George Williamson Hall

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George Hall
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Heathcote
In office
12 February 1861 – 1862
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byWilliam Moorhouse
Personal details
Born(1818-09-07)7 September 1818
Sculcoates, England
Died27 February 1896(1896-02-27) (aged 77)
Christchurch, New Zealand
Resting placeSt John Cemetery, Hororata
Political partyIndependent
SpouseAgnes Dryden
RelativesSir John Hall (brother)

George Williamson Hall (7 September 1818 – 27 February 1896) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Biography[edit]

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1861–1862 3rd Heathcote Independent

George Hall was born in Sculcoates, Yorkshire, in 1818. He married Agnes Emma Dryden c. 1850 in Kingston upon Hull.[1] He was the eldest brother of Sir John Hall, 12th Premier of New Zealand.[2]

George and Agnes Hall emigrated to Canterbury in 1853, arriving on the Royal Albert; John Hall had emigrated a year before them.[1]

Agnes's sister, Rose Anne Dryden married John Hall in 1861 at Kingston upon Hull.[1]

Hall began his early life at sea, as a merchant seaman and after arriving in New Zealand, became a pastoralist. Hall stood for the Heathcote seat in the General Assembly in 1861 and defeated Feliz Wakefield comfortably.[3]

Political career[edit]

The polling for the 1861 election in the Heathcote electorate took place on 12 February 1861. Hall and Edward Wakefield contested the election. Hall was a local resident with no prior political experience. Wakefield, on the other hand, came from a family of politicians. He had just been beaten in the Wellington electorate and then came to Heathcote, as the election was held later than in Wellington. Hall and Wakefield received 94 and 35 votes, respectively. Thus, Hall was elected to represent Heathcote in the 3rd New Zealand Parliament.[4][5]

He represented the Heathcote electorate to 1862, when he resigned.[6] The resulting by-election was won by William Sefton Moorhouse.

Hall died at his residence in Christchurch's Park Terrace on 27 February 1896 and was buried in the cemetery at St John's Church in Hororata.[2]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Hall brothers of the Mackenzie". South Canterbury GenWeb. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  2. ^ a b "Obituary". The Star. No. 5501. 28 February 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
  3. ^ Canterbury Museum: Macdonald Dictionary Record: George Williamson Hall, retrieved 31 October 2021
  4. ^ "Mr. Wakefield's Attempt to get Returned to the General Assembly for a Canterbury Constituency". Vol. XVI, no. 1500. Wellington Independent. 26 February 1861. p. 4. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  5. ^ "The Heathcote (Canterbury) election". Vol. XVI, no. 1501. Wellington Independent. 1 March 1861. p. 5. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  6. ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 202. OCLC 154283103.
New Zealand Parliament
New constituency Member of Parliament for Heathcote
1861–1862
Succeeded by