George Fisher (1843 – 14 March 1905) was a four-time

Mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representat ...

, New Zealand from 1882 to 1885, and in 1896. He represented various Wellington electorates in Parliament for a total of 18 years. He was nicknamed ‘Tarcoola George’.

Family

Fisher was born in

Dublin, Ireland Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 cen ...

on 25 December 1843, the son of James Fisher, the Government printer in Dublin, and apprenticed as a compositor in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

before moving with his family to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in 1857, where his father became a co-proprietor of ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'' newspaper. George arrived in New Zealand in 1863 and worked first as a printer then as a journalist on Hansard (at Parliament). He married Laura Emma Tompkins in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

in 1866 and they had four sons and two daughters. His son Frank Fisher (1877–1960) was also a Member of Parliament for Wellington between 1905 and 1915, and was Minister of Trade and Customs under Prime Minister

William Massey William Ferguson Massey (26 March 1856 – 10 May 1925), commonly known as Bill Massey, was a politician who served as the 19th prime minister of New Zealand from May 1912 to May 1925. He was the founding leader of the Reform Party, New Zea ...

. As a top New Zealand's

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player, both at home and abroad, FMB Fisher reached the final of the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

in 1906 - one of only four New Zealanders to play in the final of a 'Grand Slam' event. FMB Fisher's eldest daughter, Esther Fisher (1900–1991) became an international pianist. A brother of George's, David Fisher (1850–1912), also a printer by trade and resident in Wellington 1872–1906, was a leading New Zealand

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

founder and organiser.

Political career

Fisher was a

Wellington City Wellington City Council is a territorial authority in New Zealand, governing the country's capital city Wellington, and ''de facto'' second-largest city (if the commonly considered parts of Wellington, the Upper Hutt, Porirua, Lower Hutt and ...

Councillor from 1877 to 1881. He was elected

four times, from 1882 to 1885, and in 1896. He represented the

Wellington South Wellington South was a Canadian federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1968. It was located in the province of Ontario. It was created by the British North America Act of 1867 as the "South Riding ...

electorate from the 1884 general election until the end of the parliamentary term in 1887, and then represented the Wellington East electorate from the 1887 general election until the end of the parliamentary term in 1890. The Wellington East electorate was abolished and replaced with the City of Wellington electorate, and Fisher got elected in this three-member electorate in the 1890 general election. He became a member 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 ...

. He was soundly defeated at the 1893 general election coming eight. He again stood for the City of Wellington in the 1896 general election and was returned. He was also successful in the two subsequent general elections in 1899 and 1902. He died in 1905 while in office, triggering a by-election that was won by his son. He was Minister of Education and Commissioner of Trade and Customs from October 1887 to April 1889 in Prime Minister

Harry Atkinson Sir Harry Albert Atkinson (1 November 1831 – 28 June 1892) served as the tenth premier of New Zealand on four separate occasions in the late 19th century, and was Colonial Treasurer for a total of ten years. He was responsible for guiding ...

's Scarecrow Ministry. Brilliant but alcoholic, he "distinguished himself by being committed to an inebriates' home while still an M.P."Bollinger, Conrad ''Grog’s Own Country: The Story of Liquor Licensing in New Zealand'' (2nd revised edition Minerva Auckland, 1967, page 77; 1st edition Price Milburn Wellington, 1959)

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, George 1843 births 1905 deaths New Zealand people of Irish descent Mayors of Wellington Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand Liberal Party MPs New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand education ministers Politicians from County Dublin Unsuccessful candidates in the 1893 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians British emigrants to New Zealand

Family

Political career

Further reading

Works of George Fisher

Works about George Fisher

References