Patrick Joseph O'Kane

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The Honourable
Patrick Joseph O'Kane
JP
Member of the Legislative Council
In office
8 September 1941 – 31 December 1950
Personal details
Born(1884-03-16)16 March 1884
County Londonderry, Ireland
Died21 March 1970(1970-03-21) (aged 86)
Hastings, New Zealand
Political partyLabour Party
Spouse
Genevieve Moroney
​
​
(m. 1916; died 1962)​

Patrick Joseph O'Kane JP (16 March 1884 – 21 March 1970) was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council from 8 September 1941 to 31 December 1950, when the council was abolished.

Biography[edit]

O'Kane was born in County Londonderry, Ireland, on 16 March 1884, the third son of Thomas Kane, and was educated at St Columba's School in Ballerin.[1][2][3] After six years working in the wine and spirit business, he migrated to New Zealand in 1907.[1] He lived for two years on Maraekakaho Station, where he acquired knowledge of farming.[1] He then worked as a departmental foreman for Thomas Borthwick and Sons at their freezing works in Pakipaki, Belfast, and Waitara, and was a union secretary for the Pakipaki, Tomoana, North British, and Whakatu freezing works.[1]

On 1 May 1916, O'Kane married Genevieve Moroney at the Pakipaki Catholic Church.[2] He served overseas during the latter stages of World War I, from 1917 to 1919, with the Otago Infantry Regiment of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, rising to the rank of corporal (and temporary sergeant).[3]

O'Kane left Borthwicks in 1920 and took up sheepfarming in the Wairoa area.[4] He was appointed a justice of the peace in 1924, and was president of the Wairoa Farmers' Union from 1937 to 1938.[1] He was president of the Frasertown branch of the Labour Party from 1937, and was a government appointee on the Wairoa Harbour Board and the Gisborne Land Board.[1] He also served as an executive member of the Primary Production Council, and was a commander in the Home Guard during World War II.[1]

O'Kane was appointed by the First Labour Government to the Legislative Council, serving from 8 September 1941 to 7 September 1948, and from 8 September 1948 to 31 December 1950, when the council was abolished.[5] He died in Hastings on 21 March 1970,[3][6] having been predeceased by his wife in 1962.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Personal". Gisborne Herald. Vol. 68, no. 20658. 11 September 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Wedding". Hawke's Bay Tribune. Vol. 6, no. 118. 2 May 1916. p. 3. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b c "O'Kane, Patrick Joseph – WW1 68744 – Army". Archives New Zealand. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  4. ^ "Social and personal". Te Awamutu Courier. Vol. 63, no. 4475. 10 September 1941. p. 4. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  5. ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840-1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V. R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 160. OCLC 154283103.
  6. ^ Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand. House of Representatives of New Zealand. 1970. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Genevieve O'Kane". Hastings District Council. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
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