Arnold Nordmeyer

... the best Prime Minister we never had.

—  Michael Cullen

Retirement from politics

Nordmeyer remained in Parliament for another four years, retiring at the 1969 election. ^[9] At the 1971 local-body elections he was elected a member of the Wellington Hospital Board. ^[21]

Nordmeyer later held a number of government appointments after retiring from parliament. In 1970 he was appointed chairman of the Freezing Industry Disputes Committee, an appointment which led to him becoming conciliator in several other industrial areas subsequently. In 1974 he was appointed chairman of the board of the New Zealand Superannuation Corporation which was the controlling organisation for the compulsory pension savings' scheme of the Third Labour Government (lead by Kirk). The posting was short-lived however as the subsequent Third National Government were to abolish the commission after winning power the next year. He then became the chairman of Maui Development Ltd and also was a director of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. ^[2]

Nordmeyer was one of the staunchest opponents of capital punishment and was also staunchly opposed to abortion, being a patron of New Zealand's main anti-abortion group Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC).

Nordmeyer died in Wellington on 2 February 1989, survived by his wife Frances and their two children. His family declined the offer of a state funeral instead opting to scatter his ashes by Lake Ōhau. ^[1]

Personal life

Nordmeyer married Frances Maria Kernahan in Oamaru on 28 October 1931. The couple had two children, Alan and Alison. Alison married Labour MP Jim Edwards. ^[1] In the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, Lady Nordmeyer was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for community service. ^[22] Nordmeyer was a teetotaller and did not smoke. ^[6]

Honours and recognition

In the 1970 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, for services to politics. ^[23] In the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours, he was promoted to Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George, for public services. ^[24] On 6 February 1987, Nordmeyer was the fifth appointee to the Order of New Zealand. ^{[1] [25]}

See also

• Electoral history of Arnold Nordmeyer – An article about his electoral history.

Notes

1. Brown, Bruce. "Nordmeyer, Arnold Henry – Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 6 October 2012.
2. "'Nordy' Recalls Old Battles". The New Zealand Herald . 8 December 1980. p. 21.
3. Hobbs 1967, p. 103.
4. Logan 2008, p. 32.
5. Wilson 1985, p. 58.
6. Hobbs 1967, p. 101.
7. Wilson 1985, p. 84.
8. Gustafson 1986, p. 320.
9. Wilson 1985, p. 223.
10. Logan 2008, pp. 280–1.
11. Logan 2008, p. 281.
12. Wilson 1985, p. 88.
13. Hobbs 1967, p. 102.
14. Hayward 1981, p. 13.
15. "Labour Holds Grey Lynn in Small Poll". The Evening Post . 20 May 1963. p. 12.
16. "National Back as Government − One Seat Lost to Labour". The New Zealand Herald . 2 December 1963. p. 1.
17. Hayward 1981, p. 56.
18. Hobbs 1967, p. 15.
19. Logan 2008, p. 421.
20. Weir, Jim (2007). Strong language: very quotable New Zealand quotes. Auckland: New Holland Publishers. p. 65. ISBN   978-1-86966-182-3.
21. Petersen, G.A. (19 October 1971). Declaration of Election Results (Report). Wellington City Council.
22. "No. 51774". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 17 June 1989. p. 32.
23. "No. 45119". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 13 June 1970. p. 6405.
24. "No. 46595". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 14 June 1975. p. 7405.
25. "The Order of New Zealand" (12 February 1987) 20 New Zealand Gazette 705 at 709.

References

• Gustafson, Barry (1986). The First 50 Years : A History of the New Zealand National Party. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN   0-474-00177-6.
• Hobbs, Leslie (1967). The Thirty-Year Wonders. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs. OCLC   459718.
• Hayward, Margaret (1981) [First ed. published 1981]. Diary of the Kirk Years (1 ed.). Wellington: A.H. and A.W. Reed Limited. ISBN   0-589-01350-5.
• Logan, Mary (2008) [First ed. published 2008]. Nordy, Arnold Nordmeyer a political biography (1 ed.). Wellington: Steele Roberts Publishers. ISBN   978-1-877448-33-1.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC   154283103.

Further reading

• Clark, Margaret, ed. (2001). Three Labour Leaders: Nordmeyer, Kirk, Rowling. Palmerston North: Dunmore Press. ISBN   0-86469-394-X.

The Reverend and Honourable Sir Arnold Nordmeyer ONZ KCMG
Nordmeyer in 1954
18th Leader of the Opposition
In office 1 April 1963 –16 December 1965

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by John MacPherson	Member of Parliament for Oamaru 1935–1949	Succeeded by Thomas Hayman
Preceded by Peter Fraser	Member of Parliament for Brooklyn 1951–1954	Constituency abolished
Preceded by Robert McKeen	Member of Parliament for Island Bay 1954–1969	Succeeded by Gerald O'Brien
Political offices
Preceded by Tim Armstrong	Minister of Health 1941–1947	Succeeded by Mabel Howard
Preceded by Dan Sullivan	Minister of Industries and Commerce 1947–1949	Succeeded by Charles Bowden
Preceded by Jack Watts	Minister of Finance 1957–1960	Succeeded by Harry Lake
Preceded by Walter Nash	Leader of the Opposition 1963–1965	Succeeded by Norman Kirk
Party political offices
Preceded by James Roberts	President of the Labour Party 1950–1955	Succeeded by Mick Moohan
Preceded by Walter Nash	Leader of the Labour Party 1963–1965	Succeeded by Norman Kirk