William Lee Rees facts for kids
Rees in about 1878
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name |
William Lee Rees
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| Born | 16 December 1836 Bristol, England |
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| Died | 18 May 1912 (aged 75) Gisborne, New Zealand |
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| Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1856/57–1865/66 | Victoria | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1877/78 | Auckland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: CricketArchive, 31 July 2011
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William Lee Rees (born December 16, 1836 – died May 18, 1912) was an important person in New Zealand. He was born in England and became a cricketer, a politician, and a lawyer.
Contents
Early Life and Family
William Lee Rees was born in Bristol, England, in 1836. His father was a surgeon, but he passed away when William was young. William was then raised by his mother and uncle.
Interestingly, William was related to the famous Grace family of cricketers. His mother's sister, Martha Pocock, was the mother of WG Grace, one of the greatest cricketers of all time.
In 1851, William moved to Melbourne, Australia, with his mother. This was during the exciting time of the Victorian gold rush. He started studying law at the University of Melbourne. He was also very interested in religion and trained to be a Congregationalist minister. He became a minister in 1861.
In 1863, William married Hannah Elizabeth "Annie" Staite in Melbourne. They had seven children together. Two of their daughters became quite well-known:
- Annie Lee "Lily" Rees (1864–1949) was a writer, teacher, and lawyer.
- Rosemary Frances Rees (1875–1963) was an author, actress, and theatre producer. She even started one of the first theatre companies in New Zealand!
Cricket Career
William Lee Rees played four first-class cricket matches. These games took place during the early days of cricket in Australia and New Zealand.
He played his first match for Victoria in January 1857. This game was against New South Wales in Sydney. William's cousin, William Gilbert Rees, also played in the same match.
Cricket matches between different colonies were not very common back then. This was because travel distances were very long. William played a few more matches, but his cricket career was quite short.
Political Journey
William Lee Rees moved around New Zealand. He lived in Hokitika for three years before settling in Auckland. He became involved in local government, representing the Kanieri area on the Westland County Council from 1868 to 1869.
Member of Parliament
William was elected to the New Zealand House of Representatives in 1875. He represented the Auckland City East area. He was a supporter of Sir George Grey, who was a well-known politician.
He worked with Wi Pere to create a special Trust. This Trust helped manage Māori land.
William was re-elected to Parliament in 1890 for the City of Auckland area. He supported the Liberal Government. He also served as the Chairman of Committees from 1891 to 1893. This role meant he helped lead discussions and manage the work of parliamentary committees.
| New Zealand Parliament | ||||
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | |
| 1875–1879 | 6th | Auckland City East | Independent | |
| 1890–1893 | 11th | Auckland | Liberal | |
Later Years and Legacy
In 1893, William Lee Rees left Parliament. He moved back to Gisborne, where most of his family lived. He also had business interests there.
He lived in Te Hapara for the rest of his life. William was known for his generous actions. For example, he helped install the very first cricket pitch and tennis courts in Gisborne.
William Lee Rees passed away in Gisborne on May 18, 1912. He was buried at Makaraka Cemetery.
Books by William Rees
William Lee Rees was also an author. He wrote several books, sharing his thoughts on society and politics:
- The Coming Crisis: A sketch of the financial and political condition of New Zealand with the causes and probable results of that condition (1874).
- Sir Gilbert Leigh, or, Pages from the History of an Eventful Life, with an appendix, The Great Pro-consul (1878) (a novel).
- Co-operation of Land, Labour and Capital (1885).
- From Poverty to Plenty, or, the Labour Question Solved (1888).
- The Life and Times of Sir George Grey, K.C.B. (1892) (written with his daughter, Lily Rees).
