• Source: Leonard Isitt (minister)

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 Isitt, later worked for him as his private secretary.




Member of Parliament



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


Isitt married Agnes Caverhill on 14 May 1881 at New Plymouth. Her parents were Frances and John Caverhill. They had two sons and one daughter. Frances Isitt (1889–1960) was their eldest child. Sir Leonard Isitt (1891–1976) became a prominent Air Force commander. Willard Isitt (1894–1916), a rifleman in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade, was killed during World War I in France on 31 October 1916. Their daughter was the mother to Sir Leonard Thornton who became Chief of Defence Staff for the New Zealand Defence Force.
Leonard Isitt died on 29 July 1937 in Christchurch and was buried at Linwood Cemetery. His wife died a year later at their residence in Cashmere.




Footnotes






Notes






References


Bassett, Michael (1982). Three party politics in New Zealand, 1911–1931. Auckland: Historical Publications. ISBN 0-86870-006-1.
Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.




Further reading






= Works by Isitt

=
Isitt, Leonard M. (1891–1904), [Leonard M. Isitt: prohibition leader], n.p.: n.p.
Diggens, Canon, ed. (1895), Gothic gossip: a medley of fact, fiction and fun, n.p.: L.M. Isitt and P.F. Peirson
Isitt, Leonard M. (1908), The liberty of the subject, Christchurch: L.M. Isitt Book Depot. ; Fraser
Isitt, Leonard M. (1914), Bible in schools: extract from a speech by Mr. L.M. Isitt, at Rugby Street Schoolroom on Nov. 18th, 1914, Christchurch: Lyttelton Times
Isitt, Leonard M. (1919), Two lectures, Christchurch: L.M. Isitt Ltd.
Isitt, Leonard M. (c. 1924), Kahu, a Maori boy, Wellington: L.M. Isitt Ltd.
Isitt, Leonard M. (c. 1925), Five reasons for supporting the Bible in Schools Bill, Wellington: Isitt-Wildey Print
Isitt, Leonard M. (1925), Religious exercises in schools: a bill intituled: an act to provide for the performance of certain religious exercises in schools, Wellington: Isitt-Wildey Print
Isitt, Leonard M. (1925), Religious exercises in schools bill: excerpts from speech delivered by L.M. Isitt, in the House of Representatives, on Thursday, 20th August, 1925, Wellington: Government Printer




= Works about Isitt

=
It Is (1893), Isitt and his prohibition fad proved complete failures, Dunedin: Otago Workman
Cleary, Henry William (1927), The state religion bill: Hon. Mr Isitt's pamphlet in support: a scathing exposure (2nd augmented ed.), Auckland: Whitcombe and Tombs
Macdonald, George R. (1966). "Isitt, Leonard Monk". In McLintock, A. H. (ed.). An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage / Te Manatū Taonga. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
Whitcher, G. F. (1966). The New Liberal Party 1905 (M.A.). University of Canterbury].
Wood, G. Antony, ed. (1996), Ministers and Members in the New Zealand Parliament, Dunedin: Otago University Press




= Further reading notes

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External links



Photo of Rev Leonard Isitt

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• Leonard Isitt (minister)
• Isitt
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• Leonard Isitt (aviator)
• List of Methodists
• Frank Isitt
• Kate Isitt (journalist)
• Japanese Instrument of Surrender
• King George V Silver Jubilee Medal
• Leonard Thornton