For other uses, see Edward Hunter

Edward Hunter

Edward Hunter June 2, 1885 - December 6, 1959 was a Scottish socialist active in both Scotland and New Zealand. He was a trade union organiser, politician and a writer, and played a considerable role in the development of socialism in New Zealand...

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Edward Hunter (also known as Billy Banjo) June 2, 1885 - December 6, 1959 was a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 socialist active in both Scotland and 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...

. He was a trade union

Trade union

A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...

 organiser, politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and a writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

, and played a considerable role in the development of socialism in New Zealand

Socialism in New Zealand

The degree to which Socialism in New Zealand has been of significance in mainstream politics is debated, as varying definitions of socialism and communism make the extent of its influence difficult to measure. New Zealand has a complicated assortment of socialist causes and organizations...

. Born in Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire

Lanarkshire or the County of Lanark ) is a Lieutenancy area, registration county and former local government county in the central Lowlands of Scotland...

 he was the son of a miner, which he would later become himself at the age of 12 after receiving little formal education. He emigrated to the West Coast of New Zealand in 1906, already a committed socialist, influenced by Scottish left-wing thinkers such as Keir Hardie

Keir Hardie

James Keir Hardie, Sr. , was a Scottish socialist and labour leader, and was the first Independent Labour Member of Parliament elected to the Parliament of the United Kingdom...

 and Bob Smillie (both members of the Independent Labour Party

Independent Labour Party

The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...

). As a miners' leader, Hunter became a leading member of the New Zealand Federation of Labour.

Hunter became a socialist writer using the pen-name Billy Banjo, articulating miners' concerns in verse and prose. Hunter was convinced that the miners could become politically educated to the extent where they would be ready to lead the working class

Working class

Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...

 to some form of socialist emancipation. He would regularly articulate these ideas and more in his writings.

In 1909 he married Mary Wards Cutt in Wellington with whom he would have four children.

As a member of the New Zealand Socialist Party

New Zealand Socialist Party

The New Zealand Socialist Party was founded in 1901, promoting the works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. The group, despite being relatively moderate when compared with many other socialists, met with little tangible success, but it nevertheless had considerable impact on the development of New...

, he had by 1911 become secretary of his local party branch. Around this time there was a wave of trade union militancy in New Zealand, and during this period Hunter became more politically assertive. In 'A song of freedom' Hunter called on the miners to 'stand and fight', and after the death of Fred Evans

Fred Evans (union worker)

Fredrick George Evans was an Australian industrial worker who rose to prominence for his role and death in the Waihi miners' strike...

 in a skirmish between police and striking miners at Waihi

Waihi miners' strike

The Waihi miners' strike was a major strike action in 1912 by gold miners in the New Zealand town of Waihi. It is widely regarded as the most significant industrial action in the history of New Zealand's labour movement...

 in November 1912, he called for a general strike which was proclaimed in 1913. Hunter welcomed this strike as a 'peoples' revolt' and was heavily involved in its organisation. His activities resulted in his arrest and he was charged with sedition. The authorities alleged that he incited revolution in response to the government's violent reaction. Hunter received a period of probation.

After the New Zealand Social Democratic Party was formed in 1913 in an attempt to unify various groups within the labour movement, Hunter represented the miners on the party's executive committee.

For his trade union organising activities and socialist beliefs, Hunter was blacklisted on the coalfields, so he instead worked as an organiser for the shearers' union and the Wellington Rural Workers' Union, and in various other jobs. His attempts to promote the cause of industrial unionism among rural workers were not as successful as they had been among the miners as his ideas fell on less receptive ears. It was in this period that Hunter turned more to his writing and away from active political organisation. He wrote many socialist poems and other works, much of which was published. In his writing there are similarities with the work of his brother-in-law James Welsh.

His wife Mary died in March 1915, leaving him to raise four young children alone. Hunter returned to Scotland with his family around 1919, when there was intense labour activity around the city of Glasgow

Glasgow

Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 which was commonly referred to as Red Clydeside

Red Clydeside

Red Clydeside is a term used to describe the era of political radicalism that characterised the city of Glasgow in Scotland, and urban areas around the city on the banks of the River Clyde such as Clydebank, Greenock and Paisley...

. He immediately involved himself in the socialist agitation in Clydeside. Hunter wrote a play The Disinherited which was performed by people drawn from the mining community of Douglas Water

Douglas Water, South Lanarkshire

Douglas Water is a small village in Lanarkshire, Scotland. Named after the Douglas Water, which flows through the village, local mining operations provided employment to local people, and the village was bolstered by the Coltness Iron and Coal Company establishing an operation nearby...

 in Lanarkshire. Thereafter Hunter worked as a journalist, writing for labour newspapers.

In 1937 he was elected on a Labour Party ticket to the Glasgow City Council. He represented Cowcaddens

Cowcaddens

Cowcaddens is an area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is virtually in the city centre and is bordered by the areas of Garnethill to the south and Townhead to the east....

for 22 years and became deputy chairman of the council as well as serving as the city's police commissioner. He died shortly after his retirement from active politics.