George Waterhouse
George Marsden Waterhouse was a significant political figure in Australia and New Zealand in the 19th century, born on April 6, 1824, in Penzance, Cornwall, England. He emigrated to Australia in 1839 with his family, where he initially worked in his brothers' businesses before establishing himself as a successful merchant in Adelaide. Waterhouse entered politics in 1851, representing East Torrens in the South Australian Legislative Council, advocating for free trade and economic reforms. He served in various governmental roles, including as chief secretary and later as premier, although his time in politics was marked by challenges, including health issues and controversies surrounding government finances.
After a period of returning to England, Waterhouse moved to New Zealand in 1869, where he continued his political career, becoming premier in 1872. He was instrumental in passing significant legislation, such as the Adoption of Children Act 1881, which recognized legal adoption, and he advocated for women's property rights. Waterhouse remained active in the legislative council until his retirement in 1889, after which he returned to England, where he lived until his death on August 6, 1906. His legacy includes contributions to social welfare and legislative reform, though his devout Methodist beliefs sometimes put him at odds with his contemporaries.
Subject Terms
George Waterhouse
Politician
- Born: April 6, 1824
- Birthplace: Penzance, England
- Died: August 6, 1906
- Place of death: Torquay, England
Significance: George Waterhouse was a premier of both South Australia and New Zealand in the nineteenth century while they were British colonies. He was instrumentally involved with the passing of the first act in New Zealand setting up a legal framework for child adoption.
Background
One of ten children of Jane Beadnell and John Waterhouse, George Marsden Waterhouse was born on April 6, 1824, in Penzance, in the English county of Cornwall. He attended Kingswood School, a Wesleyan school in Bath, England, from 1832 to 1838. In 1839, he and his family moved to Australia, after his father, a Wesleyan Methodist missionary, became the superintendent of the Wesleyan Methodist missions in Australasia and Polynesia. The family settled in Hobart Town (changed to Hobart in the 1880s), Tasmania. His father died three years later.
Three of Waterhouse’s older brothers had established a drapery business and a printing business operating out of the Manchester House in Hobart Town, and Waterhouse worked for them before departing in 1843 and relocating to Adelaide, South Australia. There, he and a brother became merchants. As their business fared very well, Waterhouse retired when he was twenty-nine.
Political Career
Waterhouse entered politics when he was elected to the Legislative Council of South Australia as the member for East Torrens in 1851. A free trader who advocated for uniform tariffs and economic development, he held his seat until 1854, when he stood down due to poor health and went to England. During the 1850s, he also briefly held a seat on the Central Board of Education but resigned because he could not support the board’s majority viewpoint.
After he went back to South Australia, Waterhouse was appointed to the board of the local waterworks commission in 1856. He resigned in 1857 and successfully ran for the East Torrens seat in the House of Assembly, one of the chambers in South Australia’s Parliament after it was granted self-government by the British government. After the first ministry resigned in August 1857, he resigned from the House. He rejoined Parliament in 1860 after he was elected to the Legislative Council. He served as chief secretary in Thomas Reynolds’s ministry between May 1860 and February 1861.
Concerned about Judge Benjamin Boothby’s refusal to recognize several acts, such as the Real Property Act, Waterhouse formed a select committee to examine the judge’s recent decisions and conduct, serving as its chairman. His achievements included contributing to the implementation of passed legislation that had not been honored. After Reynolds resigned, he formed a government in October 1861 with an intent to oversee Boothby’s removal through legislative motions and ultimately became premier of South Australia. After accomplishing this goal, he resigned his ministry. He then accepted the government for the second time and was premier and chief secretary from October 1861 through July 4, 1863. With his government struggling for support, he resigned after allegations of misuse of government funds by his treasurer and questions about his own association with the Moonta mining company.
Waterhouse resigned from the Legislative Council in December 1864 and then spent much of the next five years visiting England and serving as the director of the South Australian Banking Company. In 1869, he moved to New Zealand, where he purchased Huangarua Station, a large sheep station near Martinborough, Wairarapa. He soon became involved in politics and, for the next twenty years, he served in various positions in local bodies and colonial government.
In 1870, Waterhouse was appointed to the seat of Wellington in the New Zealand Legislative Council. About two years later, Julius Vogel, the colonial treasurer, asked him to form a ministry, and he agreed, becoming premier on October 11, 1872. Vogel, however, was widely considered the decision maker in Waterhouse’s ministry. In 1873, when Vogel was out of the country, Waterhouse served as acting colonial treasurer. Upon learning about Vogel’s financial tactics, which he disapproved of, he resigned from the premiership on March 3, 1873.
Waterhouse remained in the Legislative Council until 1889, when he retired. He was greatly interested in the welfare of people and served on committees on native affairs, education, and legal affairs. He steered a piece of legislation, the Adoption of Children Act 1881, through the Council and secured its passage. The act, the first of its kind in a colony of the British Empire, allowed for the legal recognition of adoption. Prior to its passage, children typically were informally adopted in a system more akin to guardianship and that afforded no legal protections. Also in 1881, he introduced legislation that would give married women the right to own property, the Married Woman’s Property Bill, but it did not pass the Council, as other members considered it a threat to marital harmony. Waterhouse served as deputy governor in 1884 and as speaker of the Legislative Council in 1887.
Waterhouse returned to England after his retirement, where he lived in Torquay, in the county of Devon, until his death on August 6, 1906.
Impact
Waterhouse is remembered for his skills in shepherding legislation through the New Zealand Parliament as well as his administrative abilities. A devout Methodist, his personal beliefs sometimes led to friction with other politicians. This, and his overall poor health, often caused him to withdraw temporarily from politics or to refuse a position in a ministry. Thus, he was often overshadowed by more dominant colonial politicians of South Australia and New Zealand during the late 1800s.
Personal Life
Waterhouse and Lydia Giles married in 1848.
Bibliography
Aburn, Anne. “Twenty-Five Years of Adult Adoption in New Zealand 1985–2010: An Overview of Adult Adoption Since the Implementation of the Adult Adoption Information Act 1985.” Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work, vol. 26, no. 4, 2014, pp. 78–89, doi:10.11157/anzswj-vol26iss4id28. Accessed 19 May 2020.
“The First Parliament.” Parliament of South Australia, www.parliament.sa.gov.au/About-Parliament/The-First-Parliament. Accessed 19 May 2020.
McLean, Gavin. “George Waterhouse.” New Zealand History, New Zealand Ministry of Culture and Heritage, 20 Aug. 2014, nzhistory.govt.nz/people/george-waterhouse. Accessed 8 May 2020.
Tregenza, Jean F. “Waterhouse, George Marsden (1824–1906).” Australian Dictionary of Biography, edited by Bede Nairn, vol. 6, Melbourne UP, 1976. Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, adb.anu.edu.au/biography/waterhouse-george-marsden-4806/text8011. Accessed 8 May 2020.
“Waterhouse, Hon. George Marsden.” An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, 1966. Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, teara.govt.nz/en/1966/waterhouse-hon-george-marsden. Accessed 19 May 2020.