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Sir George Maurice O'Rorke- New Zealand Pioneer
Sir George Maurice O'Rorke (1830-1916) The son of an Anglican Minister Sir George Maurice O'Rorke was born in Moylough, County Galway, Ireland in 1830. His father was one Reverend John O'Rorke, one of the rare 0 Ruairc descendants to convert to Protestantism, and by consequence a large landowner. This conversion also allowed George Maurice to attend one of Ireland's finest Protestant Universities, Trinity College in Dublin.

Majoring in the classics George O'Rorke graduated from Trinity with high honors in 1852, but within two years he was out of Ireland and on his way to far off New Zealand, along with his friend George Taylor. Upon arriving in New Zealand O'Rorke took to farming and settled himself in the town of Onehunga. In 1858 he married Cecelia Shephard, the daughter of one of the colony's first State Treasurers, Alexander Shephard, and a year later he began a two year stint as clerk on the Auckland Provincial Council.

Under the Law Practitioners Act O'Rorke attained a degree in Law during the 1860's, at the same time serving in the House of Representatives as the Onehunga representative. From 1871 to 1874 he was a prolific Oprovincialist" on the Provincial Executive board, serving as Chairman of Committees and as Minister of Crown Land and Immigration; positions that provided him with a broad view as to how New Zealand would be governed and which led to his highly charged resignation in August of 1874. O'Rorke denounced Prime Minister Vogells resolutions to abolish the provinces as "political treason".

His star would continue to rise in that far outpost of the British Empire, having previously attained the rank of Gazzetted Captain in the New Zealand Militia, O'Rorke was(' knighted by the Crown as Knight Bachelor in 1880. This came on the heels of his being elected House Speaker in 1879, a powerful post held retain for the better part of the next twenty years.

A lover of education O'Rorke played a prominent role in establishing both the Auckland Grammar School and the University of New Zealand. He served as a Board Governor on the Auckland Grammar School from its founding in the 1860's and later was the Chairman of the Royal Commission on University and Secondary Education, a post which allowed him to establish courses in architechture, music, commerce. law and divinity at the University of New Zealand.

Sir Maurice would remain active on the Auckland University College Council straight up until his death at the age of 86 in 1916. The Times of London spoke highly of him in their August 28, 1916 obituary: "O'Rorke's reputation stood very high in the Empire. His control over the House (as Speaker) was complete, his knowledge of precedents faultless and if there were no precedent for a ruling he never shrank from creating one. His attitude toward education was liberal and practical and he did much to foster public libraries in the Auckland Province."
Sir George M. O'Rorke- Galway born, he became an early educational and civic leader in New Zealand

1830-1916
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O'Rourke Historical Profiles
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