Thomas William Porter (born Thomas William Potter; 2 August 1843 – 12 November 1920) was a New Zealand soldier and land purchase officer. PORTER,_Thomas_William_-_SA4224_-_Army_(1899_-_1902)

PORTER,_Thomas_William_-_SA4224_-_Army_(1899_-_1902)

He was born in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

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 ...

in 1843. He married Herewaka Porourangi Potai. Their children included the singer and composer

Fanny Rose Howie Fanny Rose Howie ( or Poata; 11 January 1868 – 20 May 1916), also known by her stage name Te Rangi Pai, was a New Zealand singer and composer. Of Māori descent, she identified with the iwi of Ngāti Porou and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui. The lull ...

and their grandchildren included

Rona Hurley Rona Marjory Hurley (née Hamilton, 2 October 1897 – 11 June 1985) was a New Zealand tobacco grower and buyer. Of Māori descent, she identified with the Ngati Porou and Te Whānau-ā-Apanui iwi. She was born in Gisborne, New Zealand, on 2 ...

. He was some time, before retiring in 1908, Acting Undersecretary for Defense. He was also vice-chairman of the Historical Section of the Wellington Philosophical Society. He was the author of a book on the East Coast Maori legends. He also completed a history of the Maori war with

Te Kooti Te Kooti Arikirangi Te Turuki (c. 1832–1893) was a Māori leader, the founder of the Ringatū religion and guerrilla fighter. While fighting alongside government forces against the Hauhau in 1865, he was accused of spying. Exiled to the Cha ...

. In 1878 he was elected

mayor of Gisborne The Mayor of Gisborne officiates over the Gisborne District Gisborne District or the Gisborne Region (Māori: ''Te Tairāwhiti'' or ''Te Tai Rāwhiti'') is a local government area of northeastern New Zealand. It is governed by Gisborne Dist ...

. He was re-elected unopposed in 1879 and 1880. He had intended to contest the electorate in the but pulled out shortly before. In 1880 he was challenged for the mayoralty by former mayor William Fitzgerald Crawford, and won by just three votes. He retired the mayoralty in order to run for parliament in the , in which he placed third. He returned to the mayoralty unopposed in 1883. He retired again in 1884 and endorsed recently defeated MP

Cecil de Lautour Cecil Albert de Lautour (1845 – 15 December 1930) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in the Otago region of New Zealand. He represented the Mount Ida electorate from 1876 to 1884. In circa 1879, he moved to Napier to pursue a legal ...

for the mayoralty. He was elected mayor again in 1886 following the resignation of Allan McDonald. The day before his death on 12 November 1920, parliament had passed a bill to award Porter with a permanent pension of £200 a year.

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Obituary, Transactions and proceedings of the New Zealand Institute v. 53 (1920)
1843 births 1920 deaths Mayors of Gisborne, New Zealand New Zealand military personnel People from Surrey English emigrants to New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1881 New Zealand general election {{NewZealand-mil-bio-stub

See also

References

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