Political Activity

Born at Waikouati in 1876, Reardon was a blacksmith and freezing worker. He was Secretary of the Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 General Labourers Union (1906-19). In 1902, Michael Reardon 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...

 Liberal-Labour candidate and in 1911 as the NZLP candidate for Hutt. During World War I he supported conscription. He helped form the Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 branch of the WEA (Workers Educational Association) in 1915 and was a key figure in the Self-determination for Ireland League 1920-1. Later, Reardon was Secretary Wellington Retail Fruit Trade Association.

He died in 1945.

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)