William Pember Reeves



The Hon. William Pember Reeves (b. 10 February 1857 in Lyttelton, New Zealand, d. 16 May 1932 in London) was a New Zealand statesman, historian and poet, who promoted social reform.

Biography
Reeves' parents were William Reeves (who was a journalist and politician) and Ellen Reeves née Pember; they had migrated to Canterbury in 1857, arriving three weeks before he was born.

He was educated at a private “prep” school in Christchurch, the local high school, and (1867–74) the Christ's College Grammar School. Before entering politics, Reeves was a lawyer and journalist. He was editor of the Canterbury Times in 1885 and the Lyttelton Times (1889–1891).


 * Political career

He represented the Christchurch seat of St Albans in Parliament from 1887 to 1890, and then Christchurch from 1890 to 1896, when he resigned to take up the Agent-generalship. He served as Minister of Labour (1891–96) during the premierships of John Ballance and Richard Seddon. As Minister he introduced the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894 and the Undesirable Immigrants Exclusion Bill, which, had it passed, would have barred poor and Asian immigrants from the country. His anti-foreigner stance earned him the nickname ‘Undesirable Bill’ Reeves.

In January 1896, he left New Zealand for London, where he was Agent-General (1896–1905) and High Commissioner (1905–08). He then became Director of the London School of Economics (1908–19). While in England, Reeves became a friend of a number of left-wing intellectuals, such as George Bernard Shaw, H. G. Wells, and Sidney and Beatrice Webb, all Fabian and LSE members. He was also a member of the Coefficients dining club of social reformers.
 * London bound

In later life, Reeves served as Chairman of the Board of the National Bank of New Zealand (1917–31) and President of the Anglo-Hellenic League (1913–25).

Some of Reeves's more influential writings include his history of New Zealand, The Long White Cloud (1898), and State Experiments in Australia and New Zealand (1902). He also published a number of poems, such as The Passing of the Forest and A Colonist in his Garden.

William Pember Reeves married, in 1885, the feminist Magdalen Stuart Robison, who joined the Fabian Society. They had one son (Fabian Pember Reeves, who died in the First World War) and two daughters, one of whom was the feminist writer Amber Reeves.

Reeves three times declined offers of a knighthood.