William Gerald Tolhurst (20 April 1931 – 18 August 2013) was a New Zealand chartered accountant and politician of the National Party.

Accountant

Bill Tolhurst was born in

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

in 1931 son of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

sharebroker, Gerald Tolhurst, and his second wife born Noeline Cruickshank. Bill was educated at

Wanganui Collegiate School Whanganui Collegiate School (formerly Wanganui Collegiate School; see here) is a state-integrated, coeducational, day and boarding, secondary school in Whanganui, Manawatū-Whanganui region, New Zealand. The school is affiliated to the Anglican c ...

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

, and

Otago University , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

where he obtained the degree of

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (abbreviated BComm or BCom; also, ''baccalaureates commercii'') is an undergraduate degree in business, usually awarded in Canada, Australia, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Ireland, New Zealand, Ghana, South Africa, Myanmar, ...

. He worked for Public Accountants Barr, Burgess and Stewart (now

PWC PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

) in Wellington from 1948 to 1952 and was admitted to the New Zealand Society of Accountants in June 1952. Then he moved to Barr Burgess's head office in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. Returning to the North Island he moved to

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

working there for Public Accountant G. K. Campbell for a further year before setting up his own independent practice in that city. He was awarded

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the Society of Accountants in June 1969 before he stood for election to parliament.

National Party

Bill Tolhurst was secretary for the National Party in the electorate from 1956 until 1968, and treasurer for the Waimarino electorate. He represented Wanganui for three years from his election in until when he was defeated by

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

Russell Marshall Cedric Russell Marshall (born 15 February 1936), known as Russell Marshall, is a former New Zealand politician of the Labour Party and diplomat. Biography Early life and career Marshall was born in Nelson in 1936. His father Cedric Marshall ...

Notes

References

* * 1931 births 2013 deaths New Zealand National Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from Masterton People educated at Whanganui Collegiate School Victoria University of Wellington alumni University of Otago alumni {{NZNational-politician-stub