William Morgan Crompton (1811 – 27 December 1886) was a New Zealand politician.

Early life and career

Crompton was born in Birmingham, England, in 1811, and received his education at an academy in Bristol run by

Lant Carpenter Lant Carpenter, Dr. (2 September 1780 – 5 or 6 April 1840) was an English educator and Christian Unitarianism, Unitarian Minister (Christianity), minister. Early life Lant Carpenter was born in Kidderminster, the third son of George Carpenter ...

. Crompton's father was a merchant trading with Brazil. He lived in northern France for some years and held a scholastic appointment. During this time, he took on the Catholic faith. He emigrated from England on the ''Lord William Bentinck'' and arrived 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. ...

on 6 January 1852, and took land in nearby

Omata Omata is a locality in Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 45 just southwest of New Plymouth. Omata and Western New Plymouth are adjacent to the Tapuae Marine Reserve. The area was the site of ...

. Later in 1852, he was the ''

Taranaki Herald The ''Taranaki Herald'' was an afternoon daily newspaper, published in New Plymouth, New Zealand. It began publishing as a four-page tabloid on 4 August 1852. Until it ceased publication in 1989, it was the oldest daily newspaper in the country. ...

s first editor, but resigned after nine editions had been printed over an disagreement with the owners of the newspaper.

Member of Parliament

Crompton served in the

1st New Zealand Parliament The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 24 May 1854, following New Zealand's first general election (held the previous year). It was dissolved on 15 September 1855 in preparation for that year's ...

as the representative for the

electorate. In the , he was declared elected unopposed. He was ill in 1855 and initially feared that he could not attend the parliamentary session in Auckland, but he did go in the end. His ongoing illness prevented him from declaring his intentions prior to the and when it appeared that the Omata electorate would not have a representative,

Alfred William East Alfred William East was a New Zealand politician. He represented the Omata electorate on the Taranaki Provincial Council from 5 November 1855 to 13 December 1856. He represented the Omata electorate in the 2nd New Zealand Parliament from 185 ...

stepped forward and became a candidate. In the end, the election was contested by Crompton, but East had a majority of six votes. Crompton did not serve in any further Parliaments.

Later career

He was later a member of the

Taranaki Provincial Council ''For the current top-level subdivision of Taranaki in New Zealand, see Taranaki region'' The Taranaki Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Initially known as New Plymouth Province, ...

and continuously represented the Omata electorate from January 1862 until the abolition of provincial government in October 1876. He was Deputy Superintend of Taranaki Province on three occasions: in 1863–64 under Charles Brown, in 1870–74 under

Frederic Carrington Frederic Alonzo Carrington (Oct 1807 – 15 July 1901) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician and surveyor. He is regarded as the Father of New Plymouth. Carrington was born in Chelmsford, Essex, England, in 1807, the son of Captain Willi ...

, and from June 1876 once again under Carrington. He was the council's speaker from August 1862 until abolition 14 years later. As a member of the Taranaki Waste Lands Board, he oversaw the establishment of towns in Taranaki including Inglewood, which he had tried to name after the poet

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

, and Stratford-upon-Patea (later renamed simply Stratford), after

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. His house and property were destroyed in the First Taranaki War. After the Second Taranaki War was over, Crompton opened an academy in New Plymouth and ran it until 1884, when he retired for health reasons. He was a member of many organisations and was for many years Deputy Sheriff. He was an active member of the Catholic church.

Death

Crompton was affected by a paralytic stroke for the last two years of his life. He died on 27 December 1886 and was survived by his wife, two daughters, and one son. He was buried at Te Henui Cemetery.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crompton, William 1811 births 1886 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Taranaki Provincial Council New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates 19th-century New Zealand politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1855 New Zealand general election Burials at Te Henui Cemetery