William Herries

Sir William Herbert Herries KCMG (19 April 1859 – 22 February 1923) was an English-born New Zealand politician.

Herries was born in London, the son of Herbert Crompton Herries, a barrister, and his wife, Leonora Emma Wickham. His grandfather was Henry Lewis Wickham, a Receiver General of Gibraltar. The English MP William Wickham was his uncle. From a wealthy middle-class family, he was educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he studied natural sciences.

At the age of 22 he emigrated to New Zealand and became a farmer near Te Aroha, with a passion for racing and breeding horses. On 4 December 1889, he married his neighbour Catherine Louisa Roche; they remained without children.

Herries was elected to the House of Representatives for the Bay of Plenty electorate in 1896, holding the seat until 1908, when he was elected for Tauranga, which he held until his death. He became a member of the Reform Party, which formed in 1909.

The Herries travelled to England in 1912; they left on 21 March on the Iconic. The journey was a disaster, though. Just before they left, his mother died in New Zealand. His wife, who had been in indifferent health, died on the journey to England.

He was the Minister of Native Affairs from 1912 to February 1921, Minister of Railways from 1912 to 1919, Minister of Marine and Minister of Customs from 1919 to February 1921, and Minister of Labour from 1920 to February 1921 in the Reform Government.

He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in the 1920 New Year Honours. He died in Wellington on 22 February 1923.