Tommy Armstrong (New Zealand politician)

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Tommy Armstrong
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Napier
In office
25 September 1943 – 1 September 1951
Preceded byBill Barnard
Succeeded byPeter Tait
Personal details
Born(1902-05-17)17 May 1902
New Zealand
Died21 November 1980(1980-11-21) (aged 78)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
SpouseIrene Gladys Nelson
RelationsTim Armstrong (father)
Children5
ProfessionEngineer

Arthur Ernest "Tommy" Armstrong (17 May 1902 – 21 November 1980) was a New Zealand politician of Christchurch and Napier in the North Island and a member of the Labour Party. His political career, which featured many disputes and public clashes, was described as "stormy".[1]

Biography

Early years

Born in 1902, Armstrong was the son of

Canterbury Featherweight Boxing Champion in 1923, won seven professional bouts in Australia, and represented Canterbury in rugby league. He was a mechanical and diesel engineer and joined the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants union. He married Irene Gladys Nelson in 1929.[1]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1943–1946 27th Napier Labour
1946–1949 28th Napier Labour
1949–1951 29th Napier Labour

Armstrong served two spells on the

preferential voting
had been abolished, Armstrong still got over 11,000 votes.

He represented the

Bill Hercock.[8] At the bitter 1951 snap election he was defeated in an upset by National's Peter Tait, who had a majority of only 44.[9]

After exiting parliament Armstrong moved back to Christchurch from Napier and resumed work as a railway engineer. He also joined the Canterbury branch of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, of which he became secretary. In 1963 he was deposed as secretary and suspended from membership of the union after he publicly condemned a railway stoppage by union members and intended to stand for the national presidency of the union in order to call a halt to the issue, though his suspension (as intended) prevented him from doing so.[1]

He later made a comeback to local politics and served another term as a member of the Christchurch City Council from 1962 to 1965, elected on the official Labour Party ticket.[10] That year he was also elected to the Lyttelton Harbour Board.[11] In 1965 however, he was expelled by the Labour Party after he crossed the floor on a party issue and voted with the Citizens' Association councillors.[1] He proceeded to break all his ties with Labour and contested the 1965 election as an independent, but was unsuccessful. He finished behind all the Labour and Citizens' candidates, but still polled a respectable 5,083 votes.[12] He also stood for the mayoralty, but garnered minimal support, finishing a distant third with only 497 votes.[13]

Later, in the 1966 election, he renewed his opposition to Labour and stood as an independent against Mabel Howard (who was also a councillor at the time of his expulsion) in the Sydenham electorate.[1]

Later life and death

Armstrong was later re-admitted to the Canterbury branch of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, though he was barred from ever again holding any office within it.[1]

He died in Christchurch on 21 November 1980, aged 78 years. He was survived by his wife and five children.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary – Mr A. E. Armstrong". The Press. 24 November 1980. p. 6.
  2. ^ McAloon, Jim. "Armstrong, Hubert Thomas – Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  3. ^ "Councillors of the City of Christchurch 1862 to current". Christchurch City Council. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2011.
  4. ^ Christchurch Press, 2 May 1929
  5. ^ Christchurch Press, 18 May 1929
  6. ^ Christchurch Times, 29 April 1931
  7. OCLC 154283103
    .
  8. ^ "In Other Towns - Mayoral Elections". The Press. Vol. LXXX, no. 24269. 29 May 1944. p. 7.
  9. ISBN 0-475-11200-8
    .
  10. ^ "Labour Wins Seven Council Seats". The Press. 15 October 1962. p. 14.
  11. ^ "Harbour Board – Mayor Topps Poll". The Press. 15 October 1962. p. 14.
  12. ^ "Four Councillors Lose Their Seats". The Press. Vol. CIV, no. 30878. 11 October 1965. p. 3.
  13. ^ "Mayor's Big Win". The Press. Vol. CIV, no. 30878. 11 October 1965. p. 1.

Further reading

  • Crisis and Change: Economic Crisis and Technological Change between the World Wars, with special reference to Christchurch, 1926–1936 by James Watson (1984, PHD-University of Canterbury, Christchurch)
  • Wood, G. Anthony, ed. (1996). Ministers and Members: In the New Zealand Parliament. Dunedin: Otago University Press.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Napier
1943–1951 		Succeeded by
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