George Hunter (1821 – 6 August 1880) was a New Zealand 19th century politician.

Biography

Hunter was born in Banffshire, Scotland, in 1821. He was the eldest son of George Hunter, the first

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 ...

. He came to New Zealand with his parents, six sisters, and three brothers. He worked in his father's business as a general merchant and shipping agent. His father died in 1843, his father's business partner Kenneth Bethune died in 1855, and Hunter became sole proprietor of the business. Hunter was appointed to the Legislative Council of the Province of New Munster in 1848. He was first elected to the

Wellington Provincial Council Wellington Province, governed by the Wellington Provincial Council, was one of the provinces of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. It covered much of the southern half of the North Island until November ...

on 5 November 1857 for the City of Wellington electorate, and served until the abolition of provincial government in October 1876. He was a member of the Wellington Executive Council in 1858, in 1871, and in 1873. He represented the City of Wellington electorate from 1871 to 1879, when he was defeated by William Hutchison. He also sat on the

Wellington City Council 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 ...

until 1879, and was defeated by Hutchison when he stood for the Wellington mayoralty. "In the early days of the settlement Geo. Hunter II was the chief proprietor of the Island Bay estate and on his stud farm at the bay bred stock and exhibited successfully ... The Island Bay portion was subdivided by the partners and offered for sale by auction by Messrs. Bethune & Co., in March, 1879 ..." Hunter also had a farm in

Te Aro Te Aro (formerly also known as Te Aro Flat) is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It comprises the southern part of the central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and covers the mostly fla ...

, which is now part of the Wellington central business district. The central part of his land is now covered by Upper Dixon Street, Percival Street, and Macdonald Crescent. Hunter had a further farm in Porangahau in the

Hawke's Bay Region Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region is ...

, which he took up in circa 1854. Through purchasing neighbouring land, he increased the size to . Hunter lived in Wellington, and the Porangahau farm was run by his brothers David and William. Sheep numbers increased rapidly, from an initial flock of 500 to 27,000 by 1875. A new shearing shed was built in 1876, and with 30 stands, it is one of the largest ever built in the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. Now known as the

woolshed Shearing sheds (or wool sheds) are large sheds located on sheep stations to accommodate large scale sheep shearing activities. In countries where large numbers of sheep are kept for wool, sometimes many thousands in a flock, shearing sheds ar ...

, it is listed as a Category I heritage structure by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

. A chapel built by Hunter in the 1870s near the homestead is registered as a Category II heritage structure. His son took over the running of the farm from his uncles in 1877. He was later joined by his younger brother Paul. Hunter was married to a sister of Major James Paul, who was later Serjeant-at-Arms of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

(1877–1880). His wife died in 1868. Hunter died after a short illness at his home in Wellington's Dixon Street on 6 August 1880. His wife and three daughters had died before him; he was survived by two sons and two daughters. His funeral was attended by nearly 100 members of both Houses of

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 ...

. He was buried at

Bolton Street Cemetery Bolton Street Memorial Park, formerly known as Bolton Street Cemetery, is the oldest cemetery in Wellington, New Zealand. Dating back to 1840, many notable people are buried here. Situated in the suburb of Thorndon, New Zealand, Thorndon, the Well ...

. His son George Hunter was also an MP.

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, George 1821 births 1880 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Scottish emigrants to New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1879 New Zealand general election Members of the Wellington Provincial Council Members of Wellington provincial executive councils Wellington City Councillors Burials at Bolton Street Cemetery New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates People from Banffshire 19th-century New Zealand politicians