Jim Barnes (politician)

Sir James Barnes MBE
52nd Mayor of Dunedin
In office 1968–1977
Preceded by	Russell Calvert
Succeeded by	Cliff Skeggs
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for St Kilda
In office 1951 – 1954
Preceded by	Fred Jones
Succeeded by	William Fraser
Personal details
Born	24 September 1908 Dunedin
Died	6 June 1995 (aged 86)
Nationality	New Zealand
Political party	National
Spouse(s)	Elsie Mabel Clark (married 13 April 1938)
Children	One daughter
Awards	MBE
Military service
Allegiance	Royal New Zealand Air Force
Service/branch	No. 75 (NZ)
Years of service	1940 – 194x
Battles/wars	World War II

Sir James George "Jim" Barnes MBE (24 September 1908 – 6 June 1995) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.

Early life

Barnes attended Andersons Bay School and King Edward Technical College.

Military service

Barnes joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force in 1940, and trained in Canada.^[1] He qualified as a navigator and bomb aimer, and joined the No. 75 (NZ) Squadron . In 1942, Barnes was shot down over France, and spent three years in German prisoner-of-war camps. He put a lot of pressure on German resources helping fellow prisoners escape, and received various punishments, including a sentencing to be shot, though later the camp brutality eased, and Barnes was not executed.

Athletics career as runner and official

JG (Jimmy) Barnes was well known in Otago and NZ as a mile and cross-country runner of national class. Later, before he became Mayor of Dunedin, he was loyally and consistently active as an official, and leader of Otago Athletics. Jim was particularly supportive of Women's Athletics, at a time when that section of the sport was indeed the poor relation. The Otago Ladies' NZ Record relay team, which included Yvette Williams, Shirley Hardman, Norah Donald, Myrie Ives, and Roslyn Pierson, was most grateful for his support in the late 40s and 50s. Jim Barnes' name has become enshrined in the Otago Harrier Programme in the J G Barnes Cross-country Race, first held in the early 50s in the Chisholm Park area of Dunedin.

Political career

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1951–1954	30th	St Kilda		National
1954–1957	31st	St Kilda		National

He represented the St Kilda electorate from 1951 when he defeated Fred Jones to 1957 and 1960, when he was twice defeated by William Fraser.

From 1968 to 1977 he was the Mayor of Dunedin. He had been on the Dunedin City Council from 1947, and deputy Mayor from 1959.

He was knighted in the 1976 Birthday Honours.

References

1. Eunson, Keith. "Barnes, James George". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 27 September 2014.

• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.