William Speight

William Speight

William James Speight (1843 – 24 April 1919) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Auckland, New Zealand.

Biography

New Zealand Parliament

Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1879–1881	7th	Auckland East			Independent

Speight was born in Dublin in 1843, where he attended the Blue Coat School. He trained as a mechanical engineer in his father's firm and emigrated to New Zealand in 1865 on the Maori. When gold was found in the Coromandel, he moved to Thames.[1]

He married his cousin, a daughter of Isaac Speight, in 1872. They had six sons and three daughters.[1]

He contested the Auckland East electorate in the 1879 general election against James Clark and with 371 to 363 votes obtained a narrow victory.[2] He represented the electorate until the end of the parliamentary term in 1881, when he was defeated (for the Thames electorate).[3]

Speight died in Auckland on 24 April 1919,[4] and was buried at Purewa Cemetery.[5]

References

1. Cyclopedia Company Limited (1902). "Mr. William James Speight". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Auckland Provincial District. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
2. "The City East Election". Auckland Star. Vol. X, no. 2939. 15 September 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
3. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840-1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 235. OCLC 154283103.
4. "Deaths". New Zealand Herald. 25 April 1919. p. 1. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
5. "Burial & cremation details". Purewa Cemetery and Crematorium. Retrieved 22 January 2016.