Horace Belshaw papers.

Horace Belshaw was born in England in 1898. In 1906 his family came to New Zealand settling in Christchurch. Initially, Belshaw trained as a teacher, studying through Canterbury University as an external student. In 1920, he graduated, continued with teaching, married, and studied for his MA, in which he finally gained first class honours.

He was then appointed a tutorial class lecturer on economics at first on the West Coast but later in Timaru. In 1924 he gained an award to study economics at Cambridge under Keynes, and in 1926 successfully presented a PhD thesis.

He was appointed to the newly-created chair of economics at Auckland University College in 1927, which he retained until 1944, when he was appointed Research Secretary to the Institute of Pacific relations. Two years later he became Professor of Agricultural Economics at Davis College in the University of California and also economist at the Giannini Foundation. In 1951 he returned to New Zealand academic life with his appointment as MacCarthy Professor of Economics at Victoria University College in 1951. During this period in Wellington, he played a prominent role in the development of the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research.

In 1959 he retired to Whenuapai and in 1962 he died while visiting Rome.

For a full biography and a list of publications see The economic record, Dec 1962: 498-506.