Jack Ridley

John Wallace Ridley (29 April 1919 – 23 August 2006) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for in the North Island, a Rhodes Scholar and a civil engineer. He was notable for his contributions to hydro engineering.

Early years Ridley was born in Invercargill, New Zealand in 1919. He attended Timaru Boys' High School and then studied engineering at Canterbury University College in Christchurch. After the Second World War (in which he served as an engineering officer) he spent two years, 1946–1947, as a Rhodes Scholar at University College, University of Oxford, graduating with an MA (Honours) in engineering science. He married Avis (née Reed) in 1949.

Ridley was a civil engineer of dams for power schemes like Benmore Dam in the South Island and Wairakei in the North Island, working for the Ministry of Works and Development. For his contributions, he was awarded with the Fulton Gold Medal, at the time the highest award of the New Zealand Institution of Engineers.

Independent In October 1983 Ridley contested the Labour nomination for the new Tongariro electorate but was unsuccessful, losing to Noel Scott. Ridley disputed the selection process afterwards, claiming that the procedure had been manipulated by the party hierarchy who were determined to select Scott and estimating that he won 250 of the 350 floor votes from the members opposed to less than 20 for Scott. The party president, Jim Anderton, refuted Ridley's claims stating that Labour's selection processes were democratically sound and the decision was final. In the Ridley stood for the Tongariro electorate as an Independent but was not successful. A large proportion of the Tongariro electorate had been part of Taupo. The town of Taupo itself however had become part of Waikaremoana. He was survived by his wife and four sons.

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