ISITT, LEONARD MONK (1855-1937) was born at Bedford, England, educated at Bedford Modern and Clevedon Colleges and entered a softgoods business. Suffering ill-health, he came to New Zealand in 1875 and joined his brother (F. W. Isitt, q.v.) in Dunedin. There he studied for the Methodist ministry as a home missionary and was ordained in 1883. He early adopted the crusade against the liquor traffic and, allying himself with T. E. Taylor, became in a few years one of the protagonists of prohibition. Isitt was associated as chairman with the Sydenham no-license campaign, which resulted in the closing of all hotels within the electorate (a decision afterwards reversed by the Privy Council). With the consent of the Methodist conference, he resigned from the ministry to devote his whole time to the prohibition cause. First he concentrated on the passing of a bill to provide for local option. The success of this crusade led to his being invited to England by the United Kingdom Alliance, and he made four lecturing tours of Great Britain.

On the death of T. E. Taylor (1911), Isitt contested his seat in Parliament (Christchurch North), which he won and held continuously till 1925. He then retired and was called to the Legislative Council, of which he was a member till his death (on 29 Jul 1937). He was a brilliant orator and a persistent advocate of his ideals, prohibition and Bible-reading in schools. He repeatedly introduced in Parliament bills to further them, and he established The Vanguard and ran it for many years in the interests of prohibition. He was vice-president of the Methodist centenary conference in 1922.

Isitt married (1881) Agnes, daughter of John Scott Caverhill. He was principal of the firm of L. M. Isitt, Ltd., booksellers, and was a governor of Canterbury College.

N.Z.P.D., 10 Sep 1937; Who's Who N.Z., 1932; Evening Post and The Dominion (p), 29 Jul 1937. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 1, page 232

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