William Sefton Moorhouse

William Sefton Moorhouse
William Sefton Moorhouse
2nd Superintendent of Canterbury Province
In office 24 Oct 1857 – Feb 1863
In office 30 May 1866 – May 1868
3rd Mayor of Wellington
Preceded by	Charles Borlase
Succeeded by	William Hutchison
Personal details
Born	18 December 1825 Yorkshire, England
Died	15 September 1881 Wellington, New Zealand
Spouse(s)	Jane
Relations	William Barnard Rhodes (brother-in-law)

William Sefton Moorhouse (c.1825 – 15 September 1881) was a New Zealand politician. He was the second Superintendent of Canterbury Province.

Early life

Moorhouse was born in Yorkshire, England, and baptised on 18 December 1825; the oldest son of William Moorhouse, a magistrate, and his wife, Ann Carter.^[1] He trained as a lawyer, entering as a student at the Middle Temple in November 1847, and was called to the Bar in November 1860.^[2] After working for a time in London, he moved to Lyttelton, New Zealand, with his two brothers (Benjamin and Thomas) in 1851. Soon afterwards, he moved to Wellington, where he resumed his law practice. After marrying in 1853, he briefly moved to Australia, but subsequently returned to Lyttelton. Later he moved to Christchurch, where he acted as a lawyer, magistrate, newspaper editor, and ship owner.^[3] His sister Sarah Ann Moorhouse married William Barnard Rhodes.

Political career

Moorhouse was active both in national and provincial politics, and later was a Mayor of Wellington.

House of Representatives

Moorhouse was elected to represent Akaroa in the 1st New Zealand Parliament, and remained an MP until his death. In his parliamentary career, he represented the Akaroa, Heathcote (a notice of election was gazetted on 12 July 1862,^[4] and the member sworn in on 14 July^[5]), Westland, Westland Boroughs, Christchurch and Ashley (elected 1879)^[6] electorates. In the 1866 election, he had won both the Mount Herbert and Westland electorates, and chose to represent the latter. At the 21 December 1875 election, he stood in the City of Christchurch electorate for the 6th New Zealand Parliament. He was returned in third position in this three-member electorate; the other members returned in the election were Edward Richardson and Edward Cephas John Stevens.^[7]

The Westland Representation Act 1867 introduced changes to the Waimea and Westland electorates. Their areas were reassigned and four electorates formed. As a result, Westland was abolished in 1867, a new electorate (Westland Boroughs) was established, and the Act stipulated that the sitting member (Moorhouse) was transferred to it. Other new electorates, for which by-elections were to be held, were Westland North and Westland South.^[8][9] Moorhouse resigned from Westland Boroughs on 20 February 1868,^[9] and William Henry Harrison won the resulting by-election.^[10]

Statue of Moorhouse in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens

Canterbury Provincial Council

In 1855, Moorhouse was first elected to the Canterbury Provincial Council. From March to July 1855, he represented the Akaroa electorate on the first Council.^[11] He later served as the Province's Superintendent after James FitzGerald resigned from the superintendency in October 1857 due to illness. Moorhouse and Joseph Brittan contested the vacancy, and obtained 727 and 352 votes, respectively.^[12][13] He served as Superintendent until February 1863, and another term from May 1866 to May 1868.^[14] After his first superintendency, he represented the Kaiapoi electorate as a provincial councillor from March to October 1863, and then represented the Heathcote electorate from February 1864 to May 1866.^[11] From 27 October to 17 November 1863, he was a member of the Canterbury Executive Council.^[15]

Later years

He was Mayor of Wellington in 1875, and died in Wellington on 15 September 1881.

Commemoration

In 1904, the South Belt or South Town Belt in Christchurch was renamed Moorhouse Avenue in honour of the former Superintendent. Each Christchurch Avenue around the central city is named for one of the former Superintendents, and it was thought appropriate to rename the South Belt for Moorhouse, as it was parallel to the railway line and continued via Ferry Road towards the railway tunnel, two projects that were closely linked to Moorhouse. The eastern continuation of the South Belt was called Junction Street or Junction Road, until its intersection with Ferry Road. In 1909, this section was incorporated into Moorhouse Avenue.^[16] Julius von Haast named the Moorhouse Range and Sefton Peak in the Southern Alps after Moorhouse. Moorhouse and Sefton Streets in the Wellington suburb of Wadestown are also named for him.^[1] A statue of Moorhouse, made by G. A. Lawson in London in 1885, is located in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens.^[17]

Notes

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Sefton Moorhouse.

• Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. 

Mayors of Wellington City
Mayors	elected by councillors George Hunter William Guyton Joseph Dransfield Charles Borlase William Sefton Moorhouse elected at large William Hutchison Joseph Dransfield George Allen William Hutchison George Fisher Arthur Winton Brown Samuel Brown John Duthie Charles Johnston Arthur Winton Brown Francis Bell Alfred Brandon Charles Luke George Fisher Francis Bell John Blair John Aitken Thomas William Hislop Alfred Newman Thomas Wilford David McLaren John Luke Robert Wright Charles Norwood George Troup Thomas Hislop Will Appleton Rob Macalister Frank Kitts Michael Fowler Ian Lawrence James Belich Fran Wilde Mark Blumsky Kerry Prendergast Celia Wade-Brown Justin Lester
Mayoral elections	Annual term 1875 1876† 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 Biennial term 1899 1901 1903† 1905 1907 1909 1910‡ 1911† 1912‡ 1913 1915 1917† 1919 1921 1923 1925 1927 1929 1931 1933† Triennial term 1935 1938 1941 1944 1947 1950 1953 1956 1959 1962 1965 1968 1971 1974 1977 1980 1983 1986 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 2010 2013 2016
† Elected unopposed · ‡ By-election