Edward Kellett

Edward Kellett (1865 - 15 May 1922) was a New Zealand Independent Member of Parliament for Dunedin North in the South Island.

Member of Parliament

Edward Kellett represented the Dunedin North electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1919 to his death in 1922 (Wood, p.94 & Wilson, p.210; Kellett died 15/5/1922).

Independent Labourite

At the 1919 election, Kellett stood as an Independent Labour candidate in the Dunedin North seat and defeated sitting Labour MP, Andrew Walker, in a straight contest (Bassett, p.25 on the significance of the result).

Twelve months prior to his death, Kellett formed a parliamentary alliance with another Dunedin Independent MP, Charles Statham, the so-called "New Party" which was moving towards fusion with the Liberals when Kellett died several months before the general election in 1922 (Gustafson, p.159).

Kellett served on the Dunedin City Council from 1917 to 1919 (see Dunedin City Council website that lists previous members).

During WWI Kellett supported conscription and resigned from the NZ Labour Party in 1916. He was an executive member of the Welfare League organized by former Labour Leader David McLaren (Gustafson, p.159).

References

*"Three Party Politics in New Zealand, 1911-1931" by Michael Bassett (1982, Historical Publications, Auckland)
*"Labour's Path to Political Independence: the Origins and Establishment of the NZ Labour Party 1900-1919" by Barry Gustafson (1980, Auckland University Press, Auckland)
*"The New Zealand Parliamentary Record 1840-1984" by J.O. Wilson (1985, Government Printer, Wellington)
*"Ministers and Members in the New Zealand Parliament" Edited by G.A. Wood (1996, Otago University Press)