Bill Schramm Explained

Honorific-Prefix:The Honourable
Bill Schramm
Order:11th Speaker of the House of Representatives
Primeminister:Peter Fraser
Term Start:22 February 1944
Term End:12 October 1946
Predecessor:Bill Barnard
Successor:Robert McKeen
Parliament2:New Zealand
Term Start2:2 December 1931
Term End2:12 October 1946
Predecessor2:James Donald
Successor2:Constituency abolished
Birth Date:28 March 1886
Birth Place:Hokitika, New Zealand
Death Date:28 October 1962
Death Place:Auckland, New Zealand
Birthname:Frederick William Schramm
Party:Labour
Spouse:Alice Amelia Peard
Children:2

Frederick William Schramm (28 March 1886 – 28 October 1962) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. He was the eleventh Speaker of the House of Representatives, from 1944 to 1946.

Biography

Early life

Schramm was born in Hokitika in 1886. His Danish parents had arrived in New Zealand in the 1860s.[1] He received his education at Hokitika High School and at Canterbury College.[2] He was a prominent sports person in his younger years in athletics, cricket, and hockey, and represented Canterbury College in the New Zealand University championships for two years.[3]

He married Alice Amelia Peard in 1918; they had two daughters. Schramm started his professional career as a clerk with the Justice Department and held positions in Whanganui and Te Kūiti before World War I, and Christchurch, Wellington, and Auckland after the war.[4] He then became deputy-registrar and deputy-sheriff of the Auckland Supreme Court but resigned in 1922 to enter private practice.[5] He was a solicitor and barrister for the last nine years before his election to Parliament.

Political career

In 1927 he stood unsuccessfully for the Auckland City Council on a Labour Party ticket.[6] Schramm was a member of the Auckland University College Council until his resignation in 1942.[7]

In the, he contested the electorate but came third.[8] He was the Member of Parliament for Auckland East from to 1946; when he was defeated for the new electorate of .[9] Originally an ally of John A. Lee, they fell out and Schramm moved for Lee's expulsion at the 1940 Labour conference. Lee supported the National candidate Duncan Rae who defeated Schramm in the electorate in 1946.

In early 1947 he was a nominee for the Mount Albert by-election but was not selected as the candidate.[10] Soon afterwards Schramm, who was originally from Hokitika, was also speculated as a possible candidate at another by-election in Westland but suggestion of him seeking the candidacy was later dismissed.[11]

In November 1947 he was Labour's candidate for the Auckland mayoralty, placing second behind sitting mayor Sir John Allum.[12] Schramm wished to stand for the mayoralty again in 1950, but was beaten for the Labour nomination by former city councillor John Stewart.[13] In he stood in Parnell once more and was again defeated. He was then President of the Auckland Labour Representation Committee from 1955 to 1957.[5]

Awards and death

In 1935, Schramm was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.[14]

He died in Auckland in 1962[5] and was buried at Purewa Cemetery.[15]

References

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Notes and References

  1. News: New Members . 17 July 2015 . . LXVII . 20410 . 3 December 1931 . 14.
  2. News: New Members. 24 March 2015. . LXII . 286. 3 December 1931. 11.
  3. News: Mr. Schramm the new Speaker. 17 July 2015. Auckland Star. LXXIV. 255. 27 October 1943. 4.
  4. Web site: Biographies of Former and Current Speakers of the New Zealand House of Representatives . . 24 March 2015 . 5 . PDF.
  5. News: Ex-Speaker Dies In Auckland . . 29 October 1962 . 3.
  6. News: Electoral . . 4 May 1927 . 21 January 2018 . 5 .
  7. News: University Election. 17 July 2015. The New Zealand Herald. 79. 24236. 30 March 1942. 4.
  8. Book: The General Election, 1928 . 1929 . Government Printer . 3 . 25 April 2015.
  9. Book: Wilson, James Oakley . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 . 4th . First ed. published 1913 . 1985 . V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer . Wellington . 154283103 . 233.
  10. News: Labour Considers Mt Albert Nominee . 20 August 1947 . . 23 June 2020 . 8 .
  11. News: Westland Seat – Mr Schramm Unlikely Candidate . . LXXXIII . 25308 . 7 October 1947 . 6 .
  12. News: Election of Mayor . . 29 November 1947 . 9 .
  13. News: Labour Candidate To Oppose Auckland Mayor . . 7 October 1950 . 5 .
  14. News: Official jubilee medals . 6 May 1935 . . 3 August 2013 . 4.
  15. Web site: Burial details . Purewa Cemetery and Crematorium . 11 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141015161625/http://www.purewa.co.nz/details.asp?id=21702&type=Burial . 15 October 2014 . dead .