Sir Arthur Mielziner Myers (19 May 1868 – 9 October 1926) was a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 politician. He was Mayor of Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 City from 1905 to 1909, Member of the House of Representatives from 1910 to 1921, and a Cabinet Minister. Today he is remembered mainly for the public works constructed in Auckland during his term as Mayor, and partly from his donations, including Grafton Bridge

Grafton Bridge

Grafton Bridge is a road bridge spanning Grafton Gully in Auckland City, New Zealand. Built of reinforced concrete in 1910, it connects the Auckland CBD with the Grafton suburb...

 and Myers Park

Myers Park (Auckland)

Myers Park is a narrow park in central Auckland, New Zealand, running parallel to the upper part of Queen Street. It is characterised by steep, grassed slopes and canopied with a mixture of large exotic and native trees, including an alley of large palm trees...

.

Early life

Myers was born in Ballarat, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, the child of Louis Myers and Catherine Ehrenfried, a Jewish couple. Following the death of his father in 1870, his mother moved to Wellington, New Zealand. Myers went to Wellington College

Wellington College (New Zealand)

Wellington College is a state secondary school for boys in Mount Victoria in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Wellington College opened in 1867 as Wellington Grammar School in Woodward Street, though Sir George Grey gave the school a deed of endowment in 1853. In 1874 it opened at its present...

 from 1880 to 1883. His main sporting interests were rowing and swimming. The family moved to Auckland in 1886, where his uncle, Louis Ehrenfried had moved the family brewing business

Brewing

Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...

 from Thames. Later, in 1897, the successful brewery was combined with that of John Logan Campbell

John Logan Campbell

Sir John Logan Campbell was a prominent New Zealand public figure. He was the son of Doctor John Campbell and his wife Catherine. He was described by his contemporaries as "the father of Auckland".- Early life:...

 to form Campbell and Ehrenfried. An able administrator and already something of a financial wizard at the age of 30, Myers became Managing Director of the merged company following the death of his uncle in 1897.

In 1903 Myers journeyed to London to marry Vera Anita Levy who he had met two years before. She was the daughter of Benjamin Levy, one of the owners of a large British business empire with interests in Australia. Married in London, they returned to New Zealand, where his wife became a well-known hostess and patron of the local cultural scene. It was her who encouraged Myers to eventually run for public office.

Public life

Myers ran for and succeeded in becoming Mayor of Auckland City

Mayor of Auckland City

The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when Auckland City Council was abolished and replaced with the Auckland Council....

 for the term 1905 to 1909. He improved the finances of the city administration, improved services such as the water supply and drainage. The construction of the new Auckland Town Hall was largely due to his efforts, as was the new Grafton Bridge across Grafton Gully. Myers Park, located between Karangahape Road

Karangahape Road

Karangahape Road is one of the main streets in the central business district of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area - and subsequent flight of residents and retail into the suburbs - turned it from one of Auckland's premier shopping streets...

 and Mayoral Drive, is named after him, as in 1913 he donated £10,000 to develop the previously overgrown gully into a child-friendly park and to build the adjacent 'Myers Free Kindergarten' (still operating in the same heritage building). One of his few major failures was an unsuccessful attempt to reduce the plethora of local Councils then governing the Auckland Isthmus. Nevertheless, he had become known as a popular and effective politician.

Active in the volunteer defence movement, he served as major in the 1st Battalion Auckland Infantry Volunteers and as commanding officer, with the rank of lieutenant colonel, of the New Zealand Forces Motor Service Corps.

Myers donated the Myers cup to the new Auckland Rugby League

Auckland Rugby League

The Auckland Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region and was the owner of Carlaw Park, once the "spiritual home of rugby league in New Zealand".-History:The Auckland Rugby League was...

 in 1910. It was contested as the top prize in the inagural 1910 season

1910 New Zealand rugby league season

The 1910 New Zealand rugby league season was the 3rd season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand.-International competitions:...

 and again in 1911

1911 New Zealand rugby league season

The 1911 New Zealand rugby league season was the 4th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand.-International competitions:New Zealand toured Australia, playing in no Test matches. This was the first tour of a New Zealand side since the formation of the New Zealand Rugby League...

. In 1914 Myers was elected the Auckland Rugby League president and he served in this role until his death in 1926.

After a break from politics for a world tour, he entered Parliament for the seat of Auckland East

Auckland East

Auckland East was a New Zealand electorate, situated in the east of Auckland.-History:The Auckland East electorate was established for the 1860-1861 elections, when the Auckland electorate was split in half. It consisted of most of modern Auckland's central business district...

 in the 1910 Auckland East by-election, replacing his cousin Frederick Baume

Frederick Baume

Frederick Ehrenfried Baume was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party.From 1902 to 1905 he was one of the three Members of Parliament representing the multi-member City of Auckland electorate....

 and won comfortably. He held his seat until 3 October 1921 when he resigned between general elections. Initially he was an Independent and then from 1911 he stood for the New Zealand Liberal Party

New Zealand Liberal Party

The New Zealand Liberal Party is generally regarded as having been the first real political party in New Zealand. It governed from 1891 until 1912. Out of office, the Liberals gradually found themselves pressed between the conservative Reform Party and the growing Labour Party...

.

In the short-lived Mackenzie Ministry of 28 March to 10 July 1912 he held three important portfolios; Finance, Defence, Railways, also the Tax Department. From 12 August 1915 to 25 August 1919 he served as Minister of Customs and Minister in charge of Munitions and Supplies, Pensions, Advertising and National Provident Fund during the wartime National (coalition) Ministry, where the gained much acclaim for his efficiency and impartiality. In 1924 he was knighted for services to his country.

Deciding to leave politics - as he had no wish for a long period of opposition for his party - he left politics in 1921, and also left New Zealand, as he had promised his wife at the time of their wedding that they would eventually return to London where she had grown up. The departure was seen a great loss by many locals. Active for the National Bank of New Zealand

National Bank of New Zealand

The National Bank of New Zealand often referred to as The National Bank is one of New Zealand's largest banks. Throughout much of its history, the National Bank has provided banking services to mainly rural, personal, and small business customers. Its owner is ANZ National Bank Limited, the New...

, he otherwise led a semi-retired life and took up golf. He died in London in 1926 to the effects of a series of heart attacks. He was survived by his children and his wife Vera. A grandson, Douglas Myers

Douglas Myers (New Zealand businessman)

Sir Arthur Douglas Myers, KNZM, CBE is a New Zealand businessman and one of the country's richest men ....

, became CEO of Campbell and Ehrenfried in 1965 and later created Lion Nathan

Lion Nathan

Lion Nathan National Foods is the parent company created in October 2009, into which Lion Nathan and National Foods were merged. It is fully owned by Kirin Holdings Company, Limited...

.