Henry James Hobbs Okey (28 May 1857 – 13 September 1918) was a Reform Party

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in New Zealand.

Early life and family

Born in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

in 1857, Okey was the son of Edward Okey, an ironmonger. His brothers included Edward Nelson Okey, who in 1880 won what later became known as the Ballinger Belt for the New Zealand champion shot. On 2 July 1884, Okey married Louisa Morey.

Political career

Okey was a member of the Taranaki County Council, and served as its chairman between 1896 and 1905. He was also vice president and then president of the Taranaki Agricultraul and Pastoral Society. Okey contested the Taranaki electorate at the 1905 general election, coming second, 236 votes behind the incumbent,

Edward Smith Ed, Eddie, Edgar, Edward, Edwin, and similar, surnamed Smith, may refer to: Military * Edward H. Smith (sailor) (1889–1961), United States Coast Guard admiral, oceanographer and Arctic explorer * Edward Smith (VC) (1898–1940), English recipien ...

. However, Smith died in 1907 and Okey won the subsequent by-election as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. He gave sympathy and support to the Reform Party, and later formally became a Reform MP. Okey held the Taranaki seat until his death in 1918.

Death

Okey died in New Plymouth on 13 September 1918, and was buried in Te Henui Cemetery.

References

, - 1857 births 1918 deaths Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People from New Plymouth New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1905 New Zealand general election Burials at Te Henui Cemetery Local politicians in New Zealand 20th-century New Zealand politicians Colony of New Zealand people {{NewZealand-politician-stub