Sir William Jukes Steward (20 January 1841 – 30 October 1912) was a New Zealand politician and the first

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

. He represented

South Canterbury South Canterbury is the area of the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand bounded by the Rangitata River in the north and the Waitaki River (the border with the Otago Region) to the south. The Pacific Ocean and ridge of the Souther ...

electorates 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 ...

for a total of 34 years, before being appointed to the Legislative Council. He served briefly on the

Otago Provincial Council The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the province again in 1870. Area an ...

and was Mayor of Oamaru for three years.

Early life

Steward was born in

Reading, Berkshire Reading ( ) is a town and borough in Berkshire, Southeast England, southeast England. Located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the rivers River Thames, Thames and River Kennet, Kennet, the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 mot ...

, in England in 1841. He was educated at King Edward VI. Grammar School in

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

(to which his family had moved, his boyhood home at Numbers 4–5 King Street now marked by a plaque), and Dr Benham's Commercial School in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

. He emigrated to New Zealand apparently on the ''Mersey'' in 1862, but his name is not included in the passenger list for the 25 September 1862 arrival.

Family

Steward married Hannah Whitefoord on 4 December 1873 at St. Paul's Church in

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 ...

. She was the third daughter of Caleb Whitefoord of

Burford Burford () is a town on the River Windrush, in the Cotswolds, Cotswold hills, in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is often referred to as the 'gateway' to the Cotswolds. Burford is located west of Oxford and southeas ...

in Shropshire near Ludlow. They had one son and three daughters.

Professional career

In 1863, he was working as a

draper Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. History Drapers were an important trade guild during the medieval period ...

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 / ...

. From 1867, he was editor of the Oamaru Times in

Oamaru Oamaru (; mi, Te Oha-a-Maru) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific coast; State Highway 1 and the railway ...

. He was later proprietor of the North Otago Times, the Ashburton Mail and Guardian and, after moving to

Waimate Waimate is a town in Canterbury, New Zealand and the seat of Waimate District. It is situated just inland from the eastern coast of the South Island. The town is reached via a short detour west when travelling on State Highway One, the main No ...

, the Waimate Times.

Political career

Member of Parliament

Steward and Macassey contested the 1871 general election in Waitaki. At the time, the Waitaki was a single-member electorate. At the nomination meeting, Steward received a slight majority during the show of hands, and Macassey demanded a poll. The poll was held on Friday, 3 February 1871. Steward and Macassey received 188 and 137 votes, respectively. Steward was thus returned to Parliament. The next election was held in early January 1876. Waitaki had become a two-member electorate, and four candidates put their names forward. Steward and Joseph O'Meagher contested the election as abolitionists (i.e. they were in favour of abolishing the

provincial government A state government is the government that controls a subdivision of a country in a federal form of government, which shares political power with the federal or national government. A state government may have some level of political autonomy, or ...

), while Thomas W. Bislop and

Samuel Shrimski Samuel Edward Shrimski (1828 – 25 June 1902) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament and then a Member of the Legislative Council from Otago, New Zealand. Early life He was born in Poznań, Prussia, where he received his initial education. He ...

were provincialists (i.e. they favoured the retention of provincial government). The provincialists won the election by quite some margin, and Steward lost his seat in Parliament. Steward was again elected in

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...

to represent the single-member Waimate electorate. The Waitaki electorate had been abolished and the Waimate electorate covered the area of South Canterbury where Steward resided. Four candidates had contested the election, and Steward was returned with a comfortable margin. He held the electorate until it was abolished in 1893. In

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 ...

he was re-elected to a reconstituted Waitaki, which he held until 1911, when he was appointed to the Legislative Council. Steward was elected Speaker on 23 January 1891 when the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

came to power. The 1890 general election was held on 5 December 1890.

Harry Atkinson Sir Harry Albert Atkinson (1 November 1831 – 28 June 1892) served as the tenth premier of New Zealand on four separate occasions in the late 19th century, and was Colonial Treasurer for a total of ten years. He was responsible for guiding t ...

was the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

at the time. Traditionally, the incumbent speaker would keep his position, unless the election result was not in support of the incoming government. The 1890 election did not have a clear result and the incumbent speaker,

Maurice O'Rorke Sir George Maurice O’Rorke (2 May 1830 – 25 August 1916) was a New Zealand politician, representing (as George O’Rorke) the Auckland seat of Onehunga, and later Manukau, and was Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a committed ...

, lost his seat in Parliament.

Alfred Saunders Alfred Saunders (12 June 1820 – 28 October 1905) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. Early life Saunders was born in 1820 in Market Lavington, the youngest son of Mary and Amram Saunders. He was educated in Market Lavington and at a B ...

, an independent MP, proposed

William Rolleston William Rolleston (19 September 1831 – 8 February 1903) was a New Zealand politician, public administrator, educationalist and Canterbury provincial superintendent. Early life Rolleston was born on 19 September 1831 at Maltby, Yorkshire as th ...

as speaker, as he had been a long-standing MP since 1868. But

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. ...

proposed that Steward be chosen instead, which came as a surprise, as the latter was relatively undistinguished. The house voted on the issue and Steward was chosen by 36 to 29 votes. It was the first time that the role of speaker had been put to the vote by the New Zealand Parliament. The election sealed the end of the Atkinson government, which resigned the following day. The forming of the Liberal Party marked the beginning of party politics in New Zealand. Steward held the position of speaker until 8 November 1893. He had not been regarded as an effective manager of the House and was succeeded by O'Rorke, who had regained his seat in Parliament. However, Steward was to remain as a Member of Parliament until his retirement in 1911. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in 1903.

Otago Provincial Council

Steward was a member of the

from 1875 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876.

Mayor of Oamaru

Steward was Mayor of Oamaru from 1876 to 1879. He succeeded George Sumpter, who was first elected in 1875. The 1876 mayoral election was contested against J. Falconer, and Steward had a majority of 35 votes. In 1877, Steward was returned unopposed. The 1878 election was contested by Steward and George Sumpter, and the former achieved a majority of 45 votes. In the depression year of 1879, Steward did not stand for re-election. Steward was formally thanked at the last council meeting for the able manner in which he had led the council, and the courteous was in which he had interacted with the councillors. During Steward's term, the most significant achievement was the installation of the Oamaru water supply, which resulted in a fall of the death rate from 10.4 per 1000 population to 8.9 per 1000. Steward was succeeded by Samuel Gibbs. Gibbs had previously been mayor from 1867 to 1870 and was elected unopposed.

Death and commemoration

Steward died in

Island Bay, Wellington Island Bay is a coastal suburb of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, situated south of the city centre. Island Bay lies on the bay which shares its name, one of numerous small bays off Cook Strait and west of Lyall Bay. 500m offshore in ...

on 30 October 1912. The body was taken by ferry steamer to Lyttelton, and by train to Waimate. The funeral took place in Waimate. A plaque in the St Augustine Church in Waimate is dedicated to Steward. The

Waimate District Council Waimate District Council ( mi, Ko te kaunihera ā rohe o Waimate) is the territorial authority for the Waimate District of New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of t ...

's district plan has a formal protection for a tree that was planted by Steward on 26 June 1911. It is located beside the memorial statue for Dr Margaret Barnett Cruickshank MD.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steward, William 1841 births 1912 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Speakers of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand Liberal Party MLCs Mayors of Oamaru New Zealand drapers Unsuccessful candidates in the 1875–1876 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates New Zealand Knights Bachelor People from Reading, Berkshire People from Waimate English emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians