George Egerton Leigh Westbrook (1860–31 January 1939) was a Western Samoan businessman and politician. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1924 until 1929.

Biography

Born in

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

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 ...

England, Westbrook sailed to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

on the full-rigged ship ''Famenoth'', before beginning to travel the Pacific. He moved between

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austr ...

, the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...

and the

Caroline Islands The Caroline Islands (or the Carolines) are a widely scattered archipelago of tiny islands in the western Pacific Ocean, to the north of New Guinea. Politically, they are divided between the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) in the centra ...

, before settling in Samoa in 1891.G.E.L. Westbrook: Author of "Gods That Die"
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', November 1935, p19 He became a shop keeper, married a Samoan woman, and was the

Apia Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...

correspondent for the ''

New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

''. In January 1924 Westbrook successfully contested the first elections to the Samoan Legislative Council, becoming one of the first three elected members.Lauofo Meti (2002) ''Samoa: The Making of the Constitution'', National University of Samoa, p18 He was re-elected in the

1926 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1926. Africa * 1926 Egyptian parliamentary election * 1926 Lagos by-election * 1926 Northern Rhodesian general election * 1926 South West African legislative election Asia * 1926 Hong Kong sanitary ...

. In 1928 Westbrook was declared bankrupt, and he did not run for re-election in

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

. Like fellow elected members

Olaf Frederick Nelson Ta'isi Olaf Frederick Nelson (24 February 1883 – 28 February 1944) was a Samoan businessman and politician. He was one of the founding leaders of the anti-colonial Mau movement. Biography Nelson was born on 24 February 1883 in Safune on th ...

and Arthur Williams, he was a member of the anti-colonial

Mau movement The Mau was a non-violent movement for Samoan independence from colonial rule during the first half of the 20th century. ''Mau'' means ‘resolute’ or ‘resolved’ in the sense of ‘opinion’, ‘unwavering’, ‘to be decided’, or ...

.Samoan deportations
''New Zealand Herald'', 27 December 1927 In 1935 he published an autobiographical book named ''Gods Who Die: The Story of Samoa's Greatest Adventurer'' about his travels around the Pacific in the late 19th century. He died on 31 January 1939 at the age of 78.Death of G.E.L. Westbrook
''

Pacific Islands Monthly ''Pacific Islands Monthly'', commonly referred to as "PIM", was a magazine founded in 1930 in Sydney by New Zealand born journalist R.W. Robson. Background ''Pacific Islands Monthly'' was started in Sydney in 1930. The first issue ran in August ...

'', February 1939, p4

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Westbrook, George 1860 births People from Camberwell British emigrants to Samoa Members of the Legislative Council of Samoa 20th-century Samoan businesspeople 1939 deaths Western Samoa Trust Territory people