Pat Curran (New Zealand politician)


Patrick Thomas Curran was a New Zealand trade unionist and local-body politician.

Biography

Early life and career

Curran was born in Ashburton in 1908 to Maurice Curran and Elizabeth Trevathan. He was a motoring enthusiast and together with his brother David, he established a motor dealership in Ashburton. Curran then married Phyllis and moved to Auckland shortly before World War II, David likewise moved to Auckland in 1946.
He also had a pilot's license and in 1940 enlisted in the Air Force during World War II and he served in the Pacific. In 1945 he was Mentioned in dispatches and awarded the Bronze Star Medal.

Political career

Curran was a sympathizer of John A. Lee and joined the Democratic Labour Party. In the he stood as the DLP candidate for the Auckland West, placing third out of four candidates. Curran later left the DLP and joined the Labour Party. He stood for election to the New Zealand House of Representatives for in, finishing second. He was Labour's candidate in the election in and later in the election in, finishing runner-up on both occasions.
In 1947 he stood unsuccessfully for the Auckland City Council in a contest which saw all Labour candidates defeated. He stood on the Labour ticket again in 1953 and was successful, and was re-elected in 1956. During his time on the council he was chairman of the traffic committee and oversaw the introduction of Traffic lights to Auckland. In 1958 he introduced the Barnes Dance system of pedestrian crossing to solve intersection blockages, the first in New Zealand was situated Queen Street.
He stood for the mayoralty in a 1957 by-election as an independent, but polled poorly receiving only 3.35 percent of the vote. He did not stand for the council in 1959, but stood again one final time in 1965 as an independent, but was unsuccessful.

Later life and death

Curran died at his home in Saint Heliers in 1985, survived by his wife and three children.