James Henry George Chapple

James Henry George Chapple (23 August 1865 – 8 April 1947) was a Unitarian minister, former Presbyterian minister and pacifist. He was charged with making seditious utterances in 1917 and imprisoned for 11 months, and was the inspiration for the character George Plumb in the Plumb trilogy written by his grandson Maurice Gee. He was one of only two New Zealanders nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize before 1956.

Life and career Early life and marriage Chapple was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia on 23 August 1865. He was the first child of English immigrants William Chapple, a butcher, and his wife Elizabeth. Chapple's father drowned in April 1867, and after his death, Chapple's mother gave birth to their second son who died in November of that year. Chapple was subsequently raised in England and educated at a private girls' school run by two of his aunts. His mother took him back to Australia in his late teens. In December of that year, the church managers wrote to the Timaru Herald with a testimonial on behalf of Mr Chapple, praising his qualities as a clergyman, and saying he had endeared himself to many for his outspokenness and by refusing to be silenced. The Herald recorded that Chapple and his wife were presented with one hundred sovereigns on behalf of "friends and sympathisers". From October 1910 to March 1913 he worked as the librarian of the local library. In 1912 a permanent church was built by Chapple's supporters. In November of that year, he wrote an article opposing patriotism for the left-wing newspaper Maoriland Worker. In June 1915, he was forced by local opposition, and the intervention of then Prime Minister Bill Massey and the police, to cancel an intended anti-war sermon on "New Zealand as a Peace-Loving Republic". In response, Chapple noted that "the man who first raised his voice against slavery was a dangerous man", and warned that "this war is but a prelude to other wars". His eldest son, Leonard, had enlisted against his wishes. During his time in the United States he gave lectures on the subject of New Zealand and militarism. When it became clear that the United States would enter the war the family returned to New Zealand and settled in Christchurch, where Chapple founded a Unitarian church.

Following Chapple's continued preaching against the war, in 1917 the police charged him with two counts of seditious utterance at Greymouth.

Chapple did not deny having said these words, but his defence was that they were said with qualifications or elaborations that would disprove the charge.

Later life and legacy On Chapple's release in February 1919 he continued preaching as a Unitarian minister in Christchurch until 1925, despite his socialist beliefs being opposed by many within the Unitarian movement. He wrote two books which were published in England in 1924: The Divine Need of the Rebel and A Rebel's Vision Splendid. The main character and narrator George Plumb is based on the life of Chapple. The two sequels Meg (1981) and Sole Survivor (1983) follow the lives of Plumb's daughter (based on Gee's mother) and grandchildren.

Another grandson, Geoff Chapple, is also a writer and journalist, and wrote Chapple's entry in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography.