George Armstrong (1822 – 1 September 1905) was a 19th-century

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

, New Zealand.

Biography

He was born in St John's,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

and first visited

Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...

in command of a trading brig in the 1840s. He was in charge of the schooner ''Edwin Stanley'' during the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...

, and was

court-martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...

led for taking his vessel to the rescue of a settler attacked by Māori while carrying stores for troops at Wanganui. He settled in

Akaroa Akaroa is a small town on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name. The name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for "Long Harbour", which would be spelled in standard ...

. He represented the Akaroa electorate on the

Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential Eng ...

from 1861 to 1862, and the Wainui electorate from 1862 to 1863. He represented the

electorate in Parliament from , when he beat the incumbent (

Lancelot Walker Lancelot Walker (26 November 1829 – 19 May 1907) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Walker was born in 1829 to Thomas and Constantia Anne Walker of Co York, England. He served in the British Army in India, although in ...

), to 1870 when he retired. He stood for Parliament again in the . Of the six candidates, he came third. His son George Armstrong (1853–1932) was on the Akaroa Borough Council for 50 years from 1879, including nearly 30 years as mayor.

References

1822 births 1905 deaths New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Members of the Canterbury Provincial Council People of the New Zealand Wars Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election Canadian emigrants to New Zealand People from Akaroa British emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians {{NewZealand-politician-stub