Jackson Palmer was the Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Waitemata

Waitemata

Waitemata can be:*Waitemata Harbour, a large bay in New Zealand*Waitemata City, a local government body on the shores of Waitemata Harbour, now part of Waitakere....

 and Ohinemuri, in the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Member of Parliament

Jackson Palmer represented the Waitemata

Waitemata (New Zealand electorate)

Waitemata was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, from 1871 to 1946, and then from 1954 to 1978.-Population centres:This electorate is in the suburbs of Auckland.-History:The electorate existed from 1871 to 1946, and from 1954 to 1978...

 (1890–1893) and Ohinemuri (1900–1903) electorates in the New Zealand House of Representatives

New Zealand House of Representatives

The New Zealand House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the legislature of New Zealand. The House and the Queen of New Zealand form the New Zealand Parliament....

.

Independent Liberal

Palmer was an Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

 Liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

. He declined the Premier

Prime Minister of New Zealand

The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...

 John Ballance

John Ballance

John Ballance served as the 14th Premier of New Zealand at the end of the 19th century, and was the founder of the Liberal Party .-Early life:...

's invitation to join the Council of the Liberal Federation in 1891.

Born in Belfast

Belfast

Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, in Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Palmer came to New Zealand as a child. He was educated at Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 College and was a lawyer at Paeroa

Paeroa

Paeroa is a small town in New Zealand, in the northern Waikato region of the Thames Valley. Located at the foot of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou and Ohinemuri Rivers, 20 kilometres from the coast at the Firth of Thames...

.(Cyclopedia of New Zealand 1902, Vol. 2, page 839) Later, Jackson Palmer was chief judge of the Native Land Court.

Further reading

• The New Zealand Liberals: the Years of Power 1891-1912 by David Hamer (1988, Auckland University Press, Auckland)
• The New Zealand Parliamentary Record: 1840-1984 by J.O. Wilson (1985, Government Printer, Wellington)