Roger Drayton - Misplaced Pages

New Zealand politician

Roger DraytonJP
Drayton in 1969

Member of the New Zealand Parliament for St Albans
In office 29 November 1969 – 25 November 1978
Preceded by	Bert Walker
Succeeded by	David Caygill

Personal details
Born	(1925-01-04)4 January 1925 Templeton, New Zealand
Died	21 June 1986(1986-06-21) (aged 61) Paraparaumu, New Zealand
Political party	Labour
Spouse	Betty Noeline Drayton
Children	Two
Military service
Branch/service	Royal New Zealand Air Force
Years of service	1944–69
Rank	Squadron leader
Battles/wars	World War II

Roger Patrick Blundell Drayton JP (4 January 1925 – 21 June 1986) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Biography

Early life and career

Drayton was born in Templeton. He attended schools at Sockburn and Hornby before finishing his education at Christchurch Boys' High School.

Drayton trained at Wigram after enlisting in the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in 1944, serving until 1969, by which time he had risen to the rank of Squadron leader. He served in the administrative section of the RNZAF and served abroad in Australia, Fiji and Singapore. Following World War II he was employed as a computer systems analyst for the Ministry of Defence.

He was a keen sportsman and represented the RNZAF services teams in both cricket and soccer. He was the secretary of the Combined Services Sports Council in 1959. In 1955, he became secretary of the Ellesmere Cricket Association.

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate
1969–1972	36th	St Albans	Labour
1972–1975	37th	St Albans	Labour
1975–1978	38th	St Albans	Labour

He represented the St Albans electorate from 1969 to 1978, when he retired. Drayton had a well—earned reputation as one of the best campaigners in the Labour Party after winning a previously thought marginal seat by over 900 votes and increasing his majority after that. Consequently, he was often sought out for advice from candidates and backbench colleagues. Drayton, according to Auckland MP Warren Freer, would never let anyone forget that he was from and represented Christchurch.

After the formation of the Third Labour Government he stood for a seat in the cabinet. He was not elected, which Prime Minister Norman Kirk regretted. He then put himself forward for the positions of Chairman of Committees and junior government whip, but was unsuccessful. In 1973, he stood unsuccessfully for the Labour Party vice-presidency, but was beaten by Grey Lynn MP Eddie Isbey. When Labour was unexpectedly defeated, Drayton retained his seat and in January 1976, he was appointed by Labour leader Bill Rowling as Shadow Minister of State Services. From 1977 to 1978 he was Shadow Minister of Defence. He became Labour's caucus secretary and later was Chief Opposition Whip between 1976 and 1978.

Later life and death

Drayton died at his home in Paraparaumu after a long illness aged 61, survived by his wife, son and daughter.

Notes

^ "Former Chch M.P. dies". The Press. 25 June 1986. p. 9.
Wilson 1985, p. 193.
Parussini, Peter (2020). Believer: Conversations with Mike Moore. Auckland: Upstart Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-990003-04-2.
Freer 2004, p. 151.
Hayward 1981, p. 98.
Freer 2004, p. 199.
Grant 2014, p. 251.
"Surprises Among Party Spokesmen". The New Zealand Herald. 30 January 1976. p. 10.
"Labour reshuffles its Parliamentary spokesmen". The Press. 26 February 1977. p. 1.
Traue 1978, p. 102.

References

Traue, J. E., ed. (1978). Who's Who in New Zealand (11th ed.). Wellington: Reed. ISBN 0-589-01113-8.
Freer, Warren (2004). A Lifetime in Politics: the memoirs of Warren Freer. Wellington: Victoria University Press. ISBN 0-86473-478-6.
Grant, David (2014). The Mighty Totara: The life and times of Norman Kirk. Auckland: Random House. ISBN 9781775535799.
Hayward, Margaret (1981) . Diary of the Kirk Years (1 ed.). Wellington: A.H. and A.W. Reed Limited. ISBN 0-589-01350-5.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded byBert Walker	Member of Parliament for St Albans 1969–1978	Succeeded byDavid Caygill
Party political offices
Preceded byRon Barclay	Senior Whip of the Labour Party 1976–1978	Succeeded byRussell Marshall
Political offices
Preceded byBill Fraser	Shadow Minister of Defence 1977–1978	Succeeded byMick Connelly

New Zealand Labour Party

Leadership

Leaders Names in bold served as prime minister	Alfred Hindmarsh (1916–18) Harry Holland (1919–33) Michael Joseph Savage (1933–40) Peter Fraser (1940–50) Walter Nash (1950–63) Arnold Nordmeyer (1963–65) Norman Kirk (1965–74) Bill Rowling (1974–83) David Lange (1983–89) Geoffrey Palmer (1989–90) Mike Moore (1990–93) Helen Clark (1993–2008) Phil Goff (2008–11) David Shearer (2011–13) David Cunliffe (2013–14) Andrew Little (2014–17) Jacinda Ardern (2017–23) Chris Hipkins (2023–present)
Deputy leaders	James McCombs (1919–23) Michael Joseph Savage (1923–33) Peter Fraser (1933–40) Walter Nash (1940–51) Jerry Skinner (1951–62) Fred Hackett (1962–63) Hugh Watt (1963–74) Bob Tizard (1974–79) David Lange (1979–83) Geoffrey Palmer (1983–89) Helen Clark (1989–93) David Caygill (1993–96) Michael Cullen (1996–2008) Annette King (2008–11) Grant Robertson (2011–13) David Parker (2013–14) Annette King (2014–17) Jacinda Ardern (2017) Kelvin Davis (2017–23) Carmel Sepuloni (2023–present)
Leadership elections	1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1933 1940 1951 1954 1963 1965 1974 1980 1983 1988 1989 1990 1993 1996 2008 2011 2013 2014 2017 2023

Internal offices

Party presidents	James McCombs (1916–17) Andrew Walker (1917–18) Tom Paul (1918–20) Peter Fraser (1920–21) Frederick Cooke (1921–22) Tom Brindle (1922–26) Bob Semple (1926–28) John Archer (1928–29) Jim Thorn (1929–31) Rex Mason (1931–32) Bill Jordan (1932–33) Frank Langstone (1933–34) Tim Armstrong (1934–35) Walter Nash (1935–36) Clyde Carr (1936–37) James Roberts (1937–50) Arnold Nordmeyer (1950–55) Mick Moohan (1955–60) Martyn Finlay (1960–64) Norman Kirk (1964–66) Norman Douglas (1966–70) Bill Rowling (1970–73) Charles Bennett (1973–76) Arthur Faulkner (1976–79) Jim Anderton (1979–84) Margaret Wilson (1984–87) Rex Jones (1987–88) Ruth Dyson (1988–93) Maryan Street (1993–95) Michael Hirschfeld (1995–99) Bob Harvey (1999–2000) Mike Williams (2000–09) Andrew Little (2009–11) Moira Coatsworth (2011–15) Nigel Haworth (2015–19) Claire Szabó (2019–22) Jill Day (2022–present)
General secretaries	John Glover (1916–19) Michael Joseph Savage (1919–20) Moses Ayrton (1920–22) Walter Nash (1922–32) Jim Thorn (1932–36) David Wilson (1936–40) Mick Moohan (1940–48) Allan McDonald (1948–71) John Wybrow (1971–85) Tony Timms (1985–95) Rob Allen (1995–2000) Mike Smith (2001–08) Chris Flatt (2008–12) Tim Barnett (2012–16) Andrew Kirton (2016–18) Andre Anderson (2018–20) Rob Salmond (2020–present)
Senior Whips	Andrew Walker (1916–19) James McCombs (1919–22) Dan Sullivan (1922–35) Bill Jordan (1935–36) Robert McKeen (1937–39) James O'Brien (1939–42) Arthur Shapton Richards (1942–47) Robert Macfarlane (1947–51) Phil Connolly (1951–52) Joe Cotterill (1952–58) Henry May (1958–72) Ron Barclay (1972–76) Roger Drayton (1976–78) Russell Marshall (1978–80) Jonathan Hunt (1980–84) Michael Cullen (1984–87) Margaret Austin (1987–90) Trevor Mallard (1990) Jonathan Hunt (1990–96) Mark Burton (1996–99) Rick Barker (1999–2002) David Benson-Pope (2002–04) Jill Pettis (2004–05) Tim Barnett (2005–08) Darren Hughes (2008–11) Rick Barker (2011) Chris Hipkins (2011–13) Sue Moroney (2013–14) Chris Hipkins (2014–16) Kris Faafoi (2016–17) Ruth Dyson (2017–19) Michael Wood (2019–20) Kieran McAnulty (2020–22) Duncan Webb (2022–23) Tangi Utikere (2023–present)

Organisation

Current members
of parliament
Names without
electorates are list MPs
(List of former MPs)

Leader: Chris Hipkins (Remutaka)
Deputy Leader: Carmel Sepuloni (Kelston)

Related organisations

History

History and related topics	Liberal–Labour Labour Unity Conferences Lee affair Black Budget Mason Affair It's Time Citizens for Rowling Moyle Affair Fish and Chip Brigade Rogernomics Māori loan affair Backbone club Closing the Gaps Helengrad Corngate Foreshore and seabed controversy KiwiSaver
Labour governments	First (1935–49) Second (1957–60) Third (1972–75) Fourth (1984–90) Fifth (1999–2008) Sixth (2017–23)
Shadow cabinets	Kirk Rowling Lange Moore Clark Goff Shearer Cunliffe Little Ardern Hipkins
Predecessor parties	New Zealand Liberal Party New Zealand Socialist Party Independent Political Labour League New Zealand Labour Party (1910) United Labour Party Social Democratic Party

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