Mick Moohan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 17thMinister of Railways | |
| In office 8 December 1957 – 31 August 1960 | |
| Prime Minister | Walter Nash |
| Preceded by | John McAlpine |
| Succeeded by | John McAlpine |
| 36thPostmaster-General | |
| In office 8 December 1957 – 31 August 1960 | |
| Prime Minister | Walter Nash |
| Preceded by | Tom Shand |
| Succeeded by | Thomas Hayman |
| 18thPresident of the Labour Party | |
| In office 17 May 1955 – 8 June 1960 | |
| Vice President | Martyn Finlay |
| Preceded by | Arnold Nordmeyer |
| Succeeded by | Martyn Finlay |
| Member of theNew Zealand Parliament forPetone | |
| In office 27 November 1946 – 7 February 1967 | |
| Succeeded by | Fraser Colman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Moohan (1899-04-27)27 April 1899[1] Garrison, County Fermanagh, Ireland |
| Died | 7 February 1967(1967-02-07) (aged 67) Lower Hutt, New Zealand |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse | Cecilia Hayman |
| Children | 5 |
| Profession | Engineer |
Michael Moohan (27 April 1899 – 7 February 1967) was a New Zealand politician of theLabour Party. Seldom known to anyone by anything other than "Mick", he was a major organisational figure in the Labour Party's early history and went on to become a significant politician in his own right as an MP and cabinet minister.
Moohan was born inGarrison, County Fermanagh, Ireland, in 1899, he was brought up inManchester, England. He was apprenticed to the engineering trade.[2] He served with the 2nd Division, Royal Engineers duringWorld War I in France and then in the Army of Occupation, the Army of the Rhine. Returned to England where the land 'fit for heroes' didn't emerge and emigrated to New Zealand in 1922, where he joined theLabour Party.[3] In 1923 he married Selina (Cely) Heyman who arrived from Manchester prior to his arrival; they had one son and four daughters.[4]
After arriving in New Zealand Moohan found employment with the technical staff of theNew Zealand Post and Telegraph Department and was stationed inRaetihi. There he became active in support of Labour in theWaimarino County. He was elected a member of theOhakune Borough Council from 1932 to 1935, also serving as deputy mayor.[2] After, leaving Waimarino forAuckland, he was elected vice-president and later as secretary of the Auckland Labour Representation Committee. He joined Labour's national office as an assistant secretary in 1937, and in 1940 was elected as Labour's national secretary-treasurer.[5]
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946–1949 | 28th | Petone | Labour | ||
| 1949–1951 | 29th | Petone | Labour | ||
| 1951–1954 | 30th | Petone | Labour | ||
| 1954–1957 | 31st | Petone | Labour | ||
| 1957–1960 | 32nd | Petone | Labour | ||
| 1960–1963 | 33rd | Petone | Labour | ||
| 1963–1966 | 34th | Petone | Labour | ||
| 1966–1967 | 35th | Petone | Labour | ||
Moohan was elected the Member of Parliament for the new electorate ofPetone in 1946 and served until 1967, when he died.[6] He fought off deputy leaderWalter Nash for the Labour nomination who indicated his preference for contesting the Petone seat after an electoral redistribution occurred which made his seat ofHutt more marginal.[7]
Moohan was described by contemporaries as a colourful character and effective debater. Attributed to his Irish upbringing he was described as a versatile speaker who could infuse almost any speech with an entertaining and effective mixture of both 'banter and bite'.[2] Closer colleagues however also noted his underhanded and expedient nature. Nash said of him "He [Moohan] was a sly fellow, oozing bonhomie, with an instinct for low politics."[7]
From 1947 to 1949 he wasUnder-Secretary to the Prime Minister.[8] He was appointed byPeter Fraser to oversee the government's post-warstate housing scheme.[2] In1951 he was nominated to stand for the deputy leadership of the party, but he declined the nomination.[9] Moohan was a critic of Nash's leadership and helped organise aleadership challenge against him in 1954, though in the event switched sides and voted for Nash due to the increasing unpopularity of a leadership change among party members.[10]
During the intervening time he also served as the Labour Party's president between 1955 and 1960 and served as Labour's campaign manager in the successful1957 election.[11]
He was bothMinister of Railways andPostmaster-General and Minister of Telegraphs in theSecond Labour Government from 1957 to 1960.[12] As one of Labour's most experienced MPs Moohan naturally expected to be given a major ministerial portfolio. It was a surprise for many, and in particular himself, when he was allocated only two relatively innocuous postings. He was not even allocated a front bench seat and made no secret of his disappointment.[4] In 1959 he travelled toWarsaw as a delegate to the International Parliamentary Union and then went toLondon to study developments in telephone cable and postal procedures.[2] His main accomplishment was the construction of a state of the art rail ferry, theAramoana, to operate acrossCook Strait.[4]
Despite his cabinet ranking, Moohan was one of a group of three Labour MPs (the others beingBill Fox andFrank Kitts) who were deeply critical of the decisions made in the "Black Budget".[13] From then on he became the chief critic within the Labour Party ofArnold Nordmeyer theMinister of Finance and was involved in several political manoeuvres to block him from the leadership of the party.[4]
However Nordmeyer eventually replaced Nash as leader and Moohan began agitating against the party leadership once again. AlongsideBill Fox andWarren Freer, he was one of the few senior Labour MPs who backedNorman Kirk's successful challenge to Nordmeyer in 1965. Kirk promoted him to the frontbench and he became a close confidant of Kirk's until his death.[14]
Moohan had been indifferent health and was absent from Parliament for seven weeks in July and August 1966 suffering from a throat complaint. He died at his home inLower Hutt on 7 February 1967, aged 68, survived by his wife and five children. Coincidentally he died just hours apart from another previous Labour Party presidentJames Roberts.[2] He was buried at theTaitā Lawn Cemetery in Lower Hutt.[15]
On 16 February 1960 a special ministerial train dubbed theMoohan Rocket made a trip fromWellington toAuckland on theNorth Island Main Trunk, taking 11 hours and 45 minutes, or 2½ hours less than the steam-hauled Night Limited. As the train of a brake van, three first-class cars and a Ministerial car at the rear only weighed 147 tons, and was hauled by twoDG class locomotives, the time was somewhat disappointing. The return trip two days later behind a singleDA class locomotive was slightly quicker at 11 hours and 34 minutes, though the superior DA could not then run through the tunnels north of Wellington and the two DGs took over at Palmerston North. The train reflected Moohan's idea of a fast and comfortable intercity service later seen in theSilver Star andSilver Fern.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister of Railways 1957–1960 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Postmaster-General 1957–1960 | Succeeded by |
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Petone 1946–1967 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the Labour Party 1955–1960 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of the Labour Party 1940–1948 | Succeeded by Allan McDonald |