George Davis (New Zealand politician)

Born in England in 1876, Davis sailed to New Zealand as a child settling in Auckland and eventually became a trade unionist.^[1] He became the Secretary of the Auckland Drivers' Union in 1899, a position he held until retiring just prior to his death due to ill health.^[2] At 38 years of service he was the longest serving union secretary in Auckland. In 1909 he was made a Justice of the Peace.^[2]

Davis contested the 1910 Auckland East by-election as the official candidate of the Labour Party where he came in second place.^[3] George Irving McKnight had originally been chosen by the Labour Party, however he proved unsatisfactory. His endorsement was rescinded and Labour chose to sponsor Davis instead.^[4] The local prohibition league also endorsed Davis as the Liberal candidate (and eventual winner) Arthur Myers owned a brewery.^[5]

He stood for the Roskill electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives in 1919 for the Labour Party where he placed third out of four candidates.^[6]

Davis was a member of the Auckland City Council serving from 1919 to 1923 and again between 1927 and 1929.^[7] Davis was also Chairman of the Auckland Labour Representation Committee.^[8]

Davis died in 1937. He was survived by his wife and adult children.^[2]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to George Davis.

• Gustafson, Barry (1980). Labour's path to political independence: the origins and establishment of the NZ Labour Party 1900–1919. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. ISBN 0-19-647986-X.
• Gustafson, Barry (1986). From the Cradle to the Grave: a biography of Michael Joseph Savage. Auckland: Reed Methuen. ISBN 0-474-00138-5.