1. Ron Barclay came from a deeply political family with his father, Morrison Barclay, being a Liberal Party member and his uncle John was a Reform Party member.
19 Facts About Ron Barclay
1. 2.
Barclay's other uncle Jim Barclay represented the Marsden electorate for the Labour Party from 1935 until his defeat in 1943.
3.
Ron Barclay himself joined the Labour Party and in 1933 he was a campaign committee member for Dan Sullivan's mayoral campaign in Christchurch.
4.
Ron Barclay married Joy Margaret Lusty in 1940 and they had one son and one daughter.
5.
Ron Barclay was a member of the Auckland Education Board and the New Plymouth High School board.
6.
Ron Barclay was a member of the Taranaki Hospital board from 1960 to 1966.
7.
Ron Barclay was a trustee of the TSB Bank from 1958, and was the bank's president in 1963 and 1974.
8.
Ron Barclay was invited to be Labour's candidate in Rodney at the 1951 election but declined, citing family responsibilities.
9.
Ron Barclay was likewise offered the candidacy in 1954 but again refused as he was preparing to leave the electorate and was already in the process of selling his farm.
10.
Ron Barclay eventually agreed to stand for the House of Representatives in 1957 for the Taranaki electorate of New Plymouth, but was narrowly defeated.
11.
Ron Barclay stood twice more unsuccessfully in 1960 and 1963 before finally winning the seat on the fourth attempt in 1966.
12.
When Ron Barclay realised that Arthur Faulkner had the votes to win the first ballot for deputy to Bill Rowling in 1974, he got Freer nominated to split the first ballot vote.
13.
Ron Barclay was the first Deputy Chairman of Committees.
14.
Ron Barclay was unexpectedly defeated in the swing against Labour in the 1975 election.
15.
Ron Barclay declined the offer to stand for New Plymouth in 1978 election and subsequently he entered local politics serving as a New Plymouth city councillor from 1977 to 1989, including three years as deputy mayor.
16.
Ron Barclay was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the community, in the 1978 New Year Honours.
17.
In 1990, Ron Barclay was awarded the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal.
18.
Ron Barclay died in New Plymouth on 29 April 2003 and his ashes were buried in Awanui Cemetery.
19.
Ron Barclay Drive in the New Plymouth coastal suburb of Fitzroy was named in his honour in 2004.