102 Facts About Walter Nash

Sir Walter Nash was a New Zealand politician who served as the 27th Prime Minister of New Zealand in the Second Labour Government from 1957 to 1960.

Walter Nash is noted for his long period of political service, having been associated with the New Zealand Labour Party since its creation.

Walter Nash arrived in New Zealand in 1909, soon joined the original Labour Party, and became a member of the party's executive in 1919.

Walter Nash was elected to Parliament in the Hutt by-election of 1929.

Walter Nash served as the Member for the Hutt electorate for 13 consecutive terms over a period of 38 years and 168 days.

Walter Nash succeeded Peter Fraser as leader of the Labour Party and leader of the Opposition in 1951.

Walter Nash was from the moderate wing of the Labour Party and was criticised by the left wing of the party for failing to support the strikers during the 1951 Waterfront Dispute, and for not taking stronger action over the controversial exclusion of Maori players from the 1960 rugby tour of South Africa.

Walter Nash was active in international affairs and travelled extensively during his premiership, revising trade terms and supporting aid and development in other nations.

Walter Nash died on 4 June 1968 at the age of 86 while still a serving MP, apparently the oldest person to be a serving MP.

Walter Nash was accorded a state funeral, the first in New Zealand for 18 years.

Walter Nash was born in Kidderminster, a town in the English county of Worcestershire.

Walter Nash was born into a poor family and his father was an alcoholic.

Walter Nash began employment as a clerk, initially with a lawyer in Kidderminster and then at a factory near Birmingham.

On 16 June 1906, Walter Nash married Lottie May Eaton and established a shop.

Walter Nash became highly active in his community, participating in a large number of societies and clubs.

Walter Nash would remain a "Christian Socialist" for the rest of his life, believing that the two components were inseparable.

Walter Nash had briefly been involved with the first Labour Party, established in 1910, but this association had been interrupted by his financial difficulties.

Walter Nash was a candidate for the borough council himself, but was unsuccessful though did poll the highest of the Labour candidates.

In 1922, a year after he had returned to Wellington, Walter Nash was elected national secretary of the Labour Party.

Walter Nash is often credited with turning the Labour Party into a fully functioning entity by establishing an efficient organisational structure and paying off the party's debts.

The delegates at Labour's 1922 annual conference voted to establish a permanent national office which Walter Nash was given the responsibility of doing.

Walter Nash stood for election in the Hutt electorate in the 1925 and 1928 elections, but was not successful until the 1929 by-election.

Walter Nash served the electorate for 13 consecutive terms over a period of 38 years and 168 days which, as of 2023, makes him New Zealand's 4th longest serving MP.

Immediately upon entering Parliament Walter Nash became one of Labour's main finance spokesmen.

When Labour, led by Michael Joseph Savage, won the 1935 election Walter Nash was appointed to Cabinet as Minister of Finance, although he held a number of more minor positions.

Walter Nash was ranked third in the First Labour Government, with only Savage and Peter Fraser above him.

Walter Nash remained as Minister of Finance for the next 14 years.

Walter Nash introduced a number of substantial changes, in an attempt to improve the situation.

Walter Nash reintroduced a graduated land tax at high rates.

Walter Nash supervised the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

In 1936 Walter Nash departed for England to conduct trade negotiations.

Walter Nash visited other European capitals, particularly Berlin and Moscow, to determine whether there was scope for trade agreements there.

Walter Nash reached a bilateral trade deal with Germany to export butter there.

Walter Nash went to Copenhagen to study the Danish system of exchange controls, and had further fruitless trade talks in both Paris and Amsterdam.

Walter Nash was attacked by the more radical socialists in the party who saw Walter Nash's pragmatic economic policies as too moderate.

However, Walter Nash was supported by both Savage and Fraser and emerged relatively unscathed.

Walter Nash gained the additional responsibility of implementing Labour's social security plan.

Walter Nash himself had limited involvement the formulation of Labour's economic reform policies, however he was largely responsible for putting them into effect, with other ministers relying on him for his attention to detail.

Walter Nash instead stated the government would react by introducing exchange controls and import selection which he said in January 1939 would allow the country to maintain its living standards while ensuring the country could live within its income.

Walter Nash was already well familiar with exchange controls systems, having studied the Danish system while in Europe in 1937 and had wished to implement them in New Zealand earlier.

Walter Nash returned to Britain in April 1939 to seek loans and to reassure the British government that existing British exports would not be harmed.

Walter Nash spent over two months in negotiations with hostile officials who were fearful of losing New Zealand as an export market.

Walter Nash attempted to compromise suggesting that British manufacturers could take advantage of import regulations by establishing branch factories in New Zealand.

Walter Nash took some quiet ironical satisfaction that the government that had been so hostile to his policies and negotiated so unfairly was now so desperate for the bulk sales it had earlier denied.

Walter Nash reluctantly set aside his earlier pacifist beliefs during World War II.

Walter Nash retorted that other attempts at peace had been tried and failed and defeating Germany and its allies by force was the only option left.

From May to September 1941 Walter Nash was acting Prime Minister when Fraser visited New Zealand troops in North Africa.

Walter Nash was appointed Minister from New Zealand in the United States as New Zealand's diplomatic representative in the United States in 1942, but he frequently returned to Wellington to fulfil his role as Minister of Finance.

Walter Nash was unable to delegate, accumulated files before making a decision, and was inconsiderate of staff.

Walter Nash travelled as New Zealand's representative to several major post-war international conferences concerned with reconstruction,.

Fraser died shortly after the 1949 election and Walter Nash was elected leader of the Labour Party unopposed.

Walter Nash was seen as the likely replacement for Fraser, but his succession was not assured.

Walter Nash was ridiculed for this stance for many years from both National, unions and media.

Walter Nash was seen as too slow in coming to decisions.

Walter Nash was told by Mason that number of members had complained about the leadership of the party to him and that Mason thought that the majority wanted a new leader.

In 1954 a majority of the caucus was in favour of a new leader but pressure from the unions and continued support from Party branches allowed Walter Nash to survive the subsequent vote.

The negative press from the leadership challenge was unhelpful to Labour's position, but Walter Nash rebounded well heading in to the 1954 election.

The gains made in the election were seen as sufficient to justify Walter Nash retaining the leadership, despite some murmurs of a surprise challenge to him by either his deputy Jerry Skinner or Nordmeyer.

Walter Nash's leadership was bolstered by the talent and energy of new Labour MPs who joined the caucus after the election.

At the age of 75, Walter Nash became Prime Minister of the Second Labour Government.

Walter Nash appointed himself as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Maori Affairs and Minister of Statistics.

Walter Nash decided that drastic measures would be necessary to bring the situation back under control.

Walter Nash's focus shifted from his previous interests of finance and social welfare to external affairs.

Walter Nash meant to make whatever contribution he could to guiding the world to wiser and more moral courses.

Walter Nash was a strong supporter of the Colombo Plan and visited many of the New Zealand-funded Colombo Plan projects in Asia and attended the Colombo Plan conference at Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

The Walter Nash government made progress towards the independence of Western Samoa.

Walter Nash had previously shown interest in Samoa during the 1929 uprising when he collected statistics to evidence Labour's criticism of the New Zealand government's administration of Samoa.

In 1960, Walter Nash was criticised for failing to act in the controversy over the rugby tour of South Africa.

Walter Nash had long been an outspoken critic of apartheid and in 1958, after he became Prime Minister, New Zealand voted against apartheid for the first time at the United Nations.

Walter Nash refused to step in, saying that the matter was for the rugby authorities to decide.

Against expectations Walter Nash did not appoint a Maori as Minister of Maori Affairs.

Historian Keith Sinclair wrote that Walter Nash either had reservations about Tirikatene's ability or was nervous that a Maori appointed as Minister of Maori Affairs might favour his own iwi.

Walter Nash often spoke on marae, frequently repeating his belief that "there were no inferior or superior races".

Walter Nash was concerned at the fragmentation of Maori land interests and appointed a Public Service Commissioner, Jack Hunn, to act as Secretary for Maori Affairs and "get an accounting of Maori assets and see what we can do with them".

Walter Nash was preoccupied with winning the coming election, and told Hunn that he would not have time to study it until after the election.

Walter Nash is the only Labour leader who has served as Leader of the Opposition both before and after his tenure as Prime Minister.

Walter Nash refused to step down, partly because of a desire to continue his work, and partly due to a reluctance to see Arnold Nordmeyer succeed him.

The media speculated that Skinner had died with the knowledge that the party leadership would soon be his and that the caucus had already approved of his succession, however Walter Nash strongly denied the suggestion.

In February 1963 Walter Nash finally retired as leader of the Labour Party and Nordmeyer was chosen to replace him.

Walter Nash was the first Labour leader who did not die in office.

Walter Nash was one of the few New Zealand prime ministers who remained in parliament a long time after losing power.

Walter Nash became the elder statesman of the house, and was frequently referred to in the press as the "grand old man" of New Zealand politics.

Walter Nash continued to speak frequently on foreign affairs and still travelled abroad regularly.

Walter Nash became active in the protest movement against the Vietnam War, and denounced the bombing of North Vietnam by the United States.

Walter Nash spoke at many teach-ins on the subject around New Zealand's university campuses where he was well received.

Walter Nash had become unpopular with the left wing because of his responses to the 1951 waterfront dispute and the 1960 rugby tour to South Africa, but his outspokenness in opposition to the war did a great deal to restore his reputation.

Walter Nash believed that Labour's failure to win the 1966 general election was because of its principled anti-Vietnam war policy, despite voters preferring Labour's economic policy to National's.

Walter Nash's body lay in state at parliament and he was awarded a state funeral, the first since Fraser's in 1950.

Walter Nash was buried in Karori Cemetery alongside his wife.

At the time of his death Walter Nash was still a serving MP, though he had already indicated that he intended to retire at the 1969 general election.

Walter Nash's death triggered a by-election which was won by Trevor Young.

In 1935 Walter Nash was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.

Walter Nash was appointed a Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour in the 1959 Queen's Birthday Honours and in the 1965 Queen's Birthday Honours he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George.

Walter Nash was a cricket enthusiast and played village cricket for the Selly Oak Cricket Club, Birmingham.

Walter Nash's interest extended to statistics and he could recite the average scores of many famous cricketers of the day by memory.

Walter Nash was an assiduous Anglican church service attendee all his life, but overall held very basic views of Christianity.

Walter Nash was a voracious reader and was rarely seen during his leisure time without a book in hand.

Walter Nash disliked swimming, unlike his wife, and he would read whenever he accompanied her while she was swimming.

When Nordmeyer and Walter Nash were given glasses of orange juice, the teetotal Nordmeyer sipped his and said quietly "I seem to have Mr Walter Nash's".

Walter Nash's cook, Margaret Moore, introduced him to 'old fashioneds' which, so he pretended, consisted of fruit juice.

Walter Nash loved his food, and enjoyed good wine and liquor in moderation.

Walter Nash's great-grandson, Stuart Walter Nash, was a member of parliament from 2008 to 2011 and again from 2014.