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Robert Coulter (New Zealand politician)

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Robert Coulter
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Raglan
In office
25 September 1943 – 31 December 1945
Preceded byLee Martin
Succeeded byHallyburton Johnstone
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Waikato
In office
27 November 1935 – 15 October 1938
Preceded byFrederick Lye
Succeeded byStan Goosman
Personal details
Born1891
Christchurch, New Zealand
Died31 December 1945
Timaru, New Zealand
Political partyLabour
Other political
affiliations		Liberal

Robert Coulter (1891 – 31 December 1945) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

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Early life and career

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Robert Coulter was reported to have been born in 1891 in Christchurch[1] and went to Woodend Public School.[2] However, a Robert Coulter gained a prize in Standard 2 at Woodend District School in 1894.[3] Children at that time had to attend school from age 7 to 13.[4] Possibly he showed early talent and/or was born before 1891. He had a brother, J. J. Coulter[5] and a sister, who lived in either Wellington,[6] or Timaru.[7] He never married.[2]

After primary education he worked in farming, lived about two years in Wellington and moved to Auckland.[2]

In 1904[1] Robert Coulter settled in Te Aroha, to be a grocer and auctioneer,[2] and was a member of Te Aroha Borough Council from May 1916.[8] In 1915 he defended not being a volunteer for service in World War I,[9] but in 1917 he was conscripted into the forces, though he was given exemptions twice.[10][11] He went to camp in May 1917 with the 29th Reinforcement.[12] They reached France[13] in October 1917,[14] but it seems Coulter was back by March 1918.[15]

Political career

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1935–1938 25th Waikato Labour
1943–1945 27th Raglan Labour

In October 1918, he was re-elected to the council,[16] becoming Mayor in April 1921.[17] He was also president of Te Aroha Chamber of Commerce[18] and Te Aroha Aero Club[2] and associated for a number of years with the Northern Athletic Union, Thames Harbour Board and Te Aroha Fire Board.[1]

He stood for Tauranga in the 1925 election. He announced his candidacy in June 1925 as a Liberal–Labour candidate.[19] By the election campaign in October he had been adopted as the official candidate of the Liberal Party and had also been endorsed by the Country Party.[20] He was defeated by the incumbent MP Charles Macmillan of the Reform Party.[21] During the election he was widely quoted for comments he made at an election meeting in Te Aroha where he called Reform's leader Gordon Coates as a "good sort" and a "straight goer". Reform friendly newspapers were eager to report such praise from a political opponent.[22]

He won the Waikato electorate in 1935 election as the Labour Party candidate, but, with rearrangement of boundaries, was defeated in Hauraki in 1938 by Lieutenant- Colonel J. M. Allen.[1] during which time represented the Waikato electorate from 1935 to 1938,[23] when he was defeated by National's Stan Goosman.[24] In 1941 he was defeated as Te Aroha's mayor by Laurie Mackie.[25] He then moved his residence to Hamilton,[2] as he was selected to stand in Raglan,[26] in succession to Lee Martin, who was retiring due to ill health.[27] The 1941 election was cancelled,[28] so it was not until 1943 that he was elected for Raglan.[23] Coulter was something of a political anomaly, being elected twice in rural electorates that usually returned Reform or National MPs.[29]

Death and commemoration

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By mid-1945 Coulter was in indifferent health for many months and had an undisclosed operation in Wellington. Afterwards, he went to stay with relatives in Timaru for recuperation. While staying there his condition worsened to the point he had to enter Timaru hospital. He died there on 31 December 1945.[2] His funeral was in Wellington.[2] He was succeeded by Hallyburton Johnstone of National at a 1946 by-election.[30]

Coulter Bridge, which carries SH26 over the Waihou River, in Te Aroha, was built in 1928 and named after him.[31]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d "Who's Who – The New Members". Auckland Star. Vol. LXXIV, no. 229. 27 September 1943. p. 3.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Mr. Coulter's Death". Waikato Times. Vol. 106, no. 22804. 31 December 1945. p. 4.
  3. ^ "Prize Distribution – Woodend District School". Lyttelton Times. Vol. LXXXI, no. 10264. 5 February 1894. p. 3.
  4. ^ "Education Act passed into law". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Local and General". Te Aroha News. Vol. XXXV, no. 5545. 28 September 1917. p. 2.
  6. ^ "Death of M.P. – Mr. Robert Coulter". Auckland Star. Vol. LXXVI, no. 309. 31 December 1945. p. 6.
  7. ^ "Death of M.P. – Mr. Robert Coulter". Gisborne Herald. Vol. LXXIII, no. 21909. 2 January 1946. p. 6.
  8. ^ "Local and General". Ohinemuri Gazette. Vol. XXVII, no. 3618. 12 May 1916. p. 2.
  9. ^ "Recruiting". Te Aroha News. Vol. XXXIII, no. 15629. 2 June 1915. p. 3.
  10. ^ "Military Service Appeal Board – No. 2 Hauraki Group". Te Aroha News. Vol. XXXIV, no. 5454. 23 February 1917. p. 2.
  11. ^ "Local and General". Te Aroha News. Vol. XXXIV, no. 5483. 4 May 1917. p. 2.
  12. ^ "Local and General". Te Aroha News. Vol. XXXIV, no. 5485. 9 May 1917. p. 2.
  13. ^ "For King and Country – Death". Evening Star. No. 16644. 29 January 1918. p. 4.
  14. ^ "Untitled". The Sun. Vol. IV, no. 1138. 4 October 1917. p. 6.
  15. ^ "Chamber of Commerce – Monthly Meeting". Te Aroha News. Vol. XXXV, no. 5621. 27 March 1918. p. 2.
  16. ^ "Borough By-election". Te Aroha News. Vol. XXXV, no. 5706. 18 October 1918. p. 2.
  17. ^ "The Mayoralty". Te Aroha News. Vol. XXXVII, no. 6070. 29 April 1921. p. 2.
  18. ^ "Mr R. Coulter Elected President of Chamber of Commerce". Te Aroha News. Vol. XXXVII, no. 6035. 2 February 1921. p. 2.
  19. ^ "The Tauranga Seat – Te Aroha's Decision". Matamata Record. Vol. VIII, no. 639. 15 June 1925. p. 4.
  20. ^ "Mr. Coulter's Speech". Auckland Star. Vol. LVI, no. 243. 14 October 1925. p. 9.
  21. ^ The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  22. ^ Bassett 1995, p. 100-1.
  23. ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 191.
  24. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 200.
  25. ^ "Te Aroha Mayoralty". Waihi Daily Telegraph. Vol. XXXX, no. 9669. 19 May 1941. p. 3.
  26. ^ "Raglan Seat – Labour Candidate". Waikato Times. Vol. 129, no. 21481. 24 July 1941. p. 4.
  27. ^ "Raglan Seat – Two National Nominees". Waikato Times. Vol. 131, no. 21763. 24 June 1942. p. 2.
  28. ^ "Postponement of Election". Waikato Times. Vol. 129, no. 21553. 16 October 1941. p. 4.
  29. ^ Bassett 1995, p. 100.
  30. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 208.
  31. ^ "Te Aroha bridge beautification quest pushes on despite lack of cash". Stuff. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2021.

References

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert Coulter (New Zealand politician).
  • Bassett, Michael (1995). Coates of Kaipara. Auckland: Auckland University Press. ISBN 1-86940-117-4.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Waikato
1935–1938 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Raglan
1943–1945 		Succeeded by
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