Bob Semple

The Honourable Bob Semple
Bob Semple in 1929
14th Minister of Railways
In office 12 December 1941 – 12 December 1949
Prime Minister	Peter Fraser
Preceded by	Dan Sullivan
Succeeded by	William Goosman
7th President of the Labour Party
In office 1926–1928
Vice President	Jim Thorn (1926-7) John Archer (1927-8)
Leader	Harry Holland
Preceded by	Tom Brindle
Succeeded by	John Archer
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Wellington South
In office 1918 – 1919
Preceded by	Alfred Hindmarsh
Succeeded by	George Mitchell
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Wellington East
In office 1928 – 1946
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Miramar
In office 1946 – 1954
Succeeded by	Bill Fox
Personal details
Born	21 October 1873 Sofala, New South Wales, Australia
Died	31 January 1955 (aged 81) New Plymouth, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Margaret Semple

Robert "Bob" Semple (21 October 1873 – 31 January 1955) was a union leader and later Minister of Public Works for the first Labour Government of New Zealand.

Early life

He was born in Sofala, New South Wales, Australia. He started working at an early age as gold miner in Australia. In 1903 he was involved in a miner's strike in Victoria Australia. The strike was defeated and Semple ended up being blacklisted.^[1]

To avoid the blacklist Semple moved to the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. By 1907 he was president of the Runanga Miner's Union and earned himself nickname 'Fighting Bob Semple'.

He was jailed in 1913 for supporting the general strike and again in 1916 after fighting conscription for overseas service during World War I. Semple served as the President of the Labour Party from 1926 to 1928.^[2]

Parliamentary career

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1918–1919	19th	Wellington South		Labour
1928–1931	23rd	Wellington East		Labour
1931–1935	24th	Wellington East		Labour
1935–1938	25th	Wellington East		Labour
1938–1943	26th	Wellington East		Labour
1943–1946	27th	Wellington East		Labour
1946–1949	28th	Miramar		Labour
1949–1951	29th	Miramar		Labour
1951–1954	30th	Miramar		Labour

Semple was elected to the seat of Wellington South Parliament for Labour in a 1918 by-election, but lost the seat in the 1919 general election. In 1928 he won the Wellington East seat, and held it until 1946, when it was renamed Miramar. He then held Miramar until 1954, when he retired.^[3]

In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.^[4]

During his term in Parliament, Semple held many important infrastructure portfolios, such as Minister of Public Works (1935–1941, 1942–1943) and Minister of Railways (1941–1949).^[5] Semple was seen by many as the public face of the first Labour government's infrastructure investment. During World War II he designed and had built the 'Bob Semple tank', made from corrugated iron and a tractor base. The tank had numerous design flaws and other practical problems and was never put into production, although it was and continues to be regarded with affection by many New Zealanders.

He did not seek re-election in the 1954 election, and died in New Plymouth in January 1955.

His wife Margaret was a Wellington City Councillor from 1938 to 1941.^[6]

External links

"1938, photo of presentation to Bob Semple". Papers Past. 1 December 2015.

Notes

1. Richardson, Len. "Semple, Robert". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 30 December 2013.
2. Paul, J.T. (1946). Humanism in Politics: New Zealand Labour Party in Retrospect. Wellington, NZ: New Zealand Worker Printing and Publishing. p. 192.
3. Wilson 1985, p. 233.
4. "Official jubilee medals". The Evening Post. 6 May 1935. p. 4. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
5. Wilson 1985, pp. 82f.
6. Wellington: Biography of a city by Redmer Yska (Reed, Auckland, 2006) page 159 ISBN 0-7900-1117-4

References

• Hickey, Carina (2010). From Coal Pit to Leather Pit: Life Stories of Robert Semple (PDF) (Ph.D.). Massey University. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.