Edmund Taylor

Who was Edmund Taylor?

Edmund Harvey Taylor was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand.

Taylor was born in Laneast in Cornwall, England, in 1855, the son of John Taylor, a prominent farmer. He studied in Liskeard to become a preacher of the Methodist church. His first placements were in Manchester, Birmingham, and Cheltenham.

He emigrated to New Zealand in 1882 and became prominent in the temperance movement. He was a member of the Thames Licensing Committee, and was at time secretary and president of the Prohibition League.

He stood for Parliament in the Thames electorate in 1890, but was defeated by Alfred Cadman He tried again in subsequent elections in 1893, 1896, and 1899, but was always beaten by James McGowan.

He won the Thames electorate in a 1909 by-election after the resignation of McGowan, but was defeated in the next election in 1911 by Thomas William Rhodes. He contested the electorate again in 1914 but Rhodes remained successful. He did not contest the 1919 election.

He later moved to Western Springs near Auckland, where he lived in Springfield Road. He was Reverend for the Congregational church in Morningside.

He died in Cornwall while on a visit to England in September 1927.