Nathaniel Morse

Nathaniel George MorseJP (1822 – 16 November 1882) was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council.

Morse was born in Exeter, England, in 1822.^[1] In New Zealand, he initially lived near Nelson in Waimea West near the Redwood family. Morse was a prominent member of the Nelson Jockey Club and a successful breeder of race horses; his horse Ladybird won the 1863 New Zealand Championship Race in Dunedin.^[2]

Morse was an early settler, and together with John Cooper, he was the first to bring sheep into the Wairau Valley in November 1846.^[3] Morse and Cooper established a homestead above the Wairau River and they called it Top House, as it was at a higher altitude and further inland than any other dwelling in the Wairau Valley. A hotel and then a telegraph station were built, and they all adopted the name Top House. When a post office opened in 1891, the name was standardised as a single word; the Tophouse locality is located near State Highway 63.^[4]

Since 1861, national shooting competitions were held in New Zealand and Morse was the national champion in 1863.^[5] Morse was a member of the Nelson Volunteers and on 1 June 1860, he became the Captain of the 8th Company, Waimea West of the Nelson volunteer force. He succeeded Nathaniel Edwards, who had become too busy with business interests to devote his time to the volunteer forces.^[6] In May 1866, Morse was appointed Major in command of the Nelson militia and volunteer forces.^[7]

Morse was a member of the Legislative Council from 8 May 1866,^[8] and he was appointed to that body at the same time as Joseph Hawdon (Christchurch) and Ponsonby Peacocke (Auckland).^[9] Morse remained a member until 12 May 1869, when he resigned.^[8]

En 1869, Morse fue nombrado Juez de Paz . ^{[ 10 ]} En 1873, se mudó a Wanganui , donde vivió en una residencia llamada Headlands. ^{[ 1 ] [ 2 ]} Continuó con la cría de caballos y se convirtió en un miembro destacado del club de jockeys local. Fue miembro de la Junta de Carreteras de Wangaehu. ^{[ 11 ]} Murió el 16 de noviembre de 1882 en su residencia, después de haber estado enfermo durante varias semanas. ^{[ 12 ]} Había sufrido de hidropesía durante mucho tiempo. ^{[ 11 ]} Se le describió como una persona de buen humor y con sentido común. ^{[ 11 ]}