Samuel Locke (politician)

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1884 8th East Coast Independent
1884–1887 9th East Coast Independent

Samuel Locke (1836 – 13 April 1890) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from the Gisborne Region of New Zealand.

Locke was born in West Norfolk, England in 1836. He moved to Auckland, New Zealand in 1853 and took up work surveying. During the course of his work he became proficient in te reo Māori,[1] being described by an Auckland newspaper as "essentially a Māori man".[2] After losing to the incumbent Allan McDonald by 19 votes in the 1881 election, which was attributed to his broken leg preventing him from canvassing widely,[3] he succeeded him to represent the East Coast electorate in the 1884 by-election following McDonald's resignation. In the 1884 general election, he defeated William Lee Rees.[4] He retired in 1887[5] due to poor health.[6] He was found dead in his bed on 13 April 1890, and was deemed to have died of apoplexy.[1]

  1. ^ a b "A BARQUE WRECKED". New Zealand Herald. Papers Past. 21 April 1890.
  2. ^ "MR LOCKE, M.H.R." Poverty Bay Herald. Papers Past. 7 May 1885.
  3. ^ "Untitled". New Zealand Mail. Papers Past. 9 May 1884.
  4. ^ "The General Election, 1884". National Library. 1884. pp. 1–3. Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  5. ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 212. OCLC 154283103.
  6. ^ "RETIREMENT OF MR LOCKE, M.H.R." Auckland Star. Papers Past. 20 April 1887.