Jim Munro (politician)


James Wright Munro was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Early life

Munro was born in Dunedin in 1870. He was a baker by trade, and president of the Dunedin Bakers' Union in 1907. He started his own business in partnership with Peter Neilson after victimisation by employers. Munro was president of the Dunedin branch of the Independent Political Labour League in 1907. In 1911, he was national president of the New Zealand Socialist Party.

Political career

He first stood for Parliament when he contested the electorate in the for the IPLL. On this occasion, he was beaten by John A. Millar of the Liberal Party. He contested the same electorate in the for the Socialist Party as one of three candidates and was eliminated in the first ballot.
He unsuccessfully contested the in the electorate for the United Labour Party against Charles Statham of the Reform Party. Statham resigned after the election after irregularities in the counting of the vote turned a 12-vote lead for Munro into a 12-vote loss. Munro and Statham contested the resulting, which was narrowly won by Statham.
Munro and Statham contested the Dunedin Central electorate again in the, Munro standing for the Labour Party, and Statham as an Independent. The incumbent was successful.
Munro represented the electorate of Dunedin North in Parliament from the to 1925, and from to 1945, when he died.
In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.
He was not appointed a minister in 1935 as he had a reputation for being lazy, and had embarrassed Savage a week before the 1935 election by stating that:
He was on the Dunedin City Council and Otago Harbour Board. From 1937 until 1938 he was Deputy Mayor of Dunedin. He died in Dunedin on 27 May 1945, and his ashes were buried at Andersons Bay Cemetery.