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Jack Andrews
OBE
Jack Andrews OBE
11th Mayor of Lower Hutt
	In office; 10 May 1933 – 9 June 1947
Preceded by	Will Strand
Succeeded by	Ernst Peterson Hay
Personal details
Born	8 May 1892; Masterton, New Zealand
Died	27 June 1983; Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Political party	National (from 1936)
Other political; affiliations	Legion (1935–36); United (1928–35); Liberal (1925–28)
Spouse	Margaret Latham (m. 1921; died 1978)
Children	2
Occupation	Company director

John William Andrews OBE (8 May 1892 – 27 June 1983) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He was Mayor of Lower Hutt from 1933 to 1947.

Biography

Andrews was born in Masterton in 1892. He was educated at Masterton District High School before enlisting in the army during World War I. He was a captain in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade and was wounded in action during the Battle of Messines. After the war he founded and operated a joinery manufacturing business in Masterton and was elected to the Masterton Borough Council.^[1] He stood in the 1925 election in the Masterton electorate for the Liberal Party, but was defeated by the incumbent, Reform's George Sykes.^[2]

In 1927 he moved to Lower Hutt and opened a joinery factory. As the company director of the factory he was elected president of the Lower Hutt Chamber of Commerce. He became involved in politics in Lower Hutt as well and joined the United Party and organised James Kerr's campaign at the 1929 Hutt by-election.^[1]

At the 1929 local-body elections he stood for the Lower Hutt Borough Council on the incipient People's Party ticket. He was unsuccessful but polled well, being the second highest polling unsuccessful candidate and only 30 votes being the last successful candidate..^[3] From 1933, he was elected Mayor of Lower Hutt for five consecutive terms.^[4] He was also a member of the Wellington Harbour Board. He was first elected in 1938 (after being defeated in 1935) and served three terms until 1947.^[5] As mayor he worked to provide welfare and support to the unemployed. He began a public works scheme to provide employment relief during the Great Depression by upgrading the facilities of the Hutt Recreation Ground, including a new grandstand being erected.^[6] In 1935 he adopted Lower Hutt's first ever systematic town plan.^[1] He stood in the 1938 in the Hutt electorate for the National Party, but could not unseat the incumbent, Labour's Walter Nash.^[7]

The 1940s was a period of rapid population growth in the area with the addition of thousands of new state houses in the new suburbs of Epuni, Waddington and Naenae.^[8] He was a Battalion Commander in the Home Guard during World War II. In 1945 he revamped the city's rating system from unimproved value to annual rental value. He was president of the Municipal Association of New Zealand from 1944 to 1947 leading him to take up an appointment as a member of the Local Government Commission. He resigned from the mayoralty towards the end of the triennium to take up his role at the commission.^[1] He had another try at winning a parliamentary seat standing in Hutt again at the 1951 election against Nash (who by this time was party leader). He was unsuccessful once again.^[9] In 1954 he retired from the Local Government Commission.^[1]

Andrews died on 27 June 1983.^[10] He was survived by his son and daughter, his wife predeceased him by five years.^[1]

Awards and honours

In the 1950 King's Birthday Honours, Andrews was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, in recognition of his 15 years of service as mayor of Lower Hutt.^[11] In 1953, he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal.^[12] Andrews Avenue in Lower Hutt city was named after him.^[13]

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Lower Hutt identity Jack Andrews dies aged 93". The Evening Post. 28 June 1983. p. 11.
^ The General Election, 1925. Government Printer. 1926. p. 2. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
^ "Borough of Lower Hutt - Election of Nine Councillors". The Hutt News. Vol. 1, no. 48. 9 May 1929. p. 10.
^ McGill 1991, p. 212.
^ Johnson, David (1996). "Members and Officers of the Wellington Harbour Board, Appendix 1". Wellington Harbour. Wellington Maritime Museum Trust. p. 478. ISBN 0958349800.
^ McGill 1991, pp. 150.
^ "The General Election, 1938". National Library. 1939. pp. 1–6. Retrieved 8 February 2012.
^ McGill 1991, pp. 154.
^ Norton 1988, pp. 251.
^ "Details". Wellington City Council. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
^ "No. 38931". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 8 June 1950. p. 2814.
^ "Coronation Medal" (PDF). Supplement to the New Zealand Gazette. No. 37. 3 July 1953. pp. 1021–1035. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
^ "Andrews Avenue". NZ Street Names. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 22 September 2022.

References

McGill, David (1991). Lower Hutt – The First Garden City. Petone, New Zealand: The Lower Hutt City Council. ISBN 1-86956-003-5.
Norton, Clifford (1988). New Zealand Parliamentary Election Results 1946–1987: Occasional Publications No 1, Department of Political Science. Wellington: Victoria University of Wellington. ISBN 0-475-11200-8.