Thomas Edward Taylor (16 June 1862 – 27 July 1911) was a Christchurch mayor, New Zealand

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 ...

, businessman and prohibitionist (advocate of temperance).

Early life

Taylor was born on 16 June 1862 in

Kirton in Lindsey Kirton in Lindsey, also abbreviated to Kirton Lindsey, is a market town and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It is south-east from Scunthorpe. History Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of Henry VIII lived at Kirton-in-Lindsey afte ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

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, the son of Edward Taylor and his wife, Anne Turner. The Taylors emigrated to New Zealand in 1873, arriving at Lyttelton on the ''Cardigan Castle'' on 15 November. They settled in Addington. Taylor briefly continued his education at Christchurch West School but left in 1874 for employment. For nearly 20 years, Taylor was employed by Heywood and Co (forwarding agents) and was their manager for several years. In February 1895, he became self-employed as a real estate agent and importer.

Political life

Member of Parliament

Taylor stood in the City of Christchurch by-election on 13 February 1896 against Charles Lewis and

Richard Molesworth Taylor Richard Molesworth Taylor (1835 – 26 August 1919), also known as Sydenham Taylor, was a three-term New Zealand Member of Parliament. Born in London in 1835, he moved to Auckland on the ''Heather Bell'' in 1846. He travelled to Victoria in 1851 ...

. Lewis won with a majority of 402 votes, with Tommy Taylor coming second. He contested the City of Christchurch electorate at the 1896 general election in December and this time was returned as a

. He held this seat until 1899 and from 1902 to 1905. Taylor contested the Christchurch North electorate in the 1905 general election, but lost against Charles Gray. He contested this seat again and represented Christchurch North from 1908 to 27 July 1911. Taylor sat as an Independent Liberal-Labour MP and received endorsement from the Labour movement. His death caused a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, which was won by Leonard Isitt.

Independent MP

Taylor was 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 ...

MP. In 1905 he became the leader of the New Liberal Party. He opposed the Premier

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the List of prime ministers of New Zealand, 15th Prime Minister of New Zealand, premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. ...

of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

over government corruption, and Seddon's support for the Licensed Trade (i.e., the Liquor Industry) and the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

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. Other

MPs associated with Taylor were

George Laurenson George Laurenson (5 July 1857 – 19 November 1913) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for in the South Island. Early life The ''Lyttelton Times'' parliamentary correspondent described Laurenson as: "a Scotchman by birth, a Shetlander by ...

, Leonard Isitt, Harry Bedford and

Francis Fisher Francis Marion Bates Fisher (22 December 1877 – 24 July 1960) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament from Wellington. He was known as Rainbow Fisher for his frequent changes of political allegiance. He was a veteran of the Boer War and an in ...

Mayor of Christchurch

Taylor was an advocate of "Municipal Socialism" and was endorsed by the Labour Party in his campaign for the Christchurch mayoralty in 1911, but he never joined a labour organisation. On 27 April 1911, he was elected Mayor of Christchurch, defeating the incumbent, Charles Allison, and

Henry Thacker Henry Thomas Joynt Thacker (20 March 1870 – 3 May 1939) was a medical doctor, New Zealand Member of Parliament and Mayor of Christchurch. Early life Thacker was born in Okains Bay on Banks Peninsula on 20 March 1870. His parents were Essy Jo ...

. Taylor died shortly thereafter on 27 July 1911. His funeral was the largest ever known in Christchurch.

Life outside politics

Taylor was a successful importer and estate agent in Christchurch. He married Elizabeth Best Ellison in 1892. They had five daughters, and one son, Edward Bickmore Ellison Taylor, who was a member of the

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, who ...

between 1968 and 1971. Taylor died of a perforated gastric ulcer at Christchurch on 27 July 1911. Such was the respect he commanded that 50,000 people lined the streets of the city for his funeral procession.

James McCombs James (Jimmy) McCombs (9 December 1873 – 2 August 1933) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Lyttelton. Biography Early life and career McCombs was born in Treanmore, Mohill, County Leitrim, Ireland, the elder child of George McCombs, ...

, Secretary of the Christchurch Prohibition League and later a Labour Party MP, paid tribute to his co-worker and friend:

He had a worldwide outlook. There was no country, no nation, no social movement that did not command his interest. He had a passion for freedom, and his whole career was inspired by the desire that men should have the fullest opportunity for untrammelled development.

His wife died in April 1941.

References

;Notes ;Sources * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Thomas Edward 1862 births 1911 deaths Burials at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch Taylor, Tommy Taylor, Tommy Taylor, Tommy Taylor, Tommy Taylor, Tommy New Zealand temperance activists New Liberal Party (New Zealand) MPs New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates People from Christchurch Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1905 New Zealand general election People educated at Christchurch West High School English emigrants to New Zealand People from West Lindsey District 19th-century New Zealand politicians