Margaret Semple

Early life

Margaret was born in 1876 to Thomas and Agnes McNair who both emigrated from Lanarkshire, Scotland to Otago, New Zealand.^[1] Her mother died in 1887 after which her father took the family to Victoria, Australia.^[2] Margaret married Bob Semple, a coal miner and unionist, at Outtrim, Victoria, on 27 June 1898. She gave birth to their first child a year later. The Semples initially lived in Western Australia, but when Margaret fell sick, they had to return to Victoria.^[3] She was friends with Margaret Thorn who labelled her a "capable woman" referring to how she almost solely raised her children whilst her husband was away on union or political matters. Thorn recalled a story where a girl accidentally cut off two of her fingers only for Semple to sew them back on with thread for a full recovery.^[4]

Political career

Semple served as president of the Wellington women's branch of the Labour Party, and was a member of the party national executive from 1930 to 1943.^[5] Semple was elected as a Wellington City Councillor in 1938.^[6] She lost her seat in 1941, an election which saw all Labour councillors unseated.^[7] She was also a long serving member of the Hospital Board, sitting on it from 1933 until 1941.^[8] Historians have argued that her own political contributions between the 1910s and 1940s were considerable, though heavily overshadowed by her husband's, who himself seldom acknowledged her efforts in any depth.^[9][10]

Semple died in 1967 aged 91, Bob had died in 1955. She was survived by her four children, 8 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and 4 great-great-grandchildren.^[1]