Leonard Isitt (minister)

For other people with the surname Isitt see Isitt

The Reverend Leonard Isitt
File:Leonard Monk Isitt, 1911.jpg Isitt in 1911
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Christchurch North
In office 1911 – 1925
Preceded by	Tommy Taylor
Succeeded by	Henry Holland
New Zealand Legislative Councillor
In office 28 October 1925 – 29 July 1937†
Appointed by	Gordon Coates
Personal details
Born	4 January 1855 Bedford, England
Died	29 July 1937 Christchurch, New Zealand
Resting place	Linwood Cemetery
Political party	Liberal
Spouse(s)	Agnes Caverhill
Relations	Frank Isitt (brother) Kate Evelyn Isitt (niece)
Children	2 inc. Sir Leonard Isitt
Religion	Methodist

Rev. Leonard Monk Isitt (4 January 1855 – 29 July 1937) was a Member of Parliament of the New Zealand Liberal Party. He was a Methodist minister and an advocate of prohibition (temperance), in association with Tommy Taylor and his brother, Rev. Frank Isitt.

Early life

He was born in Bedford, England, in 1855. His parents were James Isitt, a butcher, and Rebecca Isitt (née Cole). He lost his father at age two and his mother when he was twelve. He was educated at Bedford Modern School. His brother Frank emigrated to New Zealand in 1870 as a Methodist minister, and in 1875, Leonard Isitt followed him. His brother's daughter, Kate Evelyn Isitt, later worked for him as his private secretary.

Member of Parliament

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1911	17th	Christchurch North		Independent Liberal
1911–1914	18th	Christchurch North		Independent Liberal
1914–1919	19th	Christchurch North		Liberal
1919–1922	20th	Christchurch North		Liberal
1922–1925	21st	Christchurch North		Liberal

Leonard Isitt took over Taylor’s parliamentary electorate of Christchurch North in a 1911 by-election after Tommy Taylor died. He held the seat, first as an Independent then as a Liberal until he retired in 1925.

Isitt was a member of the Legislative Council from 1925 to his death in 1937. Isitt and George Witty were both appointed to the Legislative Council by Gordon Coates on 28 October 1925; shortly before the 1925 election on 4 November. Both were Liberals but their retirement removed "a source of some bitterness from the Party’s ranks". Gordon Coates was Reform, and both of their former seats went to Reform candidates.

After Witty, Henry Holland of the Reform Party represented the Christchurch North electorate.

In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.

Family and death

Leonard Isitt married Agnes Caverhill in 1881. They had two sons:

• Sir Leonard Monk Isitt (1891–1976), a prominent Air Force commander.
• Willard Whitmore Isitt (1894–1916), a rifleman in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, killed during WWI in France on 31 October 1916.

Leonard Isitt died on 29 July 1937 in Christchurch and was buried at Linwood Cemetery.

Further reading

Works by Isitt

• This is a collection of newspaper clippings.
• Isitt was a contributor to this book. The "Gothic" was a ship.
• This is a prohibition tract.
• These lectures were on the recently ended war; and on the church's relations with both labour and pacifism.

Works about Isitt

• A discourse delivered in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Auckland, on 14 August 1927, a few hours after Dr. Cleary’s return from Europe. Cleary was the then-Roman Catholic Bishop of Auckland.

External links

• Photo of Rev Leonard Isitt

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Tommy Taylor	Member of Parliament for Christchurch North 1911–1925	Succeeded by Henry Holland