Prime Minister Walter Nash Political party Labour Awards Military Cross Preceded by Jack Marshall Name Clarence Skinner Succeeded by Bill Rowling | Preceded by Keith Holyoake Role Politician Battles and wars World War II Preceded by Paddy Webb Party New Zealand Labour Party Allegiance New Zealand Army | |
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Spouse(s) Julia Buckley Gray (married 1924) Died April 26, 1962, Takaka, New Zealand | ||
Clarence Farrington Skinner (19 January 1900 – 26 April 1962) (also known as Gerry or Jerry) was a Labour politician from New Zealand, former Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand and a Minister from 1943 to 1949 and 1957 to 1960 in the First and Second Labour governments.
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Early life
Skinner was born on 19 January 1900 in Melbourne, Australia, before subsequently emigrating to New Zealand. His father was a missionary in Te Kopuru, near Hokianga.
Skinner settled in the Waitaki District and married Julia Buckley Gray in 1924. Skinner established himself politically as a union leader there whilst working as a carpenter by trade. He then turned his profession to farming up until the depression in the early 1930s.
He distinguished himself after being elected the president of the Inangahua Medical Association. He was instrumental in setting up a co-operative medical insurance scheme for labourers working building the Waitaki hydroelectric station alongside Andy Davidson, Arnold Nordmeyer and Gervan & Ethel McMillan. All subsequently becoming members of the Labour party.
Skinner served in the New Zealand Army in the Middle East during World War II. Starting out as a Sapper, Skinner rose to the rank of Major. He was later awarded the Military Cross in 1943 for mine clearing in the North African campaign. He was flown back to New Zealand later that year after promotion to cabinet because of his fine record as a soldier by Prime Minister Peter Fraser.
Member of Parliament
Skinner was a Member of Parliament from 1938 to 1962; he was MP for Motueka between 1938 and 1946 (having defeated new MP Keith Holyoake in 1938), then MP for Buller from 1946 to 1962. Early on in his career as an MP, Skinner was somewhat sympathetic to the plight of John A. Lee, but did not to support him openly. Skinner made good impressions as an MP and gained a reputation for possessing "down-to-earth Kiwi common sense".
Cabinet minister
Between 1943 and 1949 he held several ministries; Lands, Rehabilitation, Valuation and State Forests. From 1957 to 1960 he was Minister of Agriculture, Lands and Rehabilitation. As a result of his work in the area, it is said that Skinner was an instrumental figure in the establishment of New Zealand's pulp and paper industry. As a minister Skinner gained a reputation of sincerity, which helped his otherwise lacking's as an orator.
Skinner was seen by many as Labour's rising star. In recognition of this, he was subsequently elected deputy-leader of the Labour Party in 1951 while it was in opposition. However, there had been speculation that he had sought the leadership, but this was dismissed as merely media gossip. In the attempted coup against Walter Nash's leadership in 1954, Skinner sided with Nash and his status as the deputy-leader was reaffirmed when he remained unopposed in the position.
Following Labour's victory in the 1957 election, Skinner became Deputy Prime Minister in Walter Nash's ministry. He also held the Lands and Agriculture portfolio. In government, Skinner still did not make further impressions in public opinion, where he was still seen by the public as merely in Nash's shadow.
Following the Labour defeat at the 1960 election, Walter Nash favoured first Skinner, and then Fred Hackett to replace him when he retired as leader, but with the sudden deaths of first Skinner and then Hackett, Nash was replaced by Arnold Nordmeyer when he eventually resigned in 1963.