William Andrew Veitch was a New Zealand politician.
21 Facts About Bill Veitch
1.
2.
Bill Veitch began his career in the labour movement, but became a strong opponent of more militant socialism, and rejected the radical views held by many of his colleagues.
3.
Bill Veitch was born in Port of Menteith, a small town in Perthshire, Scotland.
4.
Bill Veitch then moved to New Zealand, briefly taking up gum digging before returning to telegraphs.
5.
Bill Veitch was stationed in various North Island towns for the duration of his career except for two years in Canterbury.
6.
Bill Veitch was the secretary of the Cross Creek branch from 1904 to 1906 and then proceeded to become chairman of the Wanganui branch in 1907.
7.
Bill Veitch was involved in local affairs, serving as a member of the Wanganui Harbour Board and later he was on the Wanganui River Trust Domain Board.
8.
In Parliament, Bill Veitch initially voted against the Liberal government of Sir Joseph Ward.
9.
Bill Veitch seriously considered joining the Liberal Party, but when the new United Labour Party was founded in 1912, Veitch opted to join that instead.
10.
The Liberals were disunited and disorganised, and Bill Veitch was a significant figure in the party's rejuvenation.
11.
In 1928, Bill Veitch joined his faction of the Liberals with others led by Forbes and Albert Davy, creating the United Party.
12.
Bill Veitch was eliminated in the first ballot, with Forbes winning the role.
13.
When Forbes reshuffled the cabinet, Bill Veitch dropped the mining and labour portfolios and was instead made Minister of Railways while retaining transport.
14.
When United formed a coalition with the Reform Party in 1931, Bill Veitch lost his position to make room for ministers from Reform.
15.
Later, when the coalition government devalued the currency, Bill Veitch began to reject his party's leadership, and tried to convince William Downie Stewart to form a new party.
16.
In 1935, unhappy with the coalition government, Bill Veitch joined the newly created "anti-socialist" Democrat Party launched by Albert Davy.
17.
Bill Veitch was then defeated in his re-election bid as a Democrat for Wanganui in the 1935 general election by the Labour candidate Joe Cotterill.
18.
Considerably later, in 1943, Bill Veitch stood for the National Party in the Wellington Suburbs electorate, but was unsuccessful, losing to Labour's Harry Combs.
19.
Bill Veitch died in Paraparaumu in 1961, survived by his six children.
20.
Bill Veitch was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935 and the 1937 Coronation Medal for services to New Zealand.
21.
Bill Veitch married Emma Elizabeth Gurr in Wanganui on 7 April 1896 with whom he had three sons and three daughters.