However, "When the Luke's landed at Wellington they discovered that Foxton was merely a paper township; it was a name on the map and the only industry there was the extraction of pipis from the beach by Maoris.

All hotel bars were closed, but some local doctors said that alcoholic stimulants were a vital nostrum for their patients.

[7] From 1911 until 1918 he was not a member of Parliament, and was defeated for Wellington South, standing now as a Reform candidate, by Labour's Alfred Hindmarsh in 1914.

[9] He held this electorate continuously until the 1928 general election, when he was defeated by the Labour candidate Charles Chapman, by a margin of 47 votes.

[11] He was leader of the New Zealand delegation which visited South Africa in 1924 in connection with the Empire Parliamentary Association.

[12] His funeral service was held at St. Paul's Cathedral in Wellington,[13] followed by a private cremation,[12] with his ashes buried at Karori Cemetery.