15 Facts About Bill Anderton

William Theophilus Anderton was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Bill Anderton served as Minister of Internal Affairs in the second Labour Government, from 1957 to 1960.

Bill Anderton married Annie Gertrude Mason in 1913, and they had two daughters and one son.

Bill Anderton served in the British Army in World War I The family arrived in New Zealand in 1921 and settled in Christchurch for a year, before moving to Auckland.

In 1933 Bill Anderton was elected to the Auckland City Council on a Labour Party ticket.

Bill Anderton was re-elected in both 1935 and 1938 but was defeated in 1941.

Bill Anderton was one of five candidates for the Eden electorate in the 1931 election, and came second after the incumbent, Arthur Stallworthy of the United Party.

Bill Anderton represented the Eden electorate from 1935 to 1946, and then the Auckland Central electorate from 1946 to 1960, when he retired.

In 1947 Bill Anderton was one of three Labour MPs who supported Frank Langstone's contentious proposal that the government make the state-owned Bank of New Zealand the sole legal issuer of bank credit over loans and overdrafts in an attempt to secure state control over the means of exchange.

In 1953, Bill Anderton was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.

Bill Anderton was an agitator against the leadership of Walter Nash during Labour's spell in opposition in the 1950s.

Bill Anderton was one of the main instigators of the challenge to Nash in June 1954, which was unsuccessful.

Bill Anderton was then nominated to stand for a seat in cabinet in the Second Labour Government.

Bill Anderton was appointed as Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Civil Defence from 1957 to 1960 in the Second Labour Government.

Bill Anderton died in the Auckland suburb of Orakei in 1966.