The pointless Parliament

Watching debates in Parliament sometimes reminds us of watching toddlers that need a time out. Especially lately.
But despite what’s been happening recently, none of it is particularly new. There has always been those who misbehaved, disruptions and debates so long and so stupid that we wonder how it is that they happened.
For example, one of the pointless debates in the House happened over clothing. No, not important safety stuff, but about what the servants in Parliament should wear.
What was then called the House of Representatives spent all of a day in 1856 debating cuffs and colours, only to come to the decision that servants should wear gaudy red cuffs rather than plain black suits - and it was mainly because they did not want the servants to appear better dressed than the politicians.
There are also a series of hugely funny insults flung around that were often considered to have breached the rule of unparliamentary behaviour and language.
This included - and this is not an exhaustive list - “blowfly minded’, “fungus farmer”, “redartate worm”, “great ape”, “frustrated warlord”, “silly old moo” and hilariously “has the energy of a tired snail returning home from a funeral.”
Debates can also bring out the worst and best. You might have heard the term American term filibuster - a speech so intentionally long it's designed to delay something.
In New Zealand it’s called by the British term stonewalling….and we once had a speech last 24 hours.
William Lee Rees was born in Bristol, England on december 16, 1836 to surgeon James Rees and Elizabeth Pocock. After his father died when he was young he was raised by his mother and uncle, both of the members of a famous cricketing family.
In 1851 he emigrated to Melbourne, Australia with his mother at the start of the Victorian gold rush.
William began studying law and had an interest in religion, training to be a congregationalist minister.
He married Hannah Elizabeth Staite - called Annie - in July 8, 1863 and they had seven children.
Like many others of his family he played cricket including first class matches.
Attracted by the rapidly growing Otago gold rush, the family moved to New Zealand in 1866 where William was admitted to the Supreme Court and worked as a barrister before becoming interested in politics.
They moved to Auckland where William began his political career, first representing the Kanieri Riding then being elected to the Auckland City east electorate. After several more elections where he lost - he was then a member of the Opposition.
It was on September 13, 1876 (a Friday!) Lee began his speech and ended the next day - with the House taking breaks.
So what on earth could he have talked about all that time? Essentially any rubbish he wanted.
The point was actually to keep the House sitting for a period of time without anything being done during a contentious period about the validity of some members of the house and their electoral seats.
And like a lot of things Parliament had done, it was essentially a waste of time in the long run.
Strangely, at the next election he was defeated.
Rees died in Gisborne on May 18, 1912 and is buried in Makaraka Cemetery.
Pic from Te Papa’s collection.​