William Rolleston (19 September 1831 – 8 February 1903) was a New Zealand politician, public administrator, educationalist and

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

provincial superintendent.

Early life

Rolleston was born on 19 September 1831 at Maltby,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

as the 9th child of the Rev. George Rolleston and Anne Nettleship. His brother was the physician and zoologist

George Rolleston George Rolleston MA MD FRCP FRS (30 July 1829 – 16 June 1881) was an English physician and zoologist. He was the first Linacre Professor of Anatomy and Physiology to be appointed at the University of Oxford, a post he held from 1860 until ...

. He attended

Rossall School Rossall School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for 0–18 year olds, between Cleveleys and Fleetwood, Lancashire. Rossall was founded in 1844 by St Vincent Beechey as a sister school to Marlborough College ...

and Emmanuel College, where he graduated in 1855 with second class honours in the classical tripos. He had intended to move to Canterbury but his father advised against it so he took up

tutor TUTOR, also known as PLATO Author Language, is a programming language developed for use on the PLATO system at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign beginning in roughly 1965. TUTOR was initially designed by Paul Tenczar for use in co ...

ing. However, this was merely a means of raising enough money to leave

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 order to reject '

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

and Ecclesiastics'.

Political career

Rolleston first joined the

Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential Eng ...

when he was appointed to the Canterbury Executive Council on 4 December 1863. His tenure on the Executive Council finished on 16 June 1865. On 23 January 1864, he was elected as a provincial councillor in the Heathcote electorate and remained a councillor until 23 June 1865. On 22 May 1868, he was elected unopposed as the 4th (and last)

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of the Canterbury Province. He held that office until the abolition of the provinces on 31 October 1876. Rolleston represented the Avon electorate from a by-election in 1868 to 1884. In 1878 as an MP Rolleston proposed a school for deaf children. The government agreed to open a state school for the deaf in Christchurch, and the Sumner Deaf and Dumb Institution opened in 1880. In the 1879 general election, he was returned unopposed. He then represented Geraldine from 1884 to 1887. The Geraldine electorate was abolished in 1887 and replaced with the , where he was defeated by Searby Buxton. He then represented

Halswell Originally a separate village, Halswell is now a residential suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand, located southwest of Cathedral Square on State Highway 75. History Halswell is named after Edmund Halswell QC (1790–1874), a government offi ...

from 1890 to 1893. The Halswell electorate was abolished in 1893, and he contested Ellesmere, where he was defeated. He then represented

Riccarton Riccarton may refer to: New Zealand * Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch ** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it ** The location of Riccarton Race Course * a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago Scotlan ...

from 1896 to 1899. He had won the 1896 election against

George Warren Russell George Warren Russell (24 February 1854 – 28 June 1937) was a New Zealand politician from Christchurch. He served as Minister of Internal Affairs and Minister of Public Health in the wartime National government, and was responsible for the N ...

, but was defeated by him in 1899 by just one vote. Rolleston served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

in the government of Premier John Hall from December 1880 to April 1881. He was also appointed Minister of Native Affairs in January 1881 after the resignation of

John Bryce John Bryce (14 September 1833 – 17 January 1913) was a New Zealand politician from 1871 to 1891 and Minister of Native Affairs from 1879 to 1884. In his attitudes to Māori land questions, he favoured strict legal actions against Māori oppo ...

, heading the department as the Government prepared to invade the Māori settlement of

Parihaka Parihaka is a community in the Taranaki region of New Zealand, located between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea. In the 1870s and 1880s the settlement, then reputed to be the largest Māori village in New Zealand, became the centre of a major camp ...

in November. Rolleston stood aside as minister on the night of 19 October 1881 after the Hall government's Executive Council held an emergency meeting in the absence of Governor Sir Arthur Gordon to issue a proclamation against Māori prophet Te Whiti and the inhabitants of Parihaka, ordering them to leave Parihaka and accept the sale and dismemberment of their land or face "the great evil which must fall on them".The Taranaki Report: Kaupapa Tuatahi by the Waitangi Tribunal, chapter 8.
/ref> He was replaced as minister by his predecessor,

, who three weeks later led a raid by 1600 Armed Constabulary on the settlement, the centre of a

passive resistance Nonviolent resistance (NVR), or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, const ...

campaign against the sale of Māori land. Codlin's the friend

In 1891 he was elected unopposed as

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. In 1893 he supported

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

, and subsequently claimed the credit in the .

Later life and commemoration

He married Elizabeth Mary Brittan in 1865 at Avonside,

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 / ...

; she was the daughter of

Joseph Brittan Joseph Brittan (12 January 1806 – 27 October 1867), a surgeon, newspaper editor, and provincial councillor, was one of the dominant figures in early Christchurch, New Zealand. Born into a middle-class family in southern England, he followed ...

. They had four daughters and five sons, including

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

and Arthur Rolleston. William Rolleston died at his Rangitata farm at Kapunatiki on 8 February 1903. He is buried at Holy Trinity Avonside. A

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to life-size; a sculpture t ...

was erected in his honour in front of the Canterbury Museum.

Notes

References

External links

*
Gardner, W. J. ''Rolleston, William 1831 - 1903''. ''Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'', updated 7 July 2005

Biography in the 1966 ''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''
* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolleston, William 1831 births 1903 deaths Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Canterbury Provincial Council Members of Canterbury provincial executive councils Superintendents of New Zealand provincial councils Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand education ministers New Zealand farmers People educated at Rossall School Leaders of the Opposition (New Zealand) New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Burials at Holy Trinity Avonside Independent MPs of New Zealand New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1893 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

Justice ministers of New Zealand Brittan family