George Laurenson
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The Honourable George Laurenson |
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Lyttelton |
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In office 1899 – 1913 |
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| 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.
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).
Laurenson represented the Lyttelton electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives for fourteen years from 1899 to his death in 1913. From 1909 until 1910 he was senior whip of the 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.
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.
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