William Tanner (politician)
William Wilcox Tanner (1851–1938) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. In 1905 he was associated with the New Liberal Party group.
William Tanner | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Avon | |
| In office 20 December 1893 – 2 December 1908 | |
| Preceded by | Edwin Blake |
| Succeeded by | George Warren Russell |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Heathcote | |
| In office 5 December 1890 – 20 December 1893 | |
| Preceded by | Frederic Jones |
| Succeeded by | electorate abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1851 Northamptonshire, England |
| Died | 1938 (aged 86–87) |
| Political party | Liberal (1905 onward) |
| Children | Walter Tanner |
Early life
William Tanner was born in Moulton, Northamptonshire, England, 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.[1][2]
Political career
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890–1893 | 11th | Heathcote | Liberal–Labour | ||
| 1893–1896 | 12th | Avon | Liberal–Labour | ||
| 1896–1899 | 13th | Avon | Liberal–Labour | ||
| 1899–1902 | 14th | Avon | Liberal–Labour | ||
| 1902–1905 | 15th | Avon | Liberal–Labour | ||
| 1905–1908 | 16th | Avon | Liberal | ||
William Tanner represented the Christchurch seats of Heathcote from 1890 to 1893 and then Avon from 1893 to 1908, when he was defeated.[3]
Among the radical policies that Tanner approved of were-the nationalisation of land, periodic revaluation of Crown leaseholds, and the establishment of a state bank.[4]
He was a member of the Woolston Municipal Council (1893–1900), Canterbury 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 in 1890 when he was successful in the Heathcote electorate.[1]
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
- Cyclopedia Company Limited (1903). "Mr. William Wilcox Tanner". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Canterbury Provincial District. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. p. 91. Retrieved 8 September 2010.
- "New Member". Evening Star. 6 December 1890.
- Scholefield, Guy (1925) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record (2nd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. p. 138.
- "Trades Council Platform". Lyttelton Times. 11 November 1902.
- The New Liberal Party 1905 by G.F. Witcher (1966, MA(Hons) Thesis-University of Canterbury, Christchurch)
- Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
- Wood, G. Anthony, ed. (1996). Ministers and Members: In the New Zealand Parliament. Dunedin: Otago University Press.