Mackie, Charles Robert Norris

1869-1943. Born into a wealthy Canterbury (N.Z.) farming family, Mackie lived in England from 1884, returning to New Zealand in 1901. Shortly thereafter he became a committed Christian under the ministry of Rev. Joseph Doke (Oxford Tce, Christchurch). He quickly became a Baptist leader at local, regional and national level. He was co-founder of the National Peace Council in 1911 and thereafter was its main leader. This body was the most significant pacifist organisation during World War One. Mackie’s pacifist emphasis found little support among N.Z. Baptists and his strong views on this subject contributed to the splitting of the Linwood Baptist Church in 1917. Thereafter Mackie’s main church links were with the Quakers. Refs: DNZB; J.E. Cookson, ‘Mackie, Charles Robert Norris’ in Harold Josephson (ed.), Biographical Dictionary of Modern Peace Leaders, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1985, pp.587-8.