Gains Whiting was a 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...

 trade unionist and political activist.

Political activity

Born in Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

, New Zealand, Whiting was Secretary of the New Zealand Boot Trade Federation. He later became President of the Canterbury Trades and Labour Council and Chairman of the Christchurch LRC.

Gains Whiting was the NZLP candidate for Christchurch South in 1911

New Zealand general election, 1911

The New Zealand general election of 1911 was held on Thursday, 7 and 14 December in the general electorates, and on Tuesday, 19 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 18th session of the New Zealand Parliament...

. A strong ally of Tom Paul

John Paul (New Zealand)

-Political career:Born in Victoria, Australia in 1874, Paul came to New Zealand in 1899. He was a journalist and printer and became President of the Otago Typographical Workers Union in 1902....

 he tried to keep the United Labour Party

United Labour Party (New Zealand)

The United Labour Party of New Zealand was an early left-wing political party. Founded in 1912, it represented the more moderate wing of the labour movement. In 1916 it joined with other political groups to establish the modern Labour Party.- Origins :...

 (ULP) active in Christchurch after the formation of the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (New Zealand)

The Social Democratic Party of New Zealand was an early left-wing political party. It existed only a short time before being amalgamated into the new Labour Party...

 in 1913. Whiting stood as 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...

 Labour

New Zealand Labour Party

The New Zealand Labour Party is a New Zealand political party. It describes itself as centre-left and socially progressive and has been one of the two primary parties of New Zealand politics since 1935....

-ULP candidate for Christchurch South at the 1914

New Zealand general election, 1914

The New Zealand general election of 1914 was held on 10 December to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 19th session of the New Zealand Parliament. A total number of 616,043 voters were registered, of which 84.7% voters turned out to vote....

 general election.

He died in 1946.

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)