William Whitehouse Collins

William Whitehouse Collins (4 September 1853 – 12 April 1923) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Christchurch in the South Island.

William Whitehouse Collins
portrait of William Whitehouse Collins, showing a man possibly in his 40s with a moustache
William Whitehouse Collins
Member of Parliament
for City of Christchurch
In office
1893–1896
Preceded byRichard Molesworth Taylor
Succeeded byHarry Ell
In office
1899–1902
Preceded byHarry Ell
Succeeded byHarry Ell
Personal details
Born4 September 1853
Harborne
Died12 April 1923(1923-04-12) (aged 69)
Sydney
Political partyLiberal Party
Spouse(s)Alice Annie Collins (née Skinner, m. 1886)

Early life

Collins was born on 4 September 1853 in Harborne, Staffordshire, England and came to New Zealand in 1890. He married Alice Annie Skinner, a daughter of Ehenezer Skinner of Sydney, in 1886.[1][2]

Member of Parliament
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1893–1896 12th Christchurch Liberal
1899–1902 14th Christchurch Liberal

Collins represented the City of Christchurch electorate in the House of Representatives from 1893 to 1896 and again between 1899 and 1902.[3] He also stood in the 1896 election, but was narrowly defeated.[4]

He was a rationalist (free-thought) lecturer and was involved with the English Secularists and obtained a diploma from the National Secular Society.[5]

The Canterbury Freethought Association was established in Christchurch in 1881 and ran until 1917. Collins left for Sydney in 1918 and died there on 12 April 1923.[2][6]

References
  1. "Mr. William Whitehouse Collins". Christchurch: The Cyclopedia Company Limited. 1903. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  2. Stenhouse, John. "Collins, William Whitehouse". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 4 April 2011.
  3. Wilson, James Oakley (1985). The New Zealand Parliamentary Record: 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: Government Printer. p. 190.
  4. "Mr. William Whitehouse Collins". Christchurch: The Cyclopedia Company Limited. 1903. Retrieved 1 March 2010.
  5. Hamer, David (1988). The New Zealand Liberals: the years of power, 1891–1912. Auckland: Auckland University Press. pp. 50, 362. ISBN 1-86940-014-3.
  6. James, R. H. (n.d.), The Canterbury Freethought Association 1881–1917 [unpublished manuscript], n.p.: n.p.

Further reading

Works by Collins
  • Collins, William Whitehouse (c. 1910), Rationalist burial service, Christchurch, [N.Z.]: N.Z. Rationalist Association
  • Collins, William Whitehouse (1911), Ferrer and his enemies, Christchurch, [N.Z.]: N.Z. Rationalist Association
  • Collins, William Whitehouse (1914), The bible in schools question, Christchurch, [N.Z.]: Printed by the Lyttelton Times Co.

Works about Collins
  • Hamer, David (1988), The New Zealand Liberals: the years of power, 1891–1912, Auckland, N.Z.]: Auckland University Press, ISBN 1-86940-014-3
  • James, R. H. (n.d.), The Canterbury Freethought Association 1881–1917 [unpublished manuscript], n.p.: n.p.
  • This document is held within the Canterbury Museum Documentary Research Centre, Christchurch.
  • Lineham, Peter J. (1985), "Freethinkers in nineteenth-century New Zealand", New Zealand Journal of History, 19 (1): 61–81
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