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 Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the city centre, close to the volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree Hill. Onehunga is ...

, and later

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, ...

, and was Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a committed provincialist and was the eighth Superintendent of the

Auckland Province The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the six initial provinces, bo ...

. Upon receiving his knighthood in 1880, he became known as Sir Maurice.

Early life

O’Rorke was born in Moylough,

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland, the third son of the Rev John O’Rorke (an Anglican minister and large landowner) and his third wife Elizabeth (née Dennis). He went to

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

, getting a B.A. with high honours in classics in 1852. Immediately after finishing his university education, he sailed for Melbourne, Australia. Whilst this was the time of the

Victorian gold rush The Victorian gold rush was a period in the history of Victoria, Australia, approximately between 1851 and the late 1860s. It led to a period of extreme prosperity for the Australian colony and an influx of population growth and financial capi ...

, this was not his motivation. Rather, he had had an uncle, Henry Dennis, who had settled as a

squatter Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building (usually residential) that the squatter does not Land ownership and tenure, own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estima ...

in the

Darling Downs The Darling Downs is a farming region on the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range in southern Queensland, Australia. The Downs are to the west of South East Queensland and are one of the major regions of Queensland. The name was generally ...

in the early 1840s, but who had perished in the sinking of the ''Sovereign'' near

Moreton Bay Moreton Bay is a bay located on the eastern coast of Australia from central Brisbane, Queensland. It is one of Queensland's most important coastal resources. The waters of Moreton Bay are a popular destination for recreational anglers and are ...

in 1847. After working in

Victoria, Australia Victoria, commonly abbreviated as Vic, is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state (after Tasmania), with a land area of ; the second-most-populated state (after New South Wales), with a population of over 7 million; ...

, on a farm, he came to Auckland in 1854, farming in Papakura and Onehunga, Auckland. During the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...

, he served as a Captain in the Auckland Militia.

Career

He represented

, which became

, from 1861 to 1902, except for 1891–1893 when he was out of Parliament. He was Minister of Immigration and Crown Lands 1873–1874 in the Waterhouse, Fox and Vogel ministries, but was sacked by Vogel, dissatisfied with his performance. He supported the Provincial system in New Zealand, and spoke out against its abolition by Vogel. He served as Chairman of Committees from 1871 to 1872. O'Rorke served on the

Auckland Provincial Council The Auckland Province was a Provinces of New Zealand, province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the ...

as councillor from November 1865 to October 1876. From December 1865, he served as the council's 3rd (and last) Speaker. He was elected Superintendent in 1875 for a period of five weeks. He was a notable

Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hung ...

, serving from 11 July 1879 to 5 November 1902, except for 1891–1893. He supported education, and was in favour of Imperial Federation. He was

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

in 1880, when he became ''Sir Maurice'', although he had previously used ''George'' as his Christian name. In 1904 he was appointed to the Legislative Council, where he served until his death. The student residential hall, O'Rorke Hall at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

, is named after him.

Polo

polo Polo is a stick and ball game that is played on horseback as a traditional field sport. It is one of the world's oldest known team sports, having been adopted in the Western world from the game of Chovgan (), which originated in ancient ...

player, he was the Captain of the Auckland Polo Club.

Personal life

In 1858 he married Cecilia Mary Shepherd, daughter of Alexander Shepherd, the second Colonial Treasurer. They had one son, Edward (Eddie) Dennis O’Rorke (father of the architect Brian O'Rorke).New Zealand Herald, vol. LXVI, issue 20904, 14 March 1929 Cecilia died on 19 September 1910. Sir Maurice died in Auckland in 1916, survived by his son.

Notes

References

* * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ororke, Maurice 1830 births 1916 deaths 19th-century Irish people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Members of the Auckland Provincial Council Superintendents of New Zealand provincial councils New Zealand farmers Politicians from County Galway Speakers of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand Liberal Party MLCs Irish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand Knights Bachelor Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of Auckland provincial executive councils Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council Unsuccessful candidates in the 1902 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1890 New Zealand general election New Zealand polo players Ministers of justice of New Zealand Moorhouse–Rhodes family People from Moylough