James Donald (politician)

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The Honourable
Sir James Donald
20th Minister of Marine
In office
28 May 1930 – 22 September 1931
Prime MinisterGeorge Forbes
Preceded byJohn Cobbe
Succeeded byJohn Cobbe
12th Minister of Industries and Commerce
In office
20 December 1929 – 28 May 1930
Prime MinisterSir Joseph Ward
Preceded byJohn Cobbe
Succeeded byPhilip De La Perrelle
32nd Minister of Customs
In office
20 December 1929 – 28 May 1930
Prime MinisterSir Joseph Ward
Preceded byWilliam Taverner
Succeeded byGeorge Forbes
29th Postmaster-General and Minister of Telegraphs
In office
28 May 1930 – 22 September 1931
Prime MinisterGeorge Forbes
Preceded bySir Joseph Ward
Succeeded byAdam Hamilton
In office
10 December 1928 – 18 December 1929
Prime MinisterSir Joseph Ward
Preceded byWilliam Nosworthy
Succeeded bySir Joseph Ward
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Auckland East
In office
14 November 1928 – 2 December 1931
Preceded byJohn A. Lee
Succeeded byBill Schramm
Personal details
Born13 October 1879
Auckland, New Zealand
Died4 December 1971
New Zealand
Political partyUnited

Sir James Bell Donald JP (13 October 1879 – 4 December 1971) was a United Party Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister in Auckland, New Zealand.

Biography[edit]

Early life[edit]

Donald was born in Auckland on 13 October 1879.[1] He was the second son of Mr. Alexander Bell Donald, a local merchant and trader, who owned the firm of Donald and Edeuborough. Donald studied at Queen's College and then entered his father's profession and would later become the firm's managing director. By the age of 48 he became a justice of the peace.[1]

Member of Parliament[edit]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1928–1931 23rd Auckland East United

He won the Auckland East electorate off Labour's John A. Lee in 1928, by 37 votes (Lee put his loss down to alterations in the electorate boundary with Parnell to keep the two Auckland race-courses in a "wet" electorate).[2] According to Olsen, Lee's opponent was "a staunch anti-militarist who had been gaoled during the [Great] war".[3] He was a cabinet minister from 1928 to 1931 in the United Government (Minister of Marine, Minister of Industries and Commerce, Minister of Customs, Postmaster-General and Minister of Telegraphs, and Minister in charge of Public Service Superannuation, Friendly Societies, and National Provident Fund Departments).[4] Donald was one of several ministers who had not only no prior ministerial experience but no previous parliamentary experience either due to the unexpected success of United. Nevertheless he proved himself to be an able minister.[5]

When a coalition government was formed between the United and Reform parties Donald was one of the ministers that were removed from the cabinet in order to accommodate the new Reform members.[6] When he retired (to general surprise) in 1931, the electorate went back to Labour[7] due to vote-splitting as there were four anti-Labour candidates: William Henry Horton from United, Harold Percy Burton (who came second) and Ellen Melville from Reform and an Independent John Alexander Arthur. This handed the seat back to Labour "on a plate".[8]

In May 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.[9] He left the United Party and joined the anti-socialist Democrat Party. In August 1935 the Auckland provincial executive of the Democrat Party elected Donald its chairman of committees.[10] At the 1935 general election he stood again for the Auckland East seat as the Democrat candidate. He placed third out of four candidates.[11]

He was also a long serving member of the Auckland City Council serving 18 years between 1923 and 1941.[12] Additionally, from 1935 was the council's representative on the Auckland Harbour Board where he became deputy chairman. In 1946 he was chairman of the Harbour Board until 1947 when he declined to seek re-election. He was a leading member of the Citizens & Ratepayers Association and was its chairman for 16 years between 1935 and 1951.[13]

Later life and death[edit]

After exiting Parliament he resumed his business activities in Auckland. In 1936 he became a director of the Northern Roller Milling Company and was chairman of the board of directors from 1954 to 1959 before retiring from the board in 1960.[13]

He was later appointed a Knight Bachelor, for services to the community, in the 1969 New Year Honours.[14]

Donald died in 1971 aged 92.[13]

In 2016 Donald's granddaughter Desley Simpson was elected a member of the Auckland Council and Simpson paid tribute to him in her maiden speech and wore the fob chain presented to him when he became deputy chairman of the Auckland Harbour Board in 1935.[15]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Biographical Sketches". New Zealand Herald. Vol. LXV, no. 20104. 15 November 1928. p. 13. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  2. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 193.
  3. ^ Olsen 1977.
  4. ^ Wilson 1985, pp. 80–81.
  5. ^ Bassett 1993, p. 271.
  6. ^ Bassett 1982, pp. 57–58.
  7. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 233.
  8. ^ Bassett 1982, pp. 61–62.
  9. ^ "Official jubilee medals". The Evening Post. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  10. ^ "Auckland Chairman - Mr J. B. Donald Selected". Northern Advocate. 28 August 1935. p. 6.
  11. ^ The General Election, 1935. National Library. 1936. pp. 1–35. Retrieved 3 August 2013.
  12. ^ Bush 1971, p. 586.
  13. ^ a b c "Sir James Donald Dies At 92". New Zealand Herald. 6 December 1971. p. 4.
  14. ^ "No. 44742". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 1 January 1969. p. 41.
  15. ^ Orsman, Bernard (3 November 2016). "Auckland – a tale of two cities". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 February 2021.

References[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to James Donald.
  • Bassett, Michael (1982). Three Party Politics in New Zealand 1911–1931. Auckland: Historical Publications. ISBN 0-86870-006-1.
  • Bassett, Michael (1993). Sir Joseph Ward: A Political Biography. Auckland: Auckland University Press.
  • Bush, Graham W. A. (1971). Decently and in Order: The Government of the City of Auckland 1840–1971. Auckland: Collins.
  • Olsen, Erik (1977). John A. Lee. Dunedin: University of Otago Press. ISBN 0-908569-04-1.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
Political offices
Preceded by Minister of Marine
1930–1931 		Succeeded by
Minister of Industries and Commerce
1929–1930 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister of Customs
1929–1930 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Postmaster-General
and Minister of Telegraphs
1930–1931
1928–1929 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Succeeded by
Joseph Ward
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Auckland East
1928–1931 		Succeeded by
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