Robert Wright (New Zealand politician)

Robert Alexander Wright JP (8 August 1863 – 6 December 1947) was the Mayor of Wellington from 1921 to 1925, and a New Zealand politician of the Reform Party.

The Honourable Robert Wright JP
21st Mayor of Wellington
In office 1921–1925
Preceded by	John Luke
Succeeded by	Charles Norwood
Personal details
Born	8 August 1863 Dunedin, New Zealand
Died	6 December 1947 (aged 84) Wellington, New Zealand
Political party	Reform
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Coulter
Relations	Hercules Richard Wright (brother)
Children	two daughters

Biography

Parliamentary career

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1908–1909	17th	Wellington South		Independent
1909–1911	Changed allegiance to:			Reform
1914–1919	19th	Wellington Suburbs and Country		Reform
1919–1922	20th	Wellington Suburbs		Reform
1922–1925	21st	Wellington Suburbs		Reform
1925–1928	22nd	Wellington Suburbs		Reform
1928–1931	23rd	Wellington Suburbs		Reform
1931–1935	24th	Wellington Suburbs		Reform
1935–1938	25th	Wellington Suburbs		Independent

He represented the Wellington South electorate in Parliament from 1908 to 1911 when he was defeated, then the Wellington Suburbs and Country electorate from 1914 to 1919 and the Wellington Suburbs electorate from 1919 to 1938. In the 1935 contest Wright stood as an Independent and was successful.[1] He was defeated for the Wellington West electorate in 1938.[1] In 1935 and 1938 he was not opposed by the National Party, and he habitually voted with National.[2]

He was Minister of Education from 1926 to 1928 in the Reform Government. Towards the end of the Coates Ministry, he was Minister of Labour for less than a fortnight.[3]

In 1935, Wright was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.[4]

He was to stand for the National Party for Wellington Suburbs in the 1941 general election, which was postponed to 1943 because of the war.[5]

Local politics

Wright was elected to the Wellington City Council in 1913, and stood for and was elected Mayor of Wellington in 1921, the same time as Wellington's first female Councillor, Annie McVicar, was elected. Wright was Mayor until 1925.[6] On 31 October 1924 Wright opened the de Lux Theatre on the corner of Cambridge Terrace and Majoribanks Street. In 1930 the building was sold and renamed the Embassy Theatre and was the site of the premiere of Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.[7]

Personal

He was born in Dunedin to Robert and Lydia Esther Wright, who moved to Hokitika on the West Coast when he was an infant. They had nine children; a brother, Hercules Richard Wright was a notable Rugby League player. Robert was educated at the Scots Grammar School. He married Elizabeth Coulter from the Wairarapa in 1898, and they had two daughters. He was a printer with the Government Printing Office, then for 17 years with the New Zealand Mail. Then with W. J. Carman he founded the printing firm of Wright and Carman. He was a member of the Church of Christ. He died at home in Kelburn, Wellington.[8]

Notes

1. Wilson 1985, p. 247.
2. Milne, Robert Stephen (1966). Political Parties in New Zealand. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. p. 76.
3. Wilson 1985, p. 79.
4. "Official jubilee medals". Evening Post. CXIX (105). 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
5. Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. p. 295. ISBN 0-474-00177-6.
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 6 February 2011.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. "Cutting-edge technology in historic surroundings".
8. Obituary in Evening Post, Wellington, 8 December 1947 page 8

References

• Perry, Stuart (1969), No Mean City, Wellington, [N.Z.]: Wellington City Council
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.