Dr Walter Lee (1811 – 29 January 1887) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician.

Biography

Lee arrived in New Zealand in 1842. He represented the Northern Division (a territory north of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

but south of

Whangārei Whangārei () is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the largest settlement of the Northland Region. It is part of the Whangarei District, created in 1989 from the former Whangarei City, Whangarei County and Hikurangi Town councils to admi ...

) in the 1st Parliament and the 2nd Parliament; serving from 1853 to 1860, when he retired. A Catholic, Lee opposed the reading of prayers at the start of Parliament, saying that any prayer would have an inevitable bias towards one faith or another. Lee also served on the

Auckland Provincial Council The Auckland Province was a Provinces of New Zealand, province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the ...

, representing the Northern Division electorate in 1857 and 1858. He was chairman of the initial

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1989 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elec ...

. He fell ill with a chronic liver disease and a week later, on 29 January 1887, he died from

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and covering of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One pa ...

. He was survived by his wife.

Notes

References

* 1811 births 1887 deaths Auckland City Councillors Deaths from peritonitis Members of the Auckland Provincial Council Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates New Zealand Roman Catholics People from the Northland Region {{NewZealand-politician-stub