Jack Ridley (engineer)

John Wallace Ridley QSO (29 April 1919 – 23 August 2006) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Taupo in the North Island, a Rhodes Scholar and a civil engineer. He was awarded the QSO and the New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal for services to New Zealand. He was notable for his contributions to hydro engineering.

Early years

Ridley was born in Invercargill, New Zealand in 1919. He attended Timaru Boys' High School and then studied engineering at Canterbury University in Christchurch. After the Second World War (in which he served as an engineering officer) he spent two years, 1946–1947, as a Rhodes Scholar at University College, Oxford University, graduating with an MA (Honours) in engineering science. He married Avis (née Reed) in 1949.[1]

Ridley was a civil engineer of dams for power schemes like Benmore Dam in the South Island and Wairakei in the North Island, working for the Ministry of Works and Development. For his contributions, he was awarded with the Fulton Gold Medal, at the time the highest award of the New Zealand Institution of Engineers.[1]

Political career

Member of Parliament

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1972–1975	37th	Taupo		Labour
1978–1981	39th	Taupo		Labour

Ridley was the MP for Taupo for six years from 1972 to 1975, and from 1978 to 1981.[2]

He was once asked why there were so few engineers in Parliament, to which he replied: "Because engineers are realists and politicians are idealists."[1] In 1975 his wife Avis unsuccessfully sought the Labour Party candidacy for the Onehunga electorate alongside 26 other aspirants following the retirement of Hugh Watt, but she lost to Frank Rogers.[3]

Independent

In 1984 Ridley stood in the new Tongariro electorate as an Independent but was not successful. A large proportion of the Tongariro electorate had been part of Taupo.[4][5]

Death

Ridley died in Auckland on 23 August 2006.[6] He was survived by his wife and four sons.[1]

Notes

1. Pickmere, Arnold (16 September 2006). "Obituary: Jack Ridley". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 6 March 2012.
2. Wilson 1985.
3. "Local Contractor Beats Big Names in Onehunga Selection". The New Zealand Herald. 18 August 1975. p. 3.
4. McRobie & Levine 2002, p. 117. sfn error: no target: CITEREFMcRobie_&_Levine2002 (help)
5. Ridley's letter to Mel Courtney, 22 July 1984
6. "Obituaries — John (Jack) Wallace Ridley QSO". New Zealand Parliament. 24 August 2006. Retrieved 6 March 2012.

References

• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wood, G. Anthony, ed. (1996). Ministers and Members: In the New Zealand Parliament. Dunedin: Otago University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• From Muldoon to Lange: New Zealand Elections in the 1980s by Alan McRobie and Steven Levine (2002, MC Enterprises, Rangiora)