SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES

Greymouth Evening Star, 16 November 1928, Page 2

SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES

MR. R. SEMPLE

Mr. R. Semple (Labour, Wellington East), is one of the most powerful personalities in the New Zealand Labour movement and, of course, well known on the West Coast. He is. an Australian by bifth, and for thirty years has been in the fore-front of the Labour ranks. He was previously elected for Parliament at a by-election, for Wellington South, but lost his seat at General Election in . 1919. Mr. Seiriple is well known in Wellington and gained a great deal of credit for the manner in which he led a cooperative company of workers who carried out the Orongorongo tunnelling contract for -the City Council. 1 MR J/ G. COBBE. Mr John G. Cobbe, (United, Oroua) who has displaced Mt J. G. Eliott (Reform), stood as a Nationalist against Mr Eliott at the 1925 election. Mr Cobbe is w’ell known throughout the North Island, and' ha's occupied many public positions in the Feilding dis-; trict. He was 1 the first president of the Feilding Agricultural and Pastoral Association, and, after a lapse of twenty years, during which period he was on the committee, he was re-elect-ed for a further two years. Three times he has stood for the ’ Feilding Borough Council,- and each time he has topped the poll. He has been at the head of the Chamber of Commerce, the Horticultural Society, the Fruitgrowers’ Association and many other local bodies. For seventeen years he topped the poll for the position of ManaWatu representative on fhd Wellington Harbour Board, and is still a member of. that body. A few years ago Mr Cobbe was elected chairman of the' Feilding Farmers’ Freezing Company and stilt occupies that position. MR S. G. SMITH. . 7 Mr Sydney George Smith (United, NOW Plymouth),- who has won the. seat from Mr C. E. Bellringer (Reform) previously represented the electorate, but whs defeated by Mr Bellringer in 1925. He was born in New Plymouth in 1879, and is a son of the late Mr' E. M. '’Smith, of Taranaki ironsands fame. Mr Sydney Smith was for twenty years in the railway service and prominent in trades unionjism, sitting for sonte years on the national executive of the A.S.R.S. He ihas been closely associated with educational 1 matters in the Tatanaki district,' sitting on the Education Board for that district, the High School Board of Governors, the Technical College Committee', and the - Taranaki S'Ohool. Committees’ Association. He first entered the House' at. a byelection' ih 1918, when he defeated Mf J. S. Cohn'eft. Tile-following year he defeated Mr G. H. BUckeridge, and in 19’22 he beat the late member, Mr Bellringer, who, in 1925, reversed the decision. z MH W: A. BODKIN. Mr William Alexander Bodkin (JjTnited, Central Otago) has won the seat formerly■ known as Wakatipu. At the 1925 election, Mr J. Horn (Nationalist) was returned, and on his retirement from politics, Mr . Bodkin has contested the seat against Mr J. Ritchie (R : eforni). Mr Bodkin was born in 1885 at Queenstown, and received hi's early training at the Clyde School. Leaving school at twelve years of age', lie worked oil his father’s farm, but did not take to the life, and decided to study lavh He managed to save money by catching rabbits, which he sold at’4d per pair. In five years he had saved £l7O, and with this amount to his credit he -went to Christchurch, where he attended Wilson’s School in Cranmer Square. It was while a student at this school that he obtained his matriculation. When he returned to Dunedin in 1905 he attended law classes, and served in solicitors’ offices. In February, 1909, lie was admitted as a solicitor, and later in the year he purchased the business of Mr J. R. Bartholomew at Alexandra'’when that gentleman was appointed a magistrate. In 1914 he contested the Otago Central seat against Mr Robert Scott, but was' not successful.