Melville Lyons

Melville Lyons
Melville Lyons in 1930

Melville Edwin Lyons (27 February 1889 – 7 May 1955), sometimes called Tiny, was briefly a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand until his election was declared void. A journalist by trade, he became involved in local politics in Christchurch after having served in WWI. He was Deputy-Mayor of Christchurch for six years under mayor Ernest Andrews.

Contents

Early life

Lyons was born on 27 February 1889 (note that his birth certificated appears under the date 27 March 1889[1]) in Masterton.[2] His parents were Thomas Adian Lyons, an overseer at a sheep station and later a shepherd, and Mary Lyons (née McIver). His parents had married on 6 March 1880 in Timaru and siblings of Melville Lyons were Joseph James (born 18 May 1881 in Burkes Pass), Esther (born 1883 in Opiki near Timaru), Ethel Mary and Seafield. The family moved to the Masterton area in about 1884. After the last child was born, his father returned to Australia and nothing was heard of him again.[3]

Melville Lyons attended the District High School in Feilding.[4] Before WWI, Lyons was an agricultural editor. He worked for the Dannevirke Advocate and then for the Christchurch Sun.[5] He left for Egypt via Sydney from Wellington on 13 July 1916 as a trooper to enter the war, part of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in the 15th Reinforcements Veterinary Corps.[6] At 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m),[2] he was a tall man and "well-fleshed" (at age 26, he weighed 217 pounds (98 kg)) and had been given the ironic nickname 'Tiny'.[7]

Political career

Parliament

Parliament of New Zealand
Years Term Electorate Party
1925–1926 22nd Lyttelton Reform
Samoan high chiefs Tupua Tamasese Meaʻole (fifth from left) and Malietoa Tanumafili II (second from right) welcomed to Christchurch in 1945 by Mayor Ernest Andrews (fourth from left) and Deputy-Mayor Melville Lyons (right)

He represented the Lyttelton electorate from the 1925 general election.[8] The original count resulted in a tie of 4,900 votes to Lyons and James McCombs each. The returning officer gave his casting vote to Lyons and declared him elected. A recount was demanded, and on 3 December 1925, an amended result of 4890 votes for Lyons and 4884 votes for McCombs was determined, with the differences in the counts explained by counting informal votes in a different way.[9] Lyons' election was declared void on 13 March 1926, and the previous holder, McCombs, was restored as the holder of the electorate.[8]

Lyttelton by-election, 1935
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Terence McCombs 5,437 58.65%
United/Reform Melville Lyons 3,685 39.75%
Independent Labour Edward Hills 103 1.11%
Independent G.S. Hamilton 46 0.50%
Majority 1752 18.9% -6.75%
Turnout 9,271 67.43%[10]

Lyons next stood for Parliament in the 1935 Lyttelton by-election, caused by the death of Elizabeth McCombs who had succeeded her husband James.[11] The by-election was contested by four candidates, and Lyons, representing the United/Reform Coalition, came a distant second against Terence McCombs, the son of Elizabeth McCombs.[12]

Christchurch South by-election, 1939
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Macfarlane 7,900 66.36
National Melville Lyons 4,005 33.64
Majority 3,895 32.72 -10.80
Turnout 11,905 76.36[13]

The death of Ted Howard on 26 April 1939[14] caused the 3 June 1939 Christchurch South by-election. Since Howard's first election in the 1919 general election, Christchurch South was held by the Labour Party.[15] At the last general election in 1938, Howard had polled 9,885 votes versus 3,890 votes for Gladstone Ward, the son of former Prime Minister Joseph Ward.[15][16] The electorate was thus regarded as a safe seat for Labour.[15]

On nomination day, two candidates were put forward: Robert Macfarlane for the Labour Party and Lyons for the National Party.[17] Macfarlane had been Mayor of Christchurch since the previous year.[18] Macfarlane and Lyons received 7,900 and 4,005 votes, respectively, a majority of 3,895 votes (32.72%) for Macfarlane.[19] An editorial by The Evening Post argued that Lyons never had any hope of winning the election.[20]

Lyons was selected by the National Party to contest the Kaiapoi electorate in the 1941 general election,[21] but the general election was delayed until 1943 owing to WWII.[22] When the 1943 general election did happen, W. H. Overton was the National Party candidate in the Kaiapoi electorate, coming second against the incumbent Morgan Williams.[23][24]

Christchurch East by-election, 1943
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Mabel Howard 4,559 47.27
Democratic Labour Horace Herring 2,578 26.73
National Melville Lyons 2,371 24.59
Independent Lincoln Efford 114 1.18
Independent Owen McKee 22 0.23
Majority 1,981 20.54
Turnout 9,644 65.01

Early in 1943, Lyons was nominated by the National Party for the held on 6 February Christchurch East by-election caused by the death of Tim Armstrong.[15] The by-election in the Christchurch East electorate, a Labour Party stronghold, was contested by five candidates, including representatives from the Labour Party and the Labour breakaway party Democratic Labour Party.[25] The election was won by the Labour candidate, Mabel Howard (the daughter of Ted Howard), and started her long parliamentary career.[26] Lyons came third in the election, beaten by both Labour candidates.[16]

Local body

Lyons was first elected Councillor for Christchurch City Council in 1927 and served for a total of 20 years until 1947.[27] He was Deputy-Mayor of Christchurch from 1941 to 1947, serving under mayor Ernest Andrews.[28]

Later life

Lyons was secretary of the Canterbury A&P Association.[3] He died on 7 May 1955.[29]

Notes

  1. ^ "Birth Search". Department of Internal Affairs. https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search/Search.aspx?Path=%2fqueryEntry.m%3ftype%3dbirths. Retrieved 11 November 2011. To find his birth certificate, enter "Lyons" and "Melville" and "27/03/1889" as both the 'from' and 'to' date 
  2. ^ a b "New Zealand Defence Force Personnel Records : Melville Edwin LYONS" (PDF). Archives New Zealand. 4 December 2009. http://archives.govt.nz/digitalarchive/archives:22504. Retrieved 12 November 2011. 
  3. ^ a b Brady, Mary. "South Canterbury, South Island, New Zealand". Rootsweb. http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nzlscant/queries.htm. Retrieved 10 November 2011. 
  4. ^ "The School". Feilding Star: p. 2. Volume XXIII, Issue 1456, 7 June 1902. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=FS19020607.2.31&e=-------10--1----0Melville%20Lyons--. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  5. ^ "Personal Matters". Evening Post: p. 8. Volume XCI, Issue 96, 24 April 1916. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19160424.2.77. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  6. ^ "Melville Edwin Lyons". Auckland Museum. http://muse.aucklandmuseum.com/databases/cenotaph/73041.detail. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  7. ^ "Richard Bedward Owen (1873 – 1948)" (PDF). Christchurch City Libraries. p. 49. http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Publications/RichManPoorMan/RichardBedwardOwen/RichardBedwardOwen.pdf. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  8. ^ a b Wilson 1985, p. 213.
  9. ^ "Lyttelton Recount". Evening Post: p. 9. Volume CX, Issue 135, 4 December 1925. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19251204.2.109. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  10. ^ "Issue of Writ". Evening Post: p. 10. Volume CXIX, Issue 149, 26 June 1935. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19350626.2.108.3. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
  11. ^ "Lyttelton Seat". Evening Post: p. 14. Volume CXIX, Issue 144, 20 June 1935. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19350620.2.113. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
  12. ^ "Labour Wins". Evening Post: p. 10. Volume CXX, Issue 22, 25 July 1935. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&d=EP19350725.2.93&cl=CL2.1935.07.25. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
  13. ^ "By-Election Result". Rodney and Otamatea Times, Waitemata and Kaipara Gazette: p. 5. 7 June 1939. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=ROTWKG19390607.2.22. Retrieved 14 November 2011. 
  14. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 115.
  15. ^ a b c d "The By-Election". Evening Post: p. 8. Volume CXXVII, Issue 128, 2 June 1939. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19390602.2.60. Retrieved 13 November 2011. 
  16. ^ a b "General Election". Evening Post: p. 10. Volume CXXVI, Issue 98, 22 October 1938. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19381022.2.85. Retrieved 14 November 2011. 
  17. ^ "City By-Election". Evening Post: p. 11. Volume CXXVII, Issue 118, 22 May 1939. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19390522.2.124. Retrieved 14 November 2011. 
  18. ^ "Chairmen and mayors". Christchurch: Christchurch City Council. http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/howthecouncilworks/ourhistory/chairmenmayors.aspx. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  19. ^ "Official Count". Evening Post: p. 6. Volume CXXVII, Issue 134, 9 June 1939. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19390609.2.41. Retrieved 14 November 2011. 
  20. ^ "A Straw Vote". Evening Post: p. 8. Volume CXXVII, Issue 130, 5 June 1939. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19390605.2.64. Retrieved 14 November 2011. 
  21. ^ "Kaiapoi Seat". Evening Post: p. 9. Volume CXXXII, Issue 1, 1 July 1941. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19410701.2.91.3. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  22. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 91.
  23. ^ "Kaiapoi". Evening Post: p. 6. Volume CXXXVI, Issue 76, 27 September 1943. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19430927.2.76. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  24. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 148.
  25. ^ "Five candidates". Evening Post: p. 3. Volume CXXXV, Issue 18, 22 January 1943. http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19430122.2.23. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  26. ^ McAloon, Jim. "Howard, Mabel Bowden 1894–1972". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/5H38. Retrieved 15 November 2011. 
  27. ^ "Councillors of the City of Christchurch 1862 to current". Christchurch City Council. http://www1.ccc.govt.nz/handbook/councillorsofthecityofchristchurch.asp. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  28. ^ "Chairmen and mayors". Christchurch City Council. http://www.ccc.govt.nz/thecouncil/howthecouncilworks/ourhistory/chairmenmayors.aspx. Retrieved 9 November 2011. 
  29. ^ "Death Search". Department of Internal Affairs. https://www.bdmhistoricalrecords.dia.govt.nz/Search/Search.aspx?Path=%2fqueryEntry.m%3ftype%3ddeaths. Retrieved 11 November 2011. To find his death certificate, enter "Lyons" and "Melville" and "07/05/1955" as both the 'from' and 'to' date 

References

  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840-1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103. 
  • Scholefield, Guy Hardy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840-1949. Wellington: Govt. Printer. 
Parliament of New Zealand
Preceded by
James McCombs		 Member of Parliament for Lyttelton
1925–1926		 Succeeded by
James McCombs

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