Percy Thomson
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Percy Thomson | |
|---|---|
| 16th Mayor of Stratford | |
| In office 1929–1933 | |
| Preceded by | James Watson McMillan |
| Succeeded by | James Watson McMillan |
| In office 1938–1947 | |
| Preceded by | James Watson McMillan |
| Succeeded by | Norman Harold Moss |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 November 1884 Dunedin, New Zealand |
| Died | 24 August 1962 (aged 77) |
| Spouse |
Hilda Spence
(m. 1912; died 1954) |
| Children | 7, including David |
| Profession | Solicitor |
Percy Thomson MBE (17 November 1884 – 24 August 1962) was a New Zealand lawyer and politician. He served as mayor of Stratford from 1929 to 1933, and again from 1938 to 1947.
Born in Dunedin on 17 November 1884, Thomson was the son of William Thomson and Elizabeth Sarah Thomson (née Halliwell).[1] He received his secondary education in Dunedin and Sydney.[1]
Thomson moved to Hāwera in 1900 to work as a clerk with his uncle, Herbert Theodore Halliwell, a lawyer.[1][2][3] From 1950 to 1910, he was a clerk at Adams Brothers law firm in Dunedin, before entering legal practice himself in Stratford in 1910 under the firm of Halliwell and Thomson.[1][3]
On 8 April 1912, Thomson married Hilda Spence at the Presbyterian church, Hāwera.[1][4] Together they had two daughters and five sons,[1] one of whom David Thomson was a New Zealand politician of the National Party.
Community involvement
He owned a dairy farm from 1920 and was director of Ngaere Dairy Company for 25 years. Thomson also served on the Stratford Hospital Board and was Chairman of the Taranaki Patriotic Council for a period following World War II.[3]
He was a long-serving chairman and member of the Stratford Domain Board.
Upon the death of King George V in 1935, Mr Thomson was the driving force behind planting beech trees in Broadway South and renaming it the King George V Memorial Avenue.[3] He was largely responsible for many of the attractive plantings in the town's streets and domains.
Other local committee involvement included vice president of the Taranaki District Law Society, executive of the Municipal Association, President of the Stratford Aero Club, an elder of St Andrews Church, and a member of several horticultural associations.[5]