Arthur Seymour
| Arthur Seymour | |
|---|---|
Arthur Seymour in his late 50s
|
|
| 4th Superintendent of Marlborough Province | |
|
In office 1864–1865 |
|
|
In office 1870–1876 |
|
| 4th Chairman of Committees | |
|
In office 1873–1875 |
|
| Preceded by | Maurice O'Rorke |
| Succeeded by | Maurice O'Rorke |
|
In office 1879–1881 |
|
| Preceded by | Maurice O'Rorke |
| Succeeded by | Ebenezer Hamlin |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Wairau |
|
|
In office 1872 – 1875 |
|
| Preceded by | William Henry Eyes |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Ward |
|
In office 1876 – 1881 |
|
| Preceded by | Joseph Ward |
| Succeeded by | Henry Dodson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 March 1832 Marksbury, Somersetshire England |
| Died | 3 April 1923 (aged 91) Picton New Zealand |
| Relations | Dr Ralph Richardson (brother-in-law) |
Arthur Penrose Seymour (20 March 1832 – 3 April 1923) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician from Picton. He was the 4th Superintendent of the Marlborough Province and was a member of the provincial government for all 16 years of its existence. With his strong advocacy for Picton, he successfully had the Seat of Government moved to Picton. When the Blenheim party secured a majority in the Provincial Council by 1865, Seymour negotiated the removal of the Seat of Government back to Blenheim.
Seymour was a member of parliament for various Marlborough electorates for a total of twelve years. Prior to his election to Parliament, he had been appointed to the Legislative Council. He was three times Mayor of Picton.
Seymour was born in 1832 in Marksbury, Somersetshire, England, the fourth son of the Reverend George Turner Seymour & his wife Marianne née Billingsley. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1851 on the Maori, travelling with his sister Marie Louise and her husband, Dr Ralph Richardson.Henry Seymour, who returned from England on the same ship, was unrelated. Arthur Seymour settled in Picton, Marlborough shortly after his arrival. He was a surveyor by profession, but became a in the Awatere Valley. He was appointed a Justice of the peace in 1856. On 23 October 1856, he married Catherine Florence Huddleston at Nelson, the daughter of the Nelson businessman Frederick Huddleston.
Seymour was elected onto the first Marlborough Provincial Council in 1860. During the council's first meeting, Seymour successfully moved that the provincial offices be built in Picton. This further fuelled the ongoing political conflict with other politicians who favoured Blenheim as the seat of provincial government. The Seat of Government shifted from Blenheim to Picton in 1861, only to revert to Blenheim in 1866. Together with all the other intense personal rivalries in the (e.g. between small farmers and pastoralists), provincial politics had a comic opera quality to it in the Marlborough Province. Seymour fuelled this conflict by being a stern supporter of Picton.
...
Wikipedia