for the Louisiana politician see Tommy Armstrong (American politician)

Arthur Ernest Armstrong, known as Tommy Armstrong (1902–1980) was a New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 politician of Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

 and Napier

Napier, New Zealand

Napier is a New Zealand city with a seaport, located in Hawke's Bay on the eastern coast of the North Island. The population of Napier is about About 18 kilometres south of Napier is the inland city of Hastings. These two neighboring cities are often called "The Twin Cities" or "The Bay Cities"...

 in the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 and a member of the Labour Party

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

. He was the son of Tim Armstrong.

Early years

Tommy Armstrong was the son of Timmy Armstrong and his wife Alice Fox. His father's parents were Irish immigrants to New Zealand. He was the Canterbury Featherweight Boxing Champion in 1923, won seven professional bouts in Australia, and represented Canterbury

Canterbury Rugby League

Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby league team which represents the region in New Zealand...

 in rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

. He was a mechanical and diesel engineer.

Member of Council

Tommy Armstrong served on the Christchurch City Council

Christchurch City Council

The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since 2007, the Mayor of Christchurch is Bob Parker, who stood as an independent candidate...

 between 1929 and 1935 and from 1962 to 1965. In 1929 Armstrong was successful as an Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 Socialist against the official Labour ticket. He believed the Christchurch City Council was neglecting the unemployed. Armstrong did not mince his words about the labour leadership to a large meeting in Sydenham: "they are ready to cry and shed tears with the unemployed when deputations wait on them, but when asked to do something decent they are found wanting". Though not returned as an Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 Labourite in the 1935 election, primarily because preferential voting

Preferential voting

Preferential voting is a type of ballot structure used in several electoral systems in which voters rank candidates in order of relative preference. For example, the voter may select their first choice as '1', their second preference a '2', and so on...

 had been abolished, Armstrong still got over 11,000 votes.

Member of Parliament

He represented the Napier

Napier (New Zealand electorate)

thumb|right|Boundaries of Napier Electorate for 2008 and 2011 electionsNapier is a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives. The current MP for Napier is Chris Tremain, of the National Party. He has held this position since...

 electorate from the 1943 general election

New Zealand general election, 1943

The 1943 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 27th term. With the onset of World War II, elections were initially postponed, but it was eventually decided to hold a general election in September 1943, around two years after it...

, when he defeated Bill Barnard

Bill Barnard

William Edward Barnard CBE was a New Zealand politician. He was a member of Parliament from 1928 until 1943, and was its Speaker from 1936 till 1943. He was known for his association with John A. Lee, a prominent left-wing politician.-Early life:Barnard was born in Carterton, a town in the...

 who had left the Labour Party to join John A. Lee

John A. Lee

John Alfred Alexander Lee DCM was a New Zealand politician and writer. He is one of the more prominent avowed socialists in New Zealand's political history.-Early life:...

’s Democratic Labour Party

Democratic Labour Party (New Zealand)

The Democratic Labour Party was a left-wing political party in New Zealand in the 1940s. It was a splinter from the larger Labour Party, and was led by the prominent socialist John A. Lee.-Party history:...

. In 1951

New Zealand general election, 1951

The 1951 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 30th term. It saw the governing National Party remain in office, increasing its lead over the opposition Labour Party.-Background:...

 he was defeated by National’s

New Zealand National Party

The New Zealand National Party is the largest party in the New Zealand House of Representatives and in November 2008 formed a minority government with support from three minor parties.-Policies:...

 Peter Tait. He later (in the 1966 election

New Zealand general election, 1966

The 1966 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 35th term. It saw the governing National Party win a third consecutive term in office...

) stood as an independent against Mabel Howard

Mabel Howard

|-...

in the Sydenham seat.

Further reading

• Crisis and Change: Economic Crisis and Technological Change between the World Wars, with special reference to Christchurch, 1926-1936 by James Watson (1984, PHD-University of Canterbury, Christchurch)