George Dash (1871 – 8 June 1959) was a New Zealand politician and

coachbuilder A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...

who served twice as Mayor of Waimate, from 1917 to 1919 and from 1925 to 1941.

Early life

Dash was born in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

in 1871 to John and Ann Dash. The family left England in October 1875, sailing on the '' Otaki'' until reaching

Lyttelton, New Zealand Lyttelton (Māori: ''Ōhinehou'') is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō, at the northwestern end of Banks Peninsula and close to Christchurch, on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. As a landing ...

in February 1876 and immediately settling down in

Waimate Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main No ...

. His father opened a business building

coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

, which Dash eventually took over.

Political career

In August 1905, Dash announced his intent to contest the electorate at the 1905 general election. He was unsuccessful, coming second to the incumbent William Steward. In 1916, Dash was elected to the Waimate Borough Council. The next year he was elected mayor, defeating fellow councillor William Russell. During his first term as mayor he often clashed with his council, particularly councillor Robert Inkster, leading to eight councillors resigning in protest in March 1918 and forcing a by-election. Five of the eight protesting councillors were re-elected, while Inkster was among those who were not. Among those who were re-elected was councillor William Evans, who went on to defeat Dash in the 1919 mayoral election. Dash returned in 1925 and was elected mayor unopposed. He defeated former mayor Evans in the 1927 mayoral election. He was re-elected unopposed in 1929, and his Progressive Party ticket swept the entire council. At the 1931 election he defeated councillor Forbes Wallace, a former ally of his. He was again re-elected unopposed in 1933 and 1935. He planned to retire in 1938, but decided to run for re-election at the request of residents and was again re-elected unopposed. Citing

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as his reason, he ran for re-election in 1941 but was defeated by William Boland. A function was held to pay tribute to Dash's years of service, including speakers such as William Paul, John Bitchener, and

David Campbell Kidd David Campbell Kidd (29 September 1889 – 23 September 1954) was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. Early life Kidd was born in 1889 in Shag Point, Otago and received his education at Albany Street Public School in Dunedin. Toge ...

. Dash was made a

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

at the

1951 New Year Honours The 1951 New Years Honours were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1951 for the Brit ...

for services to local government. He had a private investiture in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

due to poor health.

Personal life

Dash married Sophia Stevenson in 1901 and they had one son. They were both involved with the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

. Sophia died on 15 August 1946. Dash died in

on 8 June 1959, at the age of 87. They are buried next to each other in Waimate Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dash, George 1871 births 1959 deaths Coachbuilders People from Essex British emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand temperance activists Mayors of places in Canterbury, New Zealand New Zealand justices of the peace New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire Unsuccessful candidates in the 1905 New Zealand general election Burials at Waimate Cemetery