Commentary on Malcolm McKinnon’s Poverty and Progress in New Zealand: thoughts on WB Sutch’s work in historical and intellectual context. Stout Research Centre, 24 April, 2024 When Bill Sutch was first told by his physician that he had advanced terminal cancer, he responded ‘that can’t possibly be true, I have far too much to do’….
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What does his biographer think? An elaborated version of the article published in “The New Zealand Herald”, 7 June 2008. Keywords: Political Economy & History; I had already seen the just-released security file Dr Sutch. Preparing the entry for William Ball Sutch in The New Zealand Dictionary of Biography I approached the NZ Security Intelligence…
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Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy; Political Economy & History; Biographical Essays (October 2000) Entry in The New Zealand Dictionary of Biography (November 2001) Entry in Chapter 7 – early life to 1950 and Chapter 10 – later life from 1951 of The Nationbuilders (September 1998) Trying to Understand Dr Sutch (December 2001) Sutch…
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Letter in New Zealand International Review, July/August 2002, Vol XXVII, No 4, p.33.
KeywordsPolitical Economy & History
In his review of Keith Eunson’s Mirrors on the Hill, Bruce Brown asks ‘who reads [Jack] Marshall’s autobiography?’, and answers ‘the two volumes are an excellent source of much recent political history (for example on Bill Sutch).’ (NZIR May/June 2002) They may be source of political history but the coverage of Sutch is inaccurate, imbalanced, and unsatisfactory. Many of the errors are addressed by Sutch’s widow, Shirley Smith, in a letter deposited at the Alexander Turnbull Library. My concern here is the balance.
The following is an attempt to write down what seems to be known about Sutch and the saving of UNICEF. This was a note which backgrounds pages 133-135 of The Nationbuilders. It was finalised 22 December 2001.
Keywords: Political Economy & History;
Sutch at the United Nations
In the mid 1950s, Sutch wrote
“I was New Zealand delegate for three years on the Economic and Social Commission of the United Nationsand was Chairman of the United Nations Social Commission in 1948/49, Chairman of the Board of Inquiry into the United Nations Staff conditions in 1949, Chairman of the Executive Board of the United Nation’s Children’s Fund in 1950 and Chairman of the UNICEF Administration and Budgeting Committee and Committee on Fund raising from 1948 to 1950.”
Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, Volume Five (1941-1960), 2000, p.504-506.
Keywords: Political Economy & History
William Ball Sutch was born in Southport, Lancashire, England, on 27 June 1907, the third of five children. He arrived in New Zealand at the age of eight months, when his family migrated to Wellington. His father, Ebenezer (Ted) Sutch, was a journeyman carpenter, and his mother, Ellen Sutch (née Ball), a dressmaker. Both had determined characters, and were widely read in the social fields, despite having only elementary schooling. They were staunch Methodists and were involved in the United Ancient Order of Druids Friendly Society. The household allocated various tasks to each child, independent of gender. Bill’’s included making the soap, jam, pickles and Yorkshire pudding, polishing the floors, turning the mangle, bringing the findings (such as cotton thread) for his mother’’s work, and minding the baby. His strong-minded and financially canny mother, whom he adored, gave him a lifelong commitment to women’s causes.
Chapter 10 of The Nationbuilders The earlier part of his life. Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy; Political Economy & History; Sutch must have returned to New Zealand in 1951 with renewed self-confidence. His overseas sojourn had proved he was world class, while he had successfully published two books in the previous decade, and…
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Chapter 7 of The Nationbuilders Chapter 10 – later life from 1951Keywords: History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy; Political Economy & History; Bill Sutch was not only one of a handful of public servants who shaped economic and social policy between the 1930s and the 1960s. His thinking has continued to influence economic and…
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This was originally intended as an appendix to Chapter 10 of The Nationbuilders. It was decided that the story distracted from the main themes of the chapter (and the book) and was omitted. It is placed here on the record. This is the version prepared in September 2000.
Keywords: Political Economy & History;
The evidence that Sutch was security compromised before the meetings which led up to the incident in Holloway Road in 1974 is almost non-existent. It is true he admired the Soviet Union, and the US government treated him as a security risk in the 1950s, although given its McCarthiest frame of mind that may say no more than he had thwarted the US over UNICEF, and in New York he was friends of East-Central Europeans (some of whom subsequently fled to the West), although apparently he had little to do with the Russians.
Revised Version of the paper in the Stout Research Centre Seminar Series, Wednesday 2 September 1998.
Keywords History of Ideas, Methodology & Philosophy; Political Economy & History
William Ball Sutch, publicly known as “Dr Sutch” and privately as “Bill”, could be remembered as one of a handful of public servants who shaped economic and social policy between the 1930s and the 1960s, to become the father of the export diversification of the 1970s; he should be remembered for his contribution to the early years of the United Nations, especially in the creation of an independent international public service, and the continuation of UNICEF; he will be remembered for being tried and acquitted under the Official Secrets Act; he must be remembered as an intellectual who set down a distinctive and influential vision of New Zealand’s economic and social development.
Brian Easton (Journalist) Interviews Brian Easton (Economist) Published in Asymmetric Information, Issue 71 August 2021. You grew up in Christchurch? In Somerfield, in the south of the city, in a state house the family bought. Dad was an electrician who in the middle of his life became a psychopaedic nurse. Mum was a clerical worker…
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Michael Reddell. ‘Not in Narrow Seas’, Croaking Cassandra, May 30, 2020. Brian Fallow: ‘Progress of NZ Economy Has Been a Rocky Road’ Herald, 20 June 2020. Joan Druett: ‘Not in Narrow Seas’, World of the Written Word. 21 June 2020. Shamubeel Eaqub: ‘Brian Easton Will Now Harrumph’, Newsroom, July 2, 2020 Max Harris: ‘Book Review…
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Watchdog 155 December 2020, p.80-85. Brian Easton has been researching the New Zealand economy for about 60 years. He writes that the pre-sent analysis is offered as a summary of his life’s work. By focussing on the economy, Easton wants to emphasise that it is how people earn a living that shapes social relations. As…
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Review of “Not in Narrow Seas”
‘Not in Narrow Seas’ identifies six hinges. This presentation focuses on whether we are at another hinge. Perhaps that is the last part of the book although the Covid Crisis occurred after the book went to the printer. We use its historical insights to understand the present.
We must remember the lesson of the 1960s and ensure the diversity of our exports and markets. Listener: 22 August, 2013. Keywords: Globalisation & Trade; Growth & Innovation; Political Economy & History; We learnt from the Great Depression of the 1930s that New Zealand was over-dependent on a few exports – wool,…
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Presentation to ‘Spirited Conversations’, Nelson, July 25, 2012. At a public meeting of the Tax Working Group, whose recommendations were the basis of the 2010 tax changes when GST was raised to the benefit of those on higher incomes, a member of the public raised the question of the role of fairness in their thinking….
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Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History; 60 Makers of New Zealand: 1930-1990:Â is at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery from 24 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. It was curated by Brian Easton. The following is a list of items on the website. At the end is the list of individuals who are…
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60 Makers of New Zealand: 1930-1990: is at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery from 24 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. It was curated by Brian Easton. Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History; The following are the panels to go with the portraits. (Each is constrained to 250 words.) They are also tell…
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60 Makers of New Zealand: 1930-1990: is at the New Zealand Portrait Gallery from 24 November 2011 to 12 February 2012. It was curated by Brian Easton. Keywords: Literature and Culture; Political Economy & History; Thank you for coming this evening. I hope you find the exhibition interesting and provocative. I am sure you will…
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