Aubrey Begg

Aubrey Wilbert Begg (9 April 1929 – 7 November 1988) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament, for Awarua in Southland.

Aubrey Begg
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Awarua
In office 25 November 1972 – 29 November 1975
Preceded by	Hugh Templeton
Succeeded by	Rex Austin
Personal details
Born	9 April 1929 Balclutha, New Zealand
Died	7 November 1988 Invercargill,New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Joy Rose Wright
Children	4

Biography

Early life and career

Begg was born in Balclutha, educated at Southland Boys' High School, and was a farmer near Invercargill. In 1954 he married Joy Rose Wright with whom he had three sons and one daughter.[1] Through his involvement in farming, Begg became an executive member of Federated Farmers and later was its junior vice-president of the meat and wool section.[2]

He was described as a "true son of Southland" who never gave up his independence. Parliamentary colleague Colin Moyle stated Begg paid a price for his individualism and his lack of teamwork cost him the advancement that he could have had.[3]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1972–1975	37th	Awarua		Labour

Begg first stood for the New Zealand House of Representatives in 1966 in the "true blue" electorate of Wallace against cabinet minister Brian Talboys. Despite losing he was well remembered in the electorate, particularly for winning a majority at the pooling booth in Drummond which was normally a National Party stronghold.[3] Three years later he contested the nearby seat of Awarua for Labour but lost to National's Hugh Templeton by 906 votes. However Begg in turn defeated Templeton by 700 votes at the 1972 election as part of Labour's landslide victory. He held the seat for one term until he was defeated in 1975.[4] He quickly earned a reputation for speaking forthrightly on farming issues particularly in favour of meat producers. Notably he was a strong opponent of a scheme to acquire compulsorily the wool clip despite the scheme being supported by the Third Labour Government.[3]

Following his defeat he stood for the vice-presidency of the Labour Party at the 1976 party conference. He lost to Gerald O'Brien, placing third in the delegate ballot with 135 votes compared to O'Brien's 585 votes and 344 for Dorothy Jelicich.[5] Begg became a member of Labour's party executive and chairman of Labour's Agricultural Advisory Committee.[2]

In the 1978 election, he was the Labour candidate for Invercargill losing by the narrow margin of 256 votes to Norman Jones. At the 1981 election, he stood unsuccessfully once again in Wallace, this time as an Independent candidate attracting over 2,000 votes, far more than usual for an independent.[3]

Later life and death

After exiting parliament Begg became President of the Southland branch of Federated Farmers.[3]

In August 1988 was taken ill and underwent exploratory surgery for what was found to be cancer. He died on 7 November 1988 in Invercargill, aged 56.[3]

References

1. Who's Who in New Zealand Edited by J.E. Traue (1978, 11th edition, Reed, Wellington), p. 57
2. "21 new members in House". The Press. 27 November 1972. p. 3.
3. "Farmer and politician, Aubrey Begg dies at 59". Otago Daily Times. 8 November 1988. p. 3.
4. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 183. OCLC 154283103.
5. "Party Chief Plans to Seek Ideas". The New Zealand Herald. 12 May 1976. p. 3.