Harold Montague Rushworth (18 August 1880 – 25 April 1950) was a

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 ...

politician of the Country Party.

Early life

Rushworth was born in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

and was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

and

Jesus College, Oxford Jesus College (in full: Jesus College in the University of Oxford of Queen Elizabeth's Foundation) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship St ...

, graduating with a degree in law. He became a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

and

surveyor Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...

and worked for the

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kno ...

from 1905 until 1914. Joining the 7th Battalion

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

regiment at the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In September 1915 he was seriously wounded during the

Battle of Loos The Battle of Loos took place from 1915 in France on the Western Front, during the First World War. It was the biggest British attack of 1915, the first time that the British used poison gas and the first mass engagement of New Army units. Th ...

and lost his right knee. Later in the war he learned to fly and joined the

Royal Flying Corps "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colors = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = , decorations ...

but was shot down over Paschendale in August 1917. He was held captive for three months before being repatriated due to his injury. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1923.

New Zealand politics

He started farming at

Opua Opua is a locality in the Bay of Islands, in the sub-tropical Northland Region of New Zealand. It is notable as the first port for overseas yachts arriving in the country after crossing the Pacific Ocean. In the original 1870s plans for the ...

and became an active member of the New Zealand Farmers' Union, rising to become the leader of the Auckland Province. He was the Member of Parliament for the Bay of Islands electorate from 1929 to 1938, when he retired. He won the seat in

1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhanov, J ...

, but the result of the election was declared void on 28 January 1929. He then won the subsequent by-election for the seat on 10 April 1929.

Arthur Sexton Arthur Clifton Axford Sexton (1892 – 30 June 1970) was a New Zealand politician of the Country Party (New Zealand), Country Party. Biography Early life and career Sexton was born in Auckland in 1892. He was educated at Auckland Grammar Scho ...

was the other member of parliament for the Country Party, and he was defeated in 1938. The Country Party disappeared soon after the 1938 election, having lost their two seats. In 1935

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

did not run candidates in those two seats; but they did in 1938. In 1935, he was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

Death

Harold Rushworth died on 25 April 1950 at

Castor Bay Castor Bay is a bay and suburb of the North Shore, located in Auckland which is in the North Island of New Zealand. Located between Milford and Campbells Bay, it is part of the East Coast Bays. To the east lies the islands of Rangitoto and Motu ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. He was survived by his wife, one son and two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rushworth, Harold 1880 births 1950 deaths People from Croydon English emigrants to New Zealand Country Party (New Zealand) MPs Alumni of Jesus College, Oxford New Zealand farmers People educated at Rugby School British Army personnel of World War I British World War I pilots Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Leaders of political parties in New Zealand