Robert "Bob" Semple was a union leader and later Minister of Public Works for the first Labour

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

 Government of New Zealand.

He was born in Sofala, New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia. He started working at an early age as gold miner in Australia. In 1903 he was involved in a miner's strike in 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. The strike was defeated and Semple ended up being blacklisted.

To avoid the blacklist Semple moved to the West Coast

West Coast, New Zealand

The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...

 of the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

 of New Zealand. By 1907 he was president of the Runanga

Runanga, New Zealand

Runanga is a small town on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located ten kilometres to the northwest of Greymouth, to the north of the Grey River. Barrytown is 21 kilometres further north...

 Miner's Union and earned himself nickname 'Fighting Bob Semple'.

He was jailed in 1913 for supporting the general strike and again in 1916 after fighting conscription

Conscription

Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

 for overseas service during World War I.

Parliamentary career

Semple was elected to the seat of Wellington South

Wellington South (New Zealand electorate)

Wellington South is a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate.-Population Centres:The electorate is in the southern suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand.-History:...

 Parliament for Labour in a 1918 by-election, but lost the seat in the 1919 general election. In 1928 he won the Wellington East

Wellington East (New Zealand electorate)

Wellington East was a parliamentary electorate in the eastern suburbs of Wellington, New Zealand from 1887 to 1890 and from 1905 to 1946. It was succeeded by the Miramar electorate....

 seat, and held it until 1946, when it was renamed Miramar

Miramar (New Zealand electorate)

Miramar was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate in the south-eastern suburbs of Wellington. It was created in 1946, replacing Wellington East, and was replaced by Rongotai for the first MMP election of 1996.-History:...

. He then held Miramar until 1954, when he retired.

During his term in Parliament, Semple held many important infrastructure portfolios, such as Minister of Public Works and Minister of Railways

Minister of Railways (New Zealand)

The Minister of Railways was the minister in the government responsible for the New Zealand Railways Department 1895–1981, the New Zealand Railways Corporation 1981–1993, and New Zealand Rail Limited 1990–1993...

. Semple was seen by many as the public face of the first Labour government's

First Labour Government of New Zealand

The First Labour Government of New Zealand was the government of New Zealand from 1935 to 1949. It set the tone of New Zealand's economic and welfare policies until the 1980s, establishing a welfare state, a system of Keynesian economic management, and high levels of state intervention...

 infrastructure investment. During World War II he designed and had built the 'Bob Semple tank

Bob Semple tank

The Bob Semple tank was a tank designed by New Zealand Minister of Works Bob Semple during World War II. Originating out of the need to build military hardware from available materials, the tank was built from corrugated iron on a tractor base...

', made from corrugated iron and a tractor base. The tank had numerous design flaws and other practical problems and was never put into production, although it was and continues to be regarded with affection by many New Zealanders.

He did not seek re-election in the 1954

New Zealand general election, 1954

The 1954 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 31st term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, but with a slightly reduced majority...

 election, and died in New Plymouth in January 1955.

His wife Margaret was a Wellington City Councillor from 1938 to 1941.
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