George Laurenson

Hon. George Laurenson MP
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Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Lyttelton
In office 1899 – 1913
Preceded by	John Joyce
Succeeded by	James McCombs
Personal details
Born	1857 Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	19 November 1913 Lyttelton, New Zealand
Political party	Liberal (1899-1913)
Other political affiliations	New Liberal (1905) Labour Party

George Laurenson (1857 – 19 November 1913) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Lyttelton in the South Island.

Early life

The Lyttelton Times parliamentary correspondent described Laurenson as: "a Scotchman by birth, a Shetlander by education, a New Zealander by adoption, a storekeeper by trade and a yachtsman by preference."

George Laurenson was a successful businessman in Christchurch. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and was educated in the Shetland Islands. Laurenson served on numerous local boards and committees: he was chairman of the Lyttelton Harbour Board and the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce. Laurenson was a member of the Navy League Canterbury (13 March 1905, Item N1, MB-129, Macmillan Brown Library Archives, University of Canterbury).

Member of Parliament

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1899–1902	14th	Lyttelton		Liberal
1902–1905	15th	Lyttelton		Liberal
1905–1908	16th	Lyttelton		New Liberal
1908–1911	17th	Lyttelton		Liberal
1911–1913	18th	Lyttelton		Liberal

Laurenson represented the Lyttelton electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives for fourteen years from 1899 to his death in 1913.

New Liberal Party

Laurenson was the nominal leader or chairman of the New Liberal Party in 1905 though Tommy Taylor was the dominant figure. Like Taylor, Laurenson favoured federation with Australia. Laurenson was one of the few who stood as a New Liberal in the 1905 election and retained his seat. Most, including Taylor were defeated.

Cabinet Minister

On 22 March 1912 he stood in a leadership election against Thomas Mackenzie to decide the successor to Sir Joseph Ward as leader of the Liberal Party, but lost (9 votes to 22). He was subsequently the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour, Customs and Marine in Mackenzie's cabinet. In July the Liberal government was defeated, after the defection of some Liberal members like John A. Millar to Reform.

Later Life

Laurenson was a lifetime Labour movement sympathizer, but never joined the Labour Party though he agreed with the Labour Party's stand during the 1913 general strike, and was often known to have appeared at meetings with the leaders of the Federation of Labour (the 'Red Feds').

A son of George Laurenson, George Lyttelton Laurenson CBE (1893–1968), was Commissioner of Transport.

References

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by John Joyce	Member of Parliament for Lyttelton 1899–1913	Succeeded by James McCombs