Denis McGrath (lawyer)
Denis McGrath CBE | |
---|---|
![]() McGrath in 1964 | |
10th Deputy Mayor of Wellington | |
In office 18 October 1962 – 30 August 1965 | |
Mayor | Frank Kitts |
Preceded by | Bill Arcus |
Succeeded by | Matt Benney |
Personal details | |
Born | John Denis McGrath 17 June 1910 Wellington, New Zealand |
Died | 14 June 1986 Wellington, New Zealand | (aged 75)
Spouse |
Margaret Fraser (m. 1944) |
Relations | John McGrath (son) |
Children | 4 |
Alma mater | Victoria University College |
Profession | Lawyer |
For the Canadian–American screenwriter and producer, see Denis McGrath.
John Denis McGrath
Biography
Early life and career
Denis McGrath was born in
In 1957, he was elected to the council of Wellington District Law Society and in 1966 he became its president. Two years later, he became president of the New Zealand Law Society upon the appointment of Denis Blundell as High Commissioners to the United Kingdom, serving a three-year term which included the centenary celebrations of the society in 1969.[1]
Political career
McGrath served two separate terms as a Wellington City Councillor. In 1947 he won a seat on the council on a Citizens' Association ticket which he was to hold until 1956 when he did not seek re-election. In 1962 he made a comeback to local-body politics and spent two more terms on the council until he retired in 1968.[4] He represented the city on the council of Victoria University and in 1962 he was appointed to the office of deputy mayor.[5] McGrath was also chairman of the powerful finance committee.[6] He supported the agenda of urban renewal in the city proposed by councillor George Porter. Porter and councillor Gerald O'Brien visited McGrath's home after a council meeting to ensure his support, thinking it essential for the renewal to occur. O'Brien described McGrath as "a powerful intellectual force on council."[7]
He was involved in a public selection controversy in 1965, where first-term councillor Matt Benney as chosen as the Citizens' nominee for the mayoralty by the association's executive, but Benney withdrew his nomination after it became evident that the majority of sitting Citizens' councillors instead favoured McGrath.[8] However, McGrath refused to stand for the office of mayor and offered himself solely for the council. Benney was eventually acclaimed as the mayoral candidate, after which McGrath relented the role of deputy mayor to Benney as well.[9][10]
In early 1968 he announced his mayoralty candidacy for the Citizens' Association. However, in June 1968 his appointment as president of the New Zealand Law Society became incompatible with his both his candidature and council commitments and he withdrew from both the mayoral race and did not contest a council seat either in order to focus on his duties at the Law Society.[11][12]
He was also an active member of the National Party and was chairman of the Karori branch from 1961 to 1963.[11]
Later life and death
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/00/Wellington_%286793382401%29.jpg/220px-Wellington_%286793382401%29.jpg)
He was appointed by the government as the chair of three Committees of Enquiry. The first was in 1970 over industrial issues affecting
In 1978, the Wellington City Council finished construction of a pedestrian overbridge across the Wellington motorway (next to the Bolton Street Cemetery) which was named the Denis McGrath Bridge, in McGrath's honour.[15]
McGrath died at Wellington on 14 June 1986, survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.[13]
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f Blennerhassett, Tim (August 1986). "Denis McGrath CBE, 1910-1986". New Zealand Law Society. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ "Birth search: registration number 1910/12931". Births, deaths and marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ "Births". The Evening Post. 18 June 1910. p. 1. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
- ^ Betts 1970, p. 260.
- ^ "Mr. McGrath Deputy Mayor". The Dominion. 18 October 1962.
- ^ Betts 1970, p. 177.
- ISBN 0-7900-1117-4.
- ^ "Another rift seen in Citizens' ranks". The Dominion. 4 June 1965.
- ^ "Cr. C. H. Benney is Citizens' Mayoral Choice". The Evening Post. 30 August 1965.
- ^ Betts 1970, pp. 180–6.
- ^ a b "Cr. to Contest Mayoralty". The Dominion. 2 April 1968.
- ^ "Cr McGrath Quits Mayoralty Race". The Evening Post. 20 June 1968.
- ^ a b "Leader in city and law dies". The Evening Post. 18 June 1986.
- ^ "No. 45680". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 3 June 1972. p. 6294.
- ^ Phillips, Jock (11 March 2010). "Bridges and tunnels - Building bridges and tunnels". Te Ara. Retrieved 24 July 2018.
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ISBN 0-589-00469-7.
- "Obituary". The New Zealand Herald. 23 June 1986. p. 13.