STEWART, GEORGE VESEY (1832-1920) was born in Martray, County Tyrone, the son of Captain Mervyn Stewart. His early education, owing to his mother's indifferent health, was obtained mostly on the Continent. His parents intended that he should become a lawyer, but he preferred an open-air life, and entered the College of Civil Engineers at Putney (1848). Weak eyesight interrupted his studies. In 1852 he became an undergraduate at Trinity College, Dublin, where he had a brilliant career, graduating in 1856 with honours in classics and many prizes. He then married and settled down as an estate agent, also farming successively at Altmore, Lisbeg and Gortmore, all in his native county.

Having lost much money in linen mills, Stewart had to face the world in 1870 almost bankrupt. A fluent speaker and a facile writer, widely experienced, resourceful and industrious, he was nevertheless spendthrift and impatient of routine. In the early seventies he turned his thoughts to the colonies and in 1873 made his first tentative proposal to Dr Featherston (then Agent-general for New Zealand in London) for the establishment of a special settlement of Ulstermen in New Zealand. Featherston threw cold water on the proposal, and eventually Stewart made a new approach through Farnall (q.v.), the immigration agent in Belfast for both the Colony and the Auckland Provincial Council. Without waiting for confirmation of Farnall's encouraging discussion, he proceeded to enlist 40 families for the settlement, each to receive a free grant of 40 acres of land, with a maximum of 300 acres per family. Stewart favoured acquiring an area of from 10,000 to 20,000 acres in the vicinity of Tauranga, and in Nov 1873 he came to New Zealand to select the land. He travelled from end to end of the country seeking land of first-class quality close to a town and not far from a goldfield, which he hoped would provide a good market. Eventually he made application for 10,000 acres in the Katikati block. The agreement was drawn up by O'Rorke and Stewart on 24 Jun 1874, Stewart agreeing to bring out not less than 40 families, and he himself as leader receiving 500 acres and 40 acres for his wife and each child.

The expedition sailed from Belfast on 8 Jun 1875 in the Carisbrook Castle, which had on board 238 Katikati settlers and 125 Government immigrants. In 1877 Stewart organised a second expedition, the majority of whom sailed in the Lady Jocelyn (May 1878). These were largely people with capital and included Stewart's parents and his brother, Captain Hugh Stewart, R.A. His biographer says that Stewart's profit from the whole scheme was not more than £6,000 and 3,500 acres of land. In 1880 he bought from the government for £19,700 an area of 16,000 acres at Te Puke, which he sold in Ireland at £3 an acre. These settlers all sailed by the end of 1880. Having organised a company to construct a railway from Tauranga to Rotorua (1883) he went to England to raise £250,000 capital and had practically succeeded when differences amongst the directors destroyed the prospect. Stewart opened an immigration office in connection with the Shaw Savill and Albion Co. and remained till 1888 in London, where he prepared a new edition of the New Zealand Yearbook. On his father's death he moved from Mount Stewart to Martray. Stewart was a member of the first school committee at Katikati (1876) and chairman of the highway board (1876), of the succeeding road board (1883) and a member of the Tauranga county council during the whole of his residence at Katikati (chairman for several years) and again after moving to Tauranga. He was also on the harbour board and the hospital board. He contested the Tauranga seat against Morris (1881) and announced himself as a candidate many years later, but withdrew. In 1882 he was elected the first mayor of Tauranga, where he owned the Bay of Plenty Times for a considerable period. In 1919 he retired from all public bodies except the road board (of which he was chairman 1893-1920). His death occurred on 3 Mar 1920.

Stewart, pamphlets published at Omagh and London, 1877-84; App. H.R., 1874-81; Gray, pass. (p); Bay of Plenty Times; Adda B. Stewart.

Reference: Volume 2, page 170

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