Albert Edward Glover (1849–11 September 1941) was a New Zealand politician 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. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Biography

Early life and career

Glover was born in

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

, England, in 1849. At age 13 he sailed with his parents to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and arrived in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in 1862. Afterwards he spent several years working for his father in a hotel he owned in the

Coromandel Coromandel may refer to: Places India *Coromandel Coast, India **Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements ** Dutch Coromandel *Coromandel, KGF, Karnataka, India New Zealand *Coromandel, New Zealand, a town on the Coromandel Peninsula *Coro ...

. He then became involved in mining and moved to

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

during the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, New ...

. Later, Glover returned to Coromandel after unsuccessfully prospecting for gold and then had a holiday in Rarotonga. Upon returning he set up business in Auckland importing fruit from the island and selling it on to local grocers. He would remain in the trade until his retirement from business in 1920.

Political career

Glover became involved politically and joined the local branch of the Liberal-Labour Federation. In 1893 he was elected to the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 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 elected b ...

where he would serve two separate spells totaling 16 years combined. In addition he was also a member of the

Auckland Harbour Board The Auckland Harbour Board was a public body that operated the ports of both Auckland and Onehunga from 1871 to 1988 and was dissolved in 1989. Its successor organisation is Ports of Auckland, which assumed the possessions and responsibilities of ...

, Hospital Board and Schools Committee. Glover stood for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in 1908 and was elected to represent the electorate. He ran against former Mayor of Auckland Alfred Kidd (the incumbent), both were from the

, and it was not unusual at the time for there to be more than one Liberal candidate. Glover held the seat for three terms until 1919, when he was defeated by Labour candidate Bill Parry. Three years later he attempted to regain the Auckland Central seat for the Liberal Party, but was again beaten by Parry. In 1929 he stood unsuccessfully for the

as an independent candidate.

Rugby league administrator

As the local MP, Glover chaired a meeting of 150 people on 20 July 1909 that formed the Auckland Rugby League. Glover was elected one of the ARL's first Vice-Presidents at the meeting.Coffey, John and Bernie Wood ''Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009'', 2009. , p.18.

Later life and death

Glover's wife Nancy died in 1934 aged 85. The Glover's had five children, three sons and two daughters. Glover died on 11 September 1941 aged 92. He was survived by all five of his children. His son James Glover, then resident in Australia, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) eight times between 1915 and 1918 but was discharged for ''a raft of'' military offenses. In 1918 he was in the Rabaul Relief Force, but was discharged for drunkenness and using obscene language or creating a disturbance. Postwar he received two campaign medals, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glover, Albert 1849 births 1941 deaths New Zealand people of English descent Auckland City Councillors New Zealand Liberal Party MPs New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1919 New Zealand general election Auckland Harbour Board members