Ernest Page Lee (27 August 1862 – 19 February 1932) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician of the Reform Party.

Early life

Born in 1862 in

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14 ...

, England, he received his education at

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Aged 18, he started learning the legal trade in a firm of solicitors in the

West of England The West of England is an area of South West England around the River Avon. The area has a local government combined authority that consists of the unitary authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The comb ...

. He was submitted to the Supreme Court of Judicature in 1885. A year later, he emigrated to New Zealand. He settled in

Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...

, and was at first a clerk in a legal firm owned by

Thomas William Hislop Thomas William Hislop (8 April 1850 – 2 October 1925) was the Mayor of Wellington from 1905 to 1908, and had represented two South Island electorates in the New Zealand Parliament. Early life He was born in Kirknewton, West Lothian in 1850. ...

and Arthur Gethin Creagh. He founded the firm of Lee, Grave and Grave. In 1895 married Miss de Lambert. His sister, Leah Lee, was married to the French poet

Jules Laforgue Jules Laforgue (; 16 August 1860 – 20 August 1887) was a Franco-Uruguayan poet, often referred to as a Symbolist poet. Critics and commentators have also pointed to Impressionism as a direct influence and his poetry has been called "part-symbo ...

Political career

Lee was elected onto the Oamaru Borough council. In the , he defeated the incumbent in the Oamaru electorate, Thomas Young Duncan. He represented the electorate until 1922, when he was defeated in the 1922 election. The 1922 Oamaru election result was invalidated due to irregularities, but Lee lost the subsequent 1923 by-election again to John MacPherson of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

. He won the electorate from MacPherson in

1925 Events January * January 1 – The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria (1925–1930), State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini m ...

, but again lost it to MacPherson in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly demonstrating that DNA is the genetic material. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris B ...

. He was the

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

(3 April 1920 – 13 January 1923),

Minister of External Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral rela ...

(17 May 1920 – 13 January 1923) and

Minister of Industries and Commerce The Minister of Industries and Commerce in New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of Ne ...

(22 June 1920 – 13 January 1923) in the Reform Government.

Outside politics

Lee founded the North Otago Jockey Club. He was an accomplished mountaineer and ascended many of the high peaks of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...

. He was on

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu () is an inland lake (finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland, New Zealand, Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori l ...

when he had a seizure. He died three weeks later on 19 February 1932 at Queenstown, and was survived by his wife.

Notes

References

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Ernest 1862 births 1932 deaths English emigrants to New Zealand Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs Ministers of foreign affairs of New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand lawyers People from Teignmouth People from Oamaru Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Ministers of justice of New Zealand