Bruce Barclay | |
|---|---|
 Barclay in 1966 | |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forChristchurch Central | |
| In office 29 November 1969 – 28 June 1979 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Macfarlane |
| Succeeded by | Geoffrey Palmer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 October 1922 Dargaville, New Zealand |
| Died | 28 June 1979(1979-06-28) (aged 56) New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Audrey Howe |
| Children | 3 |
Bruce Gillespie Barclay (21 October 1922 – 28 June 1979) was a New Zealand politician, being theMember of Parliament forChristchurch Central in theSouth Island.
Barclay was born in 1922 inDargaville. He received his education atWhangarei High School while his father was working as a farming manager. Barclay was an active sportsman in his youth and represented South Canterbury in rugby (1942–1944) and tennis in the 1943, 1945, 1946 seasons.[1]
From 1941 to 1951 Barclay was an agriculture instructor at the then Department of Agriculture inTimaru. Then for two years he was employed by the Valuation Department office in Timaru working between theAshburton andWaitaki rivers. In 1953 he took up a 50 acre town milk supply farm atHalswell.[2] In 1956 he was appointed a director of the Canterbury Dairy Farmers, Ltd. and was elected as deputy chairman of the board in 1966.[1]
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969–1972 | 36th | Christchurch Central | Labour | ||
| 1972–1975 | 37th | Christchurch Central | Labour | ||
| 1975–1978 | 38th | Christchurch Central | Labour | ||
| 1978–1979 | 39th | Christchurch Central | Labour | ||
Barclay was a member of theLyttelton Harbour Board from 1965 to 1968.[3] He stood unsuccessfully for Labour in theFendalton electorate in the1963 election, the1966 election, and the1967 by-election. The polling night results in the Fendalton by-election showed a 67-vote majority to Barclay, however after special votes were counted National did manage to hold the seat by just 286 votes, a swing of over 5% to Labour.[4] This was a surprise result in a safe National seat.
He represented theChristchurch Central electorate in theNew Zealand House of Representatives from1969 to 1979 when he died.[5] Barclay was much-liked within the Labour Party.[6] As a result of his popularity he was elected a member of the Labour Party's national council where he was active in the governance of the party.[1] He preferentially kept a low profile inWellington but was renown for his hard work in his electorate for constituents and was involved in many community and social groups in Christchurch. When interviewed before the1978 election Barclay stated his main ambition as local MP was to help develop community spirit through his activity within voluntary groups.[1] According to Auckland MPWarren Freer, Barclay would never let anyone forget that he was from and representedChristchurch.[7]
In late 1972 after the formation of theThird Labour Government Barclay was appointed chairman of a government caucus committee to determine the details of the government's irrigation policy, wishing to increase farm production by improving farm management of water to improvesoil quality. Key to this was decentralising irrigation development away from Wellington by establishing local officials committees to make decisions based on the conditions in the area.[2]
Barclay was ParliamentaryUnder-Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and from 26 March 1973 to 12 December 1975 and Under-Secretary to the Minister of Lands from 16 September 1974 to 12 December 1975.[8] The Minister of Agriculture,Colin Moyle, delegated to Barclay the responsibility for a number of agricultural industries including pigs, poultry, beekeeping, fruit and vegetable and produce, viticulture, town milk and pasture pest control. In the pig industry Barclay was responsible for legislation to be introduced to set up an industry council for pig farming separate from the Dairy Board. He was also involved in investigating for a new and consistent supply of feedstuffs for the pig and poultry industry after seeing that both were becoming increasingly reliant on grain production which had instable and fluctuating prices. He convened a wine institute, bringing in growers and industry representatives, to define and regulate standards to improve the production quality of New Zealand made wine. His approach was to encourage and steer rather than command or push.[2]
After Labour's shock defeat in 1975 Barclay was appointed Shadow Minister of Lands by Labour leaderBill Rowling.[9] He was later promoted further and was additionally Shadow Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries after Moyle resigned from parliament.[10]
Barclay had been ill for some months prior to his death where it was reported he was suffering from cancer and had already had two surgical operations. His absence was noticed at Labour's first caucus meeting in February 1979 and Rowling stated he had visited Barclay earlier and expressed concern at his health after Barclay had become unable to perform his electorate duties earlier in the month.[1] Rowling relieved Barclay of his portfolios in March 1979 owing to his ongoing illness with SirBasil Arthur acting as Shadow Minister of Agriculture.[11] Barclay died on 28 June 1979 aged 56, survived by his wife and three children.[1]
Barclay's death caused the1979 Christchurch Central by-election that was won byGeoffrey Palmer.[12]
He was the son ofJim Barclay (1882–1972), a farmer, MP forMarsden (1935-1943) andMinister of Agriculture between 1941 and 1943.[13] A contemporary Labour MPRon Barclay was his cousin. He played golf for recreation.[3]
His second marriage was on 2 November 1968 to Ethel Audrey Howe, the daughter of G. Howe. They had one son and two daughters.[3] Towards the end of his life, he lived in Tancred Street in theChristchurch suburb ofLinwood.[3] His widowed wife Audrey was elected a member of theChristchurch City Council for the Eastern Ward in 1980.[14]
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Christchurch Central 1969–1979 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Shadow Minister of Agriculture 1977–1979 | Succeeded by SirBasil Arthur |