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The New Zealand Railways Magazine, Volume 11, Issue 4 (July 1, 1936)
[section]
A special amending Act of Parliament has been passed to validate the appointment of the Hon. M. Connelly to the Legislative Council of New Zealand. The first member of a Government Department to be appointed to the Legislative Council, the Hon. M. Connelly was, for 25 years, in the Railway service.
Mr. Connelly was born in Kakaramea in 1887, being a son of the late J. Connelly, who was well known on the West Coast, and Mrs. Connelly, who is now living in Runanga. In his early days he spent some time in the mines. Arriving in Wellington in 1911, he joined the Railway Service in March of that year as a Porter. He was later appointed Guard at Greymouth, being subsequently transferred to Omakau and Dunedin. Shortly after joining the Thorndon Branch of the A.S.R.S. he was elected Secretary, a position he held until 1918. On his transfer to Greymouth he was elected Chairman of the local Branch of the Society and attended the 1919 Conference. In 1921 he was elected to the Executive Council, and again in 1923, in which year he was appointed to the position of President until 1925. He has served on the Executive continuously since 1929, and at the time of his appointment to the Legislative Council he was Vice-President of the A.S.R.S
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(Railway Publicity photo.)
Main Entrance Lobby, Parliament Building, Wellington. Effective study of black and white marble floor, green marble pillars and black marble pillars at the front of the main stairway. All these varieties of marble were quarried in Golden Bay district, Nelson.
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The Hon. M. Connelly, M.L.C.
Mr. Connelly was a member of the Railways Appeal Board for a number of years, and he frequently acted as an advocate before the Board. He has also been Division II member on the Superannuation Board since 1927.
Mr. Connelly was always prominent in the Labour movement and whilst in Greymouth, along with Mr. J. O'Brien, M.P., and the Hon. G. R. Hunter, M.L.C., he was one of the founders of the “Grey River Argus” when that paper became a Labour daily. He was one of the first Directors and Secretary to the Company.
In 1925 he unsuccessfully contested the Chalmers seat against Mr. J. McDickson. He is now an Executive member of the Otago L.R.C. His appointment will be welcomed as it will afford him an opportunity to apply his knowledge of economic and social questions in a wider field for the benefit of his fellows.