Blackball 1908

Born at Waimea South, near Nelson

Nelson, New Zealand

Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....

 in 1882, Pat Hickey rose to prominence as Secretary of the New Zealand Federation of Miners and a leader in the Blackball Miners' Union in 1908. He stood as a Socialist candidate for Ohinemuri in the 1911 general election against Hugh Poland

Hugh Poland

Hugh Poland was a Member of Parliament for Ohinemuri in New Zealand.- Member of Parliament :Hugh Poland represented the Ohinemuri electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives for twenty years from 1905 to 1925...

 and was Secretary of the United Federation of Labour in 1913.

Australia

In 1915, Pat Hickey was the organizer for the Queensland

Queensland

Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

 Railways Union and opposed conscription during World War I. He became President of the Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

 Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 in 1926 and was selected for the safe seat of Dandenong, Victoria

Victoria (Australia)

Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....

 in 1930 but died in the same year before the election. Hickey was only 48 years old.

Further reading

• Labour's Path to Political Independence: the Origins and Establishment of the NZLP 1900-19 by Barry Gustafson
  Barry Gustafson
  Barry Gustafson is a New Zealand political scientist and historian, and a leading political biographer. He served for nearly four decades as Professor of Political Studies at the University of Auckland, and as Acting Director of the New Zealand Asia Institute from 2004 to 2006.-Politics and...
  
  (1980, Oxford University Press, Auckland)