Peter McNish McSkimming was 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...

 Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Clutha

Clutha District

The Clutha District is an administrative district of southern New Zealand, with its headquarters in the Otago town of Balclutha. The Clutha District has a land area of 6,362.86 km² and a 2006 census population of 16,839 usual residents...

, in the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

 of 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...

.

Member of Parliament

Peter McSkimming represented the Clutha

Clutha (New Zealand electorate)

Clutha was a New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, from 1866 to 1996.-Population centres:This electorate is in the rural part of Southland.-History:The electorate was established in 1866...

 electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives

New Zealand House of Representatives

The New Zealand House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the legislature of New Zealand. The House and the Queen of New Zealand form the New Zealand Parliament....

 as an Independent from 1931 to his retirement in 1935.

McSkimming was chairman of the South Otago Freezing Co., Kaitangata Coal Co., Dominion Fertilizer Co., Bruce Woollen Co. and New Zealand Refrigerating Co.

Further reading

• Southern People: A Dictionary of Otago and Southland Biography Edited by Jane Thomson (1998, Dunedin City Council, Dunedin)
• Three Party Politics in New Zealand, 1911-1931 by Michael Bassett
  Michael Bassett
  Michael Edward Rainton Bassett, QSO is a former Labour Party member of the New Zealand House of Representatives and cabinet minister in the reformist fourth Labour government...
  
   (1982, Historical Publications, Auckland)
• The Rich List: Wealth and Enterprise in New Zealand 1820-2000 by Graeme Hunt
  Graeme Hunt
  Graeme John Hunt was a New Zealand journalist, author and historian.-Biography:Hunt was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He was the third of the five children including Bryan Hunt, of Frederick Phillip Hunt , a self-employed wireworker, and Beverley Nance Hunt , an accounts clerk...
  
  (2000, Reed Books, Auckland)