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 Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...

, 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, so ...

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

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

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, both ...

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

Early life

O’Rorke was born in

Moylough Moylough ( ; ) is a small rural village located in County Galway in Ireland. It is located on the N63 national secondary road (Cnoc Tua Mór–Longford), and is served also by the R328 and R364 regional roads. It is 50 km from Galway, 30 ...

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, 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 , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, 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 capita ...

, 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 own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

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 generall ...

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 is a state in southeastern Australia. It is the second-smallest state with a land area of , the second most populated state (after New South Wales) with a population of over 6.5 million, and the most densely populated state in Au ...

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

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 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, both ...

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 Hungerf ...

, 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 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 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 , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

, is named after him.

Polo

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small hard ...

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 Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

. They had one son, Edward (Eddie) Dennis O’Rorke (father of the architect

Brian O'Rorke Edward Brian O'Rorke (1901 – 1974) was a New-Zealand-born British architect and interior designer. Early life and education Brian O'Rorke was born at Fendalton, Christchurch, New Zealand, on 14 June 1901, the third son of Edward Dennis O'Ror ...

).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 (before 1923) 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 19th-century New Zealand politicians New Zealand politicians awarded knighthoods Justice ministers of New Zealand Moorhouse–Rhodes family