Hiram Hunter
{{Short description|New Zealand politician and trade unionist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=November 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix =
|name = Hiram Hunter
|honorific-suffix =
|image = Hiram Hunter.jpg
|office1 = Christchurch City Councillor
|term_start1 = 1911
|term_end1 = 1915
|term_start2 = 1917
|term_end2 = 1923
|office3 = 2nd President of the Social Democratic Party
|term_start3 = 1914
|term_end3 = 1915
|vicepresident3 = Frederick Cooke
|predecessor3 = Edward Tregear
|successor3 = Frederick Cooke
|birth_date = 10 February 1874
|birth_place = Christchurch, New Zealand
|death_date = 9 May 1966
|death_place = Ashburton, New Zealand
|spouse = Jane Bayliss
|children =
|religion =
|party = Labour (1910–13)
Social Democratic (1913–16)
Labour (1916–31)
National (1938–66)
}}
Hiram Hunter (10 February 1874 – 9 May 1966) was a New Zealand politician and trade unionist.
Early life
Born in Christchurch in 1874, Hunter was a farmer, storekeeper, carter, and trade unionist.{{DNZB|McAloon|Jim |3h46|Hunter, Hiram – Biography|2 November 2012}}
Political career
Hunter stood for the Christchurch East electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives in {{NZ election link year|1911}} for the Labour Party (original), {{NZ election link year|1914}} for the Social Democratic Party and {{NZ election link year|1919}} for the New Zealand Labour Party. His best result was losing by 136 votes in 1911 in a close three-way contest, and failing to qualify for the subsequent run-off election by just four votes. He was President of the LRC{{Clarify|date=June 2013}} (1911–1913) and of the Social Democratic Party (1913–1915). In {{NZ election link year|1931}}, he contested the Mid-Canterbury electorate as an Independent Labour candidate against Jeremiah Connolly, but was unsuccessful.{{sfn|Gustafson|1980|p=159}}
During the 1930s, Hunter became increasingly disillusioned with the NZ Labour Party and argued that: "We have learned much of socialisation through its application in Russia. The result has been servility for the workers under the domination of dictators and, what seemed a book of beautiful ideal in 1915 has turned out to be in practice, a horrible reality".(The Christchurch Press, 6 October 1938) In 1938 he stood for the conservative National Party against his former Labour comrade Dan Sullivan who beat him by a three to one margin, with the election-night crowd booing him so loudly his speech could not be heard leaving Hunter with an undignified end to his public career.
Hiram Hunter was a member of the Christchurch City Council for ten years (1911–1915; 1917–1923).{{cite web |url= http://www1.ccc.govt.nz/handbook/councillorsofthecityofchristchurch.asp| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110720010657/http://www1.ccc.govt.nz/handbook/councillorsofthecityofchristchurch.asp | archive-date = 20 July 2011 |title=Councillors of the City of Christchurch |publisher=Christchurch City Council|access-date=2 November 2012 |location=Christchurch}}
Death
Hunter died in 1966 at Ashburton.
Notes
{{Reflist|30em}}
References
- {{cite book |first = Barry |last = Gustafson |authorlink = Barry Gustafson |title = Labour's path to political independence: the origins and establishment of the NZ Labour Party 1900–1919 |place = Auckland, New Zealand |publisher = Auckland University Press |year = 1980 |isbn = 0-19-647986-X }}
{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=Edward Tregear}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the Social Democratic Party|years=1914–1915}}
{{s-aft|after=Frederick Cooke}}
{{end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, Hiram}}
Category:Burials at Memorial Park Cemetery, Christchurch
Category:Christchurch City Councillors
Category:New Zealand businesspeople
Category:New Zealand trade unionists
Category:People from Christchurch
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1938 New Zealand general election
Category:New Zealand National Party politicians
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1931 New Zealand general election
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1911 New Zealand general election
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1914 New Zealand general election
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1919 New Zealand general election