He was also vice-chairman of the Historical Section of the Wellington Philosophical Society.

[3] He had intended to contest the East Coast electorate in the 1879 election but pulled out shortly before.

[4] In 1880 he was challenged for the mayoralty by former mayor William Fitzgerald Crawford, and won by just three votes.

[3] He retired again in 1884 and endorsed recently defeated MP Cecil de Lautour for the mayoralty.

[10] The day before his death on 12 November 1920, parliament had passed a bill to award Porter with a permanent pension of £200 a year.