Edward Hunter (also known as Billy Banjo; 2 June 1885 – 6 December 1959) was a Scottish socialist, active in both Scotland and New Zealand.
He emigrated to the West Coast of New Zealand in 1906, already a committed socialist, influenced by Scottish left-wing thinkers such as Keir Hardie and Bob Smillie (both members of the Independent Labour Party).
Hunter was convinced that the miners could become politically educated to the extent where they would be ready to lead the working class to some form of socialist emancipation.
His attempts to promote the cause of industrial unionism among rural workers were not as successful as they had been among the miners as his ideas fell on less receptive ears.
Hunter returned to Scotland with his family around 1919, when there was intense labour activity around the city of Glasgow which was commonly referred to as Red Clydeside.
Hunter wrote a play The Disinherited which was performed by people drawn from the mining community of Douglas Water in Lanarkshire.