He travelled to Victoria in 1851, and later to New South Wales and participated in the gold rush before returning to Auckland in 1857.
There he briefly joined the militia, serving in the New Zealand Wars, before becoming a government contractor.
[1] William White resigned his Sydenham seat in Parliament in March 1886 on medical advice.
[2] Taylor successfully contested the subsequent by-election on 12 May, gaining 438 votes against John Lee Scott (418), Samuel Paull Andrews (230) and S. G. Jolly (2).
[11] Taylor died in Wellington on 26 August 1919,[12][13][14] and was buried at Karori Cemetery.