William Earnshaw (1852 – 29 December 1931) was a 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 ...

for two

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

electorates representing 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 ...

. He later served on the Legislative Council. He was one of the first labour representatives in Parliament.

Early life

'Plain Bill' Earnshaw was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. He received his education in his home town and showed considerable ability at school. He trained as an all-round mechanic after his schooling. Aged 21, he left for the United States, where he spent two years. He visited Australia and came to New Zealand in 1878. He first settled in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

and worked at the

Addington Railway Workshops The Addington Railway Workshops was a major railway workshops established in the Christchurch suburb of Addington in 1877 by the Public Works Department, and transferred in 1880 to the newly-formed New Zealand Railways Department (NZR). The wor ...

. He married Gwendoline Marie Payne in Christchurch on 21 July 1880. He moved to

in 1881, where he was a brass-founder at Anderson and Morrisons.

Political career

In , Earnshaw contested the electorate against the incumbent,

William Larnach William James Mudie Larnach (27 January 1833 – 12 October 1898) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He is known for his extravagant incomplete house near Dunedin called Larnach's castle by his opponents and now known as Larnach C ...

. He supported female suffrage and prohibition, and was opposed to selling the railways. Earnshaw's victory made him a national figure, one of the new breed of working-class MPs. Earnshaw represented the Peninsula electorate until the end of the term in 1893, and then the City of Dunedin electorate (–1896) in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

. A strong prohibitionist, Earnshaw became one of Sir

Robert Stout Sir Robert Stout (28 September 1844 – 19 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who was the 13th premier of New Zealand on two occasions in the late 19th century, and later Chief Justice of New Zealand. He was the only person to hold both ...

's few consistent supporters in

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

after

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

. This put him off-side with 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. ...

. Earnshaw came seventh in the three-member Dunedin electorate in the . He came eighth in the three-member electorate in the . Earnshaw was appointed to the Legislative Council in 1913 and served until his death in 1931.

Life outside parliament

After his 1899 defeat, Earnshaw moved to

Gillespies Beach Gillespies Beach is a black sand beach and settlement on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, west of Fox Glacier (town), Fox Glacier township by road. It is bounded by Westland Tai Poutini National Park to the ...

near

Fox Glacier Fox Glacier (; officially Fox Glacier / Te Moeka o Tuawe) is a temperate maritime glacier located in Westland Tai Poutini National Park on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Like nearby Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier is one of th ...

, where he was involved in dredging. He later took employment with the

Wellington Harbour Board (Strong but true) , predecessor = , merged = , successor = , formation = , founder = , founding_location = , dissolved = , merger = , type ...

prior to his appointment to the Legislative Council. He died on 29 December 1931 at Wellington Hospital after a short illness. He was survived by his wife and two sons. His wife died in 1947, and both are buried at

Karori Cemetery Karori Cemetery is New Zealand's second largest cemetery, located in the Wellington suburb of Karori. History Karori Cemetery opened in 1891 to address overcrowding at Bolton Street Cemetery. In 1909, it received New Zealand's first cremato ...

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Earnshaw, William 1852 births 1931 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Independent MPs of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand businesspeople Businesspeople in metals English emigrants to New Zealand Politicians from Manchester New Zealand temperance activists New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates Burials at Karori Cemetery Unsuccessful candidates in the 1896 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1905 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1902 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives 19th-century New Zealand politicians