Lee Martin (politician)

William Lee Martin (7 February 1870 – 21 December 1950), known as Lee Martin, was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

The Honourable Lee Martin
15th Minister of Agriculture
In office 6 December 1935 – 21 January 1941
Prime Minister	Michael Joseph Savage Peter Fraser
Preceded by	Charles MacMillan
Succeeded by	Jim Barclay
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Raglan
In office 29 September 1927 – 2 December 1931
Preceded by	Richard Bollard
Succeeded by	Stewart Reid
In office 27 November 1935 – 25 September 1943
Preceded by	Stewart Reid
Succeeded by	Robert Coulter
Personal details
Born	7 February 1870 Oamaru, New Zealand
Died	21 December 1950 (aged 80) Hamilton, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Harriet Wilhelmina Warnes
Relations	Iris Martin (daughter)
Children	6
Occupation	Painter, farmer

Biography

Early life

Martin was born in Oamaru in 1870. He received his education at Waimate District High School and at Christchurch Normal School. After school, he was an officer for The Salvation Army for six years.[1] Afterwards, he was a painter and joined the Labour movement in Wanganui in 1902,[2] was Secretary of the Wanganui Painters’ Union (1909–1912) and, for 4 years, a member of the Wanganui Technical School Board.[2] He became a dairy farmer at Matangi in the Waikato and had two years as president of the Waikato Farmers’ Union.[2] He was in the Salvation Army and Methodist Church and served for many years on school committees, road boards, factory suppliers' committees[2] and as a member of the Central Waikato Electric Power Board from its formation in 1920.[3]

He was a committee member of the Workers' Educational Association (WEA) and member of the League of Nations Union co-operation committee.[4]

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1927–1928	22nd	Raglan		Labour
1928–1931	23rd	Raglan		Labour
1935–1938	25th	Raglan		Labour
1938–1943	26th	Raglan		Labour

He was unsuccessful when he stood for Hamilton in 1925,[1] but in a 1927 by-election won Raglan, which was a big upset for the Reform Party.[5] He held Raglan until 1931.[6] He then lost it to Stewart Reid of Reform,[7] but won the electorate back in the 1935 general election.[6]

He was Minister of Agriculture from 1935 to 1941 in the First Labour Government, first under Savage and then under Fraser.[8] In September 1939 when Cabinet was passing nearly 30 war regulations as laid down in the War Book, Lee Martin denied knowledge of one of his regulations. Fraser became tetchy until Nash leaned over and silently pointed to the minister's signature on the paper.[9] While still a member of the Cabinet he retired as a minister in 1941 owing to ill-health.[4] He subsequently retired from Parliament at the 1943 general election.[6]

He was appointed to the Legislative Council on 31 January 1946, and served there until his death on 21 December 1950, only days before the Legislative Council was abolished (on 31 December).[4][10] He was buried at Hamilton East Cemetery.[11]

Family

In 1894 Lee Martin married Harriet Wilhelmina Warnes, of Greymouth, at the Salvation Army Citadel, Dunedin, she also being a Salvation Army officer. They lived in Wellington and Wanganui before farming at Matangi from about 1912. They had three sons and three daughters,[12] one of whom was nurse Iris Martin.[13]

Notes

1. "Distinct Vote of No Confidence". Auckland Star. LVIII (231). 30 September 1927. p. 5. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
2. "Biographies In Brief". The Press. 6 December 1935. p. 14. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
3. "The Prime Minister". The Press. 17 October 1938. p. 13. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
4. "Obituary". Gisborne Herald. LXXVII (23442). 22 December 1950. p. 13. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
5. "Labour Wins". Auckland Star. LVIII (231). 30 September 1927. p. 5. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
6. Wilson 1985, p. 218.
7. Wilson 1985, p. 229.
8. Wilson 1985, pp. 82–83.
9. Hensley, Gerald (2009). Beyond the Battlefield: New Zealand and its Allies 1939-45. North Shore Auckland: Viking/Penguin. p. 21. ISBN 978-06-700-7404-4.
10. Wilson 1985, p. 159.
11. "Cemetery search". Hamilton City Council. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
12. "Golden Wedding". Evening Post. CXXXVII (137). 12 June 1944. p. 8. Retrieved 5 May 2017 – via PapersPast.
13. Burgess, Marie E. "Jessie Iris Martin". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 8 November 2016.

References

• Gustafson, Barry (1986). From the Cradle to the Grave: a biography of Michael Joseph Savage. Auckland: Reed Methuen. p. 290. ISBN 0-474-00138-5.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.