George Henry Swan


George Henry Swan was a 19th-century businessman and Member of Parliament in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand.

Biography

Born in Sunderland, England, Swan went to Australia in 1854 and settled in New Zealand in 1857. Swan served as the Mayor of Napier from 1885 to 1901; at that time, he held the record for holding the longest continuous mayoralty in New Zealand.
He represented the Napier electorate from to 1893, concurrently as Mayor, when he was defeated. Though sometimes described as "Independent", he was really a "conservative"; although those opposed to the Liberals had not yet formed the Reform Party. He was opposed to party government, and wanted Maori and local shipping to pay taxes.
Swan owned his own brewery. He was initially a photographer by trade.
He died in Whanganui on 25 July 1913. He married an actress, Frances Stopher in 1884. She died in Whanganui in 1939.