George Witty (1856 – 21 November 1941) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Riccarton, in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

Early life

He was born in

North Ferriby North Ferriby is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Haltemprice area of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. History Humber Estuary "The archaeology of the intertidal wetlands of the Humber Estuary is of internatio ...

, in the

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and came to New Zealand in 1875 with two shillings in his pocket. He was a farmer and a director of the local sale yards company in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

Member of Parliament

George Witty represented the Riccarton electorate in the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives () is the Unicameral, sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers in the New Zealand Government, ministers to form the Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, ...

for twenty three years from 1902 to 1925 . Witty was a Liberal but at the 1922 election he stood as an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

and was successful. Witty was a member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

from 1925 to 28 October 1932. Witty and Leonard Isitt were both appointed to the

Gordon Coates Joseph Gordon Coates (3 February 1878 – 27 May 1943) served as the 21st prime minister of New Zealand from 1925 to 1928. He was the third successive Reform prime minister since 1912. Born in rural Northland, Coates grew up on a farm, which ...

on 28 October 1925; shortly before the 1925 election on 4 November. Both were Liberals but their retirement removed "a source of some bitterness from the Party’s ranks (Coates rewarded them with seats in the Legislative Council the day after the election)".

was Reform, and both of their former seats went to

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

candidates. After Witty, Bert Kyle of the Reform Party represented the Riccarton electorate. In 1935, Witty was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

. He received the King George VI Coronation Medal in 1937, and served as chairman of the Paparua County Council.''The New Zealand Roll of Honour: New Zealanders who have served their country in Peace and War 1845-1995'' (Edited by Alister Taylor, p.1165, 1998, Roll of Honour Publications, Auckland)

Death

Witty died in Christchurch on 21 November 1941, aged 85 years.

External links

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References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Witty, George 1856 births 1941 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Independent MPs of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council Mayors of places in the Canterbury Region New Zealand farmers New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand people of English descent People from North Ferriby New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Local politicians in New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Colony of New Zealand people