Charles White (New Zealand politician)

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The Honourable
Charles White
OBE
Member of the New Zealand Legislative Council
In office
22 June 1950 – 31 December 1950
Personal details
Born
Charles Gilbert White

(1880-11-04)4 November 1880
Dunedin, New Zealand
Died14 August 1966(1966-08-14) (aged 85)
Wellington, New Zealand
Spouse
Nora Addison-Scott Ramsay
​
​
(m. 1911)​
Children4
Relatives
Alma materUniversity of Otago
ProfessionLawyer

Charles Gilbert White OBE (4 November 1880 – 14 August 1966) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician. He was appointed a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council on 22 June 1950.

Early life and family[edit]

Born in the Dunedin suburb of Andersons Bay on 4 November 1880, White was the son of Annie Julia White (née Holmes)—an artist of some note and the daughter of Matthew Holmes—and John White, a barrister and solicitor.[1][2][3][4] He was educated at Otago Boys' High School, and went on to study at the University of Otago, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1901 and a Bachelor of Laws in 1903.[1][5]

On 21 February 1911, White married Nora Addison-Scott Ramsay at First Church, Dunedin. She was the daughter of businessman and former mayor of Dunedin, Keith Ramsay.[6] The couple went on to have four children, including John White (1911–2007) who became a judge of the High Court and was knighted in the 1982 New Year Honours.[1][7][8]

White was a director of the Union Steam Ship Company. After the company moved its head office from Dunedin to Wellington in January 1923, the White family moved to Wellington the following month.[9][10]

Legal career[edit]

White began his legal career as a cadet in his father's firm in 1898, and became a partner in the Dunedin practice of his uncle, Allan Holmes, in 1904. He later went into partnership with Douglas Gilkison and Robert Ramsay, before forming the Wellington partnership of Young, White and Courtney in 1923. He left that firm in 1934, resuming practice on his own behalf in Wellington.[1]

White held a number of commercial directorships, including of the Union Steam Ship Company of New Zealand, Union Airways of New Zealand, and Tasman Empire Airways.[1][11]

Legislative Council[edit]

White was appointed to the Legislative Council as a member of the suicide squad nominated by the First National Government in 1950 to vote for the abolition of the Council. Most of the new members (like White) were appointed on 22 June 1950, and served until 31 December 1950 when the Council was abolished.[12]

Other activities[edit]

White served as vice-president of the Wellington Lawn Tennis Association.[1] He was active in the New Zealand Red Cross Society for many years, serving on the national council, first representing Otago and later Wellington.[13] He served as chairman of the New Zealand Red Cross national executive from 1942 to 1946.[14][15] In 1946, White represented Corso (the Council of Organisations for Relief Service Overseas) in New Zealand at the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration conference in Geneva.[11] In the 1946 New Year Honours, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the New Zealand Red Cross Society.[16]

Death[edit]

White died on 14 August 1966, and his ashes were buried at Karori Cemetery, Wellington.[17][18] His wife, Nora, died in 1970.[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f Scholefield, Guy H., ed. (1938). Who's Who in New Zealand and the Western Pacific, 1938. Wellington: National Magazines. p. 533.
  2. ^ "Birth". Evening Star. No. 5517. 11 November 1880. p. 2. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  3. ^ "Birth search: registration number 1880/15969". Births, deaths & marriages online. Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  4. ^ Platts, Una (1980). "White, Annie Julia née Holmes 1852–1932". Nineteenth century New Zealand artists: a guide & handbook. Christchurch: Avon Fine Prints. pp. 252–253.
  5. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: U–Wh". Shadows of Time. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  6. ^ "Marriages". Otago Witness. No. 2972. 1 March 1911. p. 51. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Marriage". Evening Star. No. 14503. 1 March 1911. p. 4. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  8. ^ "New Year's honours list 1982" (PDF). Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette. No. 3. 18 January 1982. p. 105.
  9. ^ Kitchin, Peter (22 November 2007). "Judge aide to General Freyberg". The Dominion Post. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Social and personal". Evening Star. No. 18197. 10 February 1923. p. 11. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Work of Unrra". Evening Star. No. 25875. 20 August 1946. p. 9. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  12. ^ Wilson, J.O. (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Government Printer. p. 160.
  13. ^ "Red Cross". Evening Star. No. 19107. 26 November 1925. p. 11. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Red Cross officers". Evening Post. Vol. 134, no. 46. 22 August 1942. p. 10. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  15. ^ "The Red Cross". Evening Star. No. 25895. 12 September 1946. p. 9. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  16. ^ "No. 37410". The London Gazette (4th supplement). 1 January 1946. p. 161.
  17. ^ "Cemetery search: cremation". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  18. ^ "Cemetery search: burial". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  19. ^ "Cemetery search: cremation". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
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