Sir George Hunter (1859 – 20 August 1930) was a New Zealand politician of the Reform Party. Born in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, he took over his

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's large landholding in the

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

at age 18. He was a breeder of sheep and race horses, with his horse

Cynisca Cynisca (; or Kyniska, ; born ) was a wealthy Spartan princess. She is famous for being the first woman to win at the Olympic Games. Cynisca first entered the Olympics in 396 BC, where she won first prize competing with a team of horses she had t ...

winning the

Wellington Cup The Wellington Cup is a Group 3 Thoroughbred horse race in New Zealand held annually in January by the Wellington Racing Club at Trentham Racecourse in Trentham, New Zealand, Trentham. History Inaugurated in 1874, the Wellington Cup has been ra ...

three times in a row. Hunter was prominent in local politics, and represented the electorate in the

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

for a total of 22 years.

Farming and horse racing

Hunter was born in

in 1859. He was a son of George Hunter, and a grandson of George Hunter, the first

Mayor of Wellington The mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, the city of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional ...

. He worked on his father's farm in

Te Aro Te Aro (formerly also known as Te Aro Flat) is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand. It comprises the southern part of the Wellington Central, central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and ...

, which is now part of the Wellington central business district. The central part of the land is now covered by Upper Dixon Street, Percival Street, and Macdonald Crescent. His father had a further farm in Porangahau in the

Hawke's Bay Region Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

, which he took up in circa 1854. Through purchasing neighbouring land, he increased the size to . As his father lived in Wellington, the Porangahau farm was run by his father's brothers David and William. Hunter junior took over the running of the farm from his uncles in 1877, and owned it in partnership with his brother Paul. Hunter lived at Porangahau for most of his life. The brothers bred

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

s at their farm, which have won many prominent races. One of his most famous horses was

, which won three consecutive

s. Like his father, Hunter was prominent in the administration of horse racing, and he submitted the Gaming Amendment Bill to Parliament. The brothers' partnership ended in 1908, with both taking half the land, George Hunter keeping the portion with the homestead.

Political career

Hunter was a member of Patangata County for over 30 years. He contested the electorate in the , but was beaten by

William Cowper Smith William Cowper Smith (1843 – 5 March 1911) was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Biography William Cowper Smith was born in London on 28 December 1843, went to Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, arrived on the Egmont at L ...

. Smith had previously represented Waipawa from to 1887. In the , Hunter was defeated by Charles Hall 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. For example, while the political systems ...

. In the , Hunter defeated Hall, but lost to him in the subsequent election. Hunter was again defeated by Hall in the and s. Hall retired at the , and Hunter beat

Albert Jull Albert Edward Jull (6 December 1864 – 24 September 1940) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party, the United Party and from 1938 the National Party. Canada Jull was born in Fort Eria, Canada West, in 1864. He received his educatio ...

of the Liberal Party. Hunter continued to serve in the parliament until his death in 1930, beating Jull in and , John Joshua Langridge in , William Ashton Chambers in , and Ernest Albert Goodger (Independent United) and Douglas Barrington Kent ( United Party) in . Hunter's death on 20 August 1930 triggered the in the Waipawa electorate, which was won by Albert Jull.

Philanthropy

After World War I, Hunter gave land valued at

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30,000 for the settlement of returned soldiers.

Family and death

On 23 February 1922, Hunter married for the first time. In a small circle of family and close friends, he married Edith May Munro (née Ford). They had a daughter, Elizabeth Hunter, on 1 May 1923. Hunter was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised Order of chivalry, orders of chivalry; it is a part of the Orders, decorations, and medals ...

in the

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, the citation reading:

Has rendered valuable assistance in connection with the settlement of returned soldiers.

He fell ill during the first session of the 23rd Parliament in 1929, and was in indifferent health thereafter. He returned to Wellington for the second session in 1930 and died in Wellington on 20 August 1930, survived by his wife and one daughter. The funeral service was held at St Peter's Church in Wellington. The body was then taken by train to

Waipukurau Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings, New ...

. His daughter died in 1999.

Notes

References

* * * * * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, George 1859 births 1930 deaths New Zealand Knights Bachelor Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs New Zealand people of Scottish descent Unsuccessful candidates in the 1890 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1893 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 1908 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Politicians from Wellington City 19th-century New Zealand politicians