Seymour Thorne George

Seymour Thorne George
Seymour Thorne George in 1899
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Hokitika
In office 26 June 1878 – 15 August 1879
Preceded by	Charles Button
Succeeded by	Robert Reid Richard Seddon
Majority	95 (5.68%)
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Rodney
In office 8 September 1879 – 27 June 1885
Preceded by	John Sheehan
Succeeded by	William Pollock Moat
Personal details
Born	1851 Somersetshire, England
Died	2 July 1922 Parnell, New Zealand
Relations	George Grey (uncle)

Seymour Thorne George (1851 – 2 July 1922) was a New Zealand politician. The premier, Sir George Grey, was his uncle, and that relationship resulted in Thorne George representing the South Island electorate of Hokitika despite him being based in the North Island. He later represented the Rodney electorate. Thorne George was later Mayor of Parnell.

Thorne George (note that he had a double barrel surname) was from Somersetshire. His father was George Thorne George. He received his education at Cheltenham College in Gloucestershire, England with a view of joining the Royal Engineers, but he had an accident playing soccer, abandoned his studies, and started work as a civil engineer in London.

His father was a friend of Sir George Grey, who had been Governor of New Zealand and who temporarily returned to England in 1859. On the advice of Grey, Thorne George moved to New Zealand. For some years, he was the estate manager for Grey on Kawau Island. On 3 December 1872, he married Annie Maria Matthews (1853–1938), who was the daughter of Sir Godfrey Thomas, the half brother of George Grey. After Thomas' death in 1861, Grey had adopted Annie and had raised her.

Grey was very popular with people on the West Coast. After a seat in the House of Representatives became available through a resignation in the Hokitika electorate, a Hokitika man enquired by telegram whether he could recommend a good candidate from outside the area. Sir George replied:

My nephew Seymour Thorne George would be glad to represent your district if you sent him a requisition asking him to do so. He was with me when I visited your district in February last. G. Grey