Thomas Henry Davey (1856 – 5 April 1934) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for the electorates of City of Christchurch and

Christchurch East Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the and was abolished for two periods, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created fo ...

. He is regarded as a member 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 ...

, but was critical of aspects of the party and its leadership.

Early life

Davey was born in

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; ) is an ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. Th ...

in south east

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, England. He learned the trade of

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

. With his parents, he came to New Zealand in 1874, arriving in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on the ''Douglass''. They lived in

Feilding Feilding is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on New Zealand State Highway 54, State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. ...

(where he worked as a saw miller), Wellington (where he worked for the Government printer) and then

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 ...

. He was a printer for the ''

Lyttelton Times The ''Lyttelton Times'' was the first newspaper in Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury, New Zealand, publishing the first edition in January 1851. It was established by the Canterbury Association as part of its planned community, planned settlem ...

'' newspaper and became President of the Typographical Union and Vice-President of the Trades and Labour Council. On 8 August 1884, he married Maude Davey, daughter of John Dobson (surveyor) from

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

Member of Parliament

From between the general elections of 1902 and

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

, Davey was one of the three members of parliament representing the multi-member City of Christchurch electorate. He had been presented with a petition to stand for parliament and came third out of nine contenders in this three-member electorate, behind

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English association football, footballer, who played as a Forward (association football), centre-forward and was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United ...

and Harry Ell. In 1905, these multi-member electorates were split up, and he won the Christchurch East electorate against three other contenders: William Whitehouse Collins (who had previously been in Parliament for the Liberal Party), Henry Toogood (a young engineer who only recently left Canterbury College and who would become one of the founding members of the

Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand Engineering New Zealand Te Ao Rangahau (ENZ; previously the New Zealand Institution of Engineers – NZIE and then Institution of Professional Engineers New Zealand – IPENZ) is a not-for-profit professional body that promotes the integrity ...

), and Frederick Cooke (a prominent member of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

). Davey held Christchurch East to

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...

, when he retired. Like Harry Ell, Davey showed an independent attitude towards the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

. He demanded an elective executive, and said that

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-ser ...

held too many portfolios. He also believed that the Cabinet should be reconstructed. Nonetheless, Davey is listed as a member of the Liberal Party in Wilson's ''New Zealand Parliamentary Record : 1840–1984''. Davey was elected Mayor of

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

in 1897. He was a member of the Hospital Board and the Board of Canterbury College. The ''

'' parliamentary correspondent described Davey as: ''"tall, straight, solidly built – the best Mayor St. Albans ever had"''.

Death

Davey died on 5 April 1934 and was buried at Linwood Cemetery.

Early life

Member of Parliament

Death

References

Further reading