William Wilcox Tanner (1851–1938) was a New Zealand politician 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 ...

. In 1905 he was associated with the New Liberal Party group.

Early life

William Tanner was born in

Moulton, Northamptonshire Moulton is a large village in West Northamptonshire. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 Census was 3,454. The villages name origin is uncertain. 'Mula's farm/settlement' or ' mules' farm/settlement'. Education There are many pre- ...

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 1851. In 1877 he married a daughter of Mr. J. Browett of London. They came to New Zealand in 1879 on the ''Waitara''. He worked as a boot maker in both England and New Zealand.

Political career

William Tanner represented the

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 / ...

seats of

Heathcote Heathcote may refer to: Places in Australia *Heathcote, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney **Electoral district of Heathcote, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly **Heathcote National Park ** Parish of Heathcote a parish of Cumberla ...

from

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

and then Avon from

to 1908, when he was defeated. Among the

radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

policies that Tanner approved of were-the nationalisation of land, periodic revaluation of Crown leaseholds, and the establishment of a state bank. He was a member of the

Woolston Woolston may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington * Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon * Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...

Municipal Council (1893–1900),

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. ...

Hospital Board (1911–14), and Secretary to the Bootmakers' Union of Christchurch. Tanner was considered to be "''the first Labour candidate''" to be elected to the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...

in 1890 when he was successful in the Heathcote electorate. Tanner was described by the ''Lyttelton Times'' in 1902 as: "''Methodical, studious, always ready to refer to statistics, records and a terror for detail''" (''Lyttelton Times'', 18 October 1902, p. 4). The ''Christchurch Press'' said of him: "''Nice voice, speaks slowly with a precision almost painful...Hard-working, intelligent, industrious and no reason to doubt his honesty''".

Family

Tanner died in 1938. His son Walter Tanner was the second Chief Censor of Films in New Zealand.

References

*''The New Liberal Party 1905'' by G.F. Witcher (1966, MA(Hons) Thesis-University of Canterbury, Christchurch) * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanner, William 1851 births 1938 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Independent MPs of New Zealand Local politicians in New Zealand New Zealand trade unionists English emigrants to New Zealand New Liberal Party (New Zealand) MPs New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Unsuccessful candidates in the 1908 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People from West Northamptonshire District 19th-century New Zealand politicians Members of district health boards in New Zealand