Vivian Potter

Vivian Harold Potter (23 October 1878 – 19 November 1968) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament, miner, trade unionist, and soldier.

2nd Lieutenant Vivian Potter of the New Zealand Army Service Corps wearing campaign medals in 1916

Private life

Potter was born in Hamilton in 1878, the son of Albert Potter.[1] His mother was Catherine Potter (née Whitehouse), Albert Potter's second wife. Albert Potter left his first wife in 1862 in Hobart when he discovered that both she and Catherine Whitehouse were pregnant with his children; he secretly took four of their five children with them to Auckland. His first wife tracked him down in Mount Eden in 1892.[2]

Vivian Potter mostly lived in Auckland during his early life.[3] He fought in the Second Boer War with the 7th Contingent for about two years; he was a Squadron Quartermaster Sergeant with registration number 4045.[1][3]

After the Boer War, he married Lillah Coleman at Waihi in January 1904.[1] He was a miner at Waihi and was a member of the Waihi Miners' Union, but opposed the 1912 strike.[4] After the strike was over, he travelled the North Island and lectured on labour arbitration and conciliation.[3]

He was a Second Lieutenant in World War I.[4] He was granted indefinite leave from military service in March 1918 because he suffered from sciatica.[1]

Political career
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1919–1922 20th Roskill Reform
1922–1925 21st Roskill Reform
1925–1928 22nd Roskill Reform

Potter served on the Waihi Borough Council.[4] He chaired the Waihi school committee for some time, and was on the advisory committee for the Technical School.[3]

Potter represented the Roskill electorate for the Reform Party in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1919 to 1928.[5] In the 1928 election, Potter stood in the Eden electorate for the Reform Party but was beaten by Arthur Stallworthy.[6][7] In the 1931 election, he was one of five candidates in Eden and came last.[8] In the 1935 election, he stood in Roskill electorate again, and came fourth of the five candidates.[9]

He died on 19 November 1968 and was buried at Māngere Lawn Cemetery.[1]

References
  1. "vivian harold potter". Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  2. "Found at Last". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. XXIX, no. 9050. 1 December 1892. p. 6. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  3. "Mr. Vivian H. Potter". The Evening Post. Vol. XCVIII, no. 146. 18 December 1919. p. 10. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  4. Gustafson, Barry (1980). Labour's path to political independence: The Origins and Establishment of the New Zealand Labour Party, 1900–19. Auckland, New Zealand: Auckland University Press. p. 164. ISBN 0-19-647986-X.
  5. Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. p. 133.
  6. The General Election, 1928. Government Printer. 1929. p. 2. Retrieved 4 December 2013.
  7. "Electoral". Auckland Star. Vol. LIX, no. 262. 5 November 1928. p. 20. Retrieved 29 November 2014.
  8. "Election Returns". The Evening Post. Vol. CXII, no. 139. 9 December 1931. p. 9. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
  9. "Blomfield and Jaget Singh". The Evening Post. Vol. CXX, no. 136. 5 December 1935. p. 5. Retrieved 29 December 2013.
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