User:Schwede66/mayors/John Archer (politician)

For other people with the same name, see John Archer.

The Honourable Rev John Archer
Rev John Archer in 1922
34th Mayor of Christchurch
In office 1925–1931
Preceded by	James Flesher
Succeeded by	Dan Sullivan
New Zealand Legislative Council
In office 1937–1949
Personal details
Born	3 March 1865 Leicestershire
Died	25 July 1949
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Phoebe
Children	two sons
Occupation	Baptist Minister

Rev John Kendrick Archer (3 March 1865 – 25 July 1949) was a Baptist Minister, Mayor of Christchurch and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council.

Early life

Archer was born in Leicestershire, England on 3 March 1865. He married Phoebe Elizabeth Gee on 10 July 1894 and they had two sons. Rev Archer and his family came to New Zealand in 1908.

Baptist church involvement

Archer was a Baptist Minister in Napier (1908–1913), Invercargill (1913–1916), Wellington (1916–1919) and Sydenham (1919–1932). He was President of the Baptist Union of New Zealand between 1916–18 and Foundation President of the Invercargill WEA (Workers' Educational Association) in 1915.

Political career

Local body

Archer was a Councillor for Invercargill Borough in 1915–1916. He served as a Councillor for Christchurch City Council from 1921–1925 and from 1931–1935. He was Mayor of Christchurch from 1925 to 1931.

Labour Party

John Archer was President of the New Zealand Labour Party in 1928-29, and its Vice-President 1922-25, 1927–28 and 1929-31.

He stood unsuccessfully for New Zealand Parliament on four occasions; 1919 in Invercargill, 1922 and 1928 in Christchurch North, and 1931 in Kaiapoi.

Legislative Council

He was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council 1937-49.

Passing

Rev Archer died on 25 July 1949.

References

http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/DNZB/alt_essayBody.asp?essayID=3A17

Further reading

Labour's Path to Political Independence: the Origins and Establishment of the NZLP 1900-19 by Barry Gustafson (1980, Oxford University Press, Auckland)

Christchurch City Contextual History Party in local government One manifestation of Christchurch’s radical traditions was the strength of the Labour Party at the local political level. A Baptist clergyman, J.K. Archer, became the country’s first Labour mayor in 1925. In 1927, the Christchurch City Council became the first body governing a major New Zealand city to be controlled by the Labour Party. Christchurch had a strong tradition of ‘municipal socialism’ (expressed through the public ownership of utilities and amenities) from the early years of the 20th century and its reputation for being the most ‘socialist’ of all major New Zealand cities persisted until the end of the 20th century and beyond. Some of the city’s longest-serving and best-remembered mayors were from Labour – Robert Macfarlane and George Manning. The city’s first woman mayor, Vicki Buck, began her political career as a member of the Labour Party, but stood for mayor as an independent.