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John Blair Whyte

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John Blair Whyte
Whyte in 1882
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Waikato
In office
1879–1890
Preceded byFrederick Whitaker
Succeeded byJohn Bryce
Member of the New Zealand Legislative Council
In office
1891–1897
2nd Mayor of Hamilton
In office
December 1878 – December 1879
Preceded byIsaac Richardson Vialou
Succeeded byThomas Dawson
Personal details
Born1840
Died21 July 1914(1914-07-21) (aged 73–74)
England
Political partyIndependent
SpouseAnn MacGregor Hay (m. 1874)

John Blair Whyte (1840 – 21 July 1914) was a Member of Parliament and Mayor in the Waikato region of New Zealand.

Political career

[edit]
New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1879–1881 7th Waikato Independent
1881–1884 8th Waikato Independent
1884–1887 9th Waikato Independent
1887–1890 10th Waikato Independent

Whyte began his political career in 1877, when he became a member of the first Waikato County Council.[1] Subsequently, he was the mayor of Hamilton from December 1878 to December 1879, when he resigned.[2]

In September 1879,[3] Whyte was elected to the New Zealand Parliament, where he represented Waikato. When he was elected, he claimed to be politically independent and supportive of the liberal policies of George Grey and his Ministry, which was defeated in the same election. Whyte retired from parliament in October 1890.[2][3] Subsequently, he was appointed to the Legislative Council on 22 January 1891 by the outgoing ministry of Harry Atkinson, one of seven such appointments (which included Atkinson himself). These appointments were seen by Liberals as a stacking of the upper house against the new government. He served in that role until 1897, when he resigned[2] on account of his decision to move to England.[4][3]

After his resignation from the Legislative Council, Whyte advised the Bank of New Zealand on land values, and moved to England on matters relating to banking. Later, he moved to Auckland, where he reported on gold-mining in the region on behalf of an English gold syndicate, before returning to England, where he died on 21 July 1914.[1][3]

Personal life

[edit]

Beginning in 1868,[1] Whyte was a farmer, and owned land at Tuhuroa and Tuhikaramea, as well as a farm near Hamilton, which later became the Waikato Diocesan School. During the 1870s, Whyte began to sub-divide and sell his land, selling the last of his Tuhikaramea land by August 1882.[1][5]

In 1874,[1] Whyte married Annie MacGregor Hay. The couple had at least three children, one of whom was Kenneth Whyte, who was born in 1882 and died in March 1884 in Hamilton.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e "TAHUROA ROAD AREA | Heritage Waikato". heritagewaikato.org. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b c Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. pp. 166, 245. OCLC 154283103.
  3. ^ a b c d Parliament, New Zealand (1914). Parliamentary Debates: Legislative Council and House of Representatives. W.A.G. Skinner, Government Printer.
  4. ^ "Hamilton | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Kenneth Whyte 1882-1884 son of John Blair Whyte 1840-1914". Waikato Times. Retrieved 6 March 2022 – via PressReader.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Hamilton, New Zealand
1878–1879
Succeeded by
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Waikato
1879–1890
Succeeded by