Ernest Page Lee (27 August 1862 – 19 February 1932) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician of the Reform Party.

Early life

Born in 1862 in

Teignmouth Teignmouth ( ) is a seaside town, fishing port and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign, about 12 miles south of Exeter. The town had a population of 14,749 at th ...

, England, he received his education at Cheltenham and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Aged 18, he started learning the legal trade in a firm of solicitors in the

West of England West of England is a combined authority area in South West England. It is made up of the Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset unitary authorities. The combined authority is led by the Mayor of the West of England Dan ...

. He was submitted to the Supreme Court of Judicature in 1885. A year later, he emigrated to New Zealand. He settled in Oamaru, and was at first a clerk in a legal firm owned by

Thomas William Hislop Thomas William Hislop (8 April 1850 – 2 October 1925) was the Mayor of Wellington from 1905 to 1908, and had represented two South Island electorates in the New Zealand Parliament. Early life He was born in Kirknewton, West Lothian in 1850. ...

and Arthur Gethin Creagh. He founded the firm of Lee, Grave and Grave. In 1895 married Miss de Lambert. His sister, Leah Lee, was married to the French poet Jules Laforgue.

Political career

Lee was elected onto the Oamaru Borough council. In the , he defeated the incumbent in the Oamaru electorate,

Thomas Young Duncan Thomas Young Duncan (1836 – 18 August 1914), sometimes referred to as "Tam Duncan", was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. Early life Born at Plumbridge, County Tyrone, Ireland, in 1836, Duncan was educated at Castledamph Nationa ...

. He represented the electorate until 1922, when he was defeated in the 1922 election. The 1922 Oamaru election result was invalidated due to irregularities, but Lee lost the subsequent 1923 by-election again to John MacPherson 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 ...

. He won the electorate from MacPherson in

1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...

, but again lost it to MacPherson in 1928. He was the

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 ...

(3 April 1920 – 13 January 1923), Minister of External Affairs (17 May 1920 – 13 January 1923) and

Minister of Industries and Commerce The Minister of Industries and Commerce in New Zealand is a former cabinet position (existing from 1894 to 1972) appointed by the Prime Minister to be in charge of matters of industrial and commercial growth and trade. In 1972 it was replaced w ...

(22 June 1920 – 13 January 1923) in the Reform Government.

Outside politics

Lee founded the North Otago Jockey Club. He was an accomplished mountaineer and ascended many of the high peaks of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

. He was on

Lake Wakatipu Lake Wakatipu ( mi, Whakatipu Waimāori) is an inland lake ( finger lake) in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of the Otago region, near its boundary with Southland. ''Lake Wakatipu'' comes from the original Māori n ...

when he had a seizure. He died three weeks later on 19 February 1932 at Queenstown, and was survived by his wife.

Notes

References

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Ernest 1862 births 1932 deaths English emigrants to New Zealand Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs New Zealand foreign ministers 19th-century New Zealand lawyers People from Teignmouth People from Oamaru Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Justice ministers of New Zealand