366-9.
- ^ "Wellington City Council". Evening Post. Vol. LXXXI, no. 99. 28 April 1911. p. 8. Retrieved 12 May 2016.
- ^ "WAIPA POST". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 11 December 1919. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ "NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 27 December 1919. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
- ^ "Heritage Images – Homepage – Auckland Libraries – AWNS-19191120-41-17 (includes 1919 Auckland Weekly News photo)". www.aucklandcity.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ Gustafson 1986, pp. 160.
- ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 280.
- ^ "Ellerslie United Club". Auckland Star. Vol. LXIV, no. 68. 22 March 1933. p. 14. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
- ^ Peace and Pirates, Time, 27 September 1937
- ^ David Jorge, "Bill Jordan: A distant champion for Spanish democracy", Labour History Project – Newsletter 57. Wellington: LHP, 2013, pp. 21–25.
- ^ "No. 39557". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 June 1951. p. 3049.
References
- Foster, Bernard John (27 September 2007). McLintock, A.H. (ed.). "Jordan, Sir William Joseph, P.C., K.C.M.G." An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
- ISBN 0-474-00138-5.(with biographical appendix)
- Wilson, J.O. (1985). New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840-1984. V.R. Ward, Government Printer.