Edward Metcalf Smith
| Edward Metcalf Smith | |
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Edward Metcalf Smith in ca 1900
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for New Plymouth |
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In office 1890 – 1896 |
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| Preceded by | Oliver Samuel |
| Succeeded by | In abeyance until 1928 |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Taranaki |
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In office 1899 – 1907 |
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| Preceded by | Henry Brown |
| Succeeded by | Henry Okey |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
10 January 1839 Bradley, Staffordshire, England |
| Died | 19 April 1907 (aged 68) New Plymouth, New Zealand |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Relations | Sydney George Smith (son) |
Edward Metcalf Smith (10 January 1839 – 19 April 1907) was an armourer and Liberal Party politician in New Zealand, and an advocate of the development of Taranaki's ironsand and oil.
Smith was born on 10 January 1839, in Fenny Compton Warwickshire, England. His father Charles METCALF was an Agricultural Labourer, and his mother was Maria Joiner. He was orphaned by the age of 15. He worked, as a youth, in the iron and steel industry in Staffordshire, probably at Bradley Hill Ironworks and in Cradley Heath, then joined gun makers Hollis in Birmingham, England . He became an apprentice at the new Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock, and also had some connection with the Royal Woolwich Arsenal, London. When qualified, he was sent on short term assignment as Garrison Armourer and Small Arms Inspector to the New Zealand field forces. He arrived in Auckland, New Zealand in 1861 on the African, and was based at Fort Britomart in Auckland,New Zealand.
He married Mary Ann Golding on 24 December 1861 in Auckland. She was the daughter of the army officer Nicholas Golding. His wife was born in March 1846 and was thus 15 years old when she married.
Smith served as an MP in the House of Representatives, representing the New Plymouth electorate from 1890 for two terms until the abeyance of that electorate in 1896. In the 1896 election, he contested the Taranaki electorate, but was beaten by the saw miller Henry Brown. At the 1899 election, he beat Brown, and represented the Taranaki electorate until his death in 1907.
Smith was one of the characters of the house, known for misplacing aspirates and for concluding speeches with his own verse. He became known as 'Ironsand Smith', lamenting the "hiron hores lying on the beach and never a man to work them", and for introducing himself as "Hi ham He Hem Smith. Hem Haitch Har" (translation: I am E M Smith, MHR). Apparently a buffoon, he was a hardworking member, and Seddon often had him follow—and deflate—serious-minded opposition debaters. His attire—a frock-coat, wide waistcoat with buttonhole, and out-of-doors a Tam o' Shanter—was unconventional.
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