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William Hutchison (New Zealand politician)

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William Hutchison
William Hutchison in 1882
4th Mayor of Wellington
In office
29 May 1879 – 30 November 1881
Preceded byGeorge Allen
Succeeded byGeorge Fisher
In office
15 December 1875 – 19 December 1877
Preceded byWilliam Sefton Moorhouse
Succeeded byJoe Dransfield
Personal details
Born1820
Banffshire, Scotland
Died3 December 1905
Dunedin, New Zealand
Spouse
Helen Hutchison
​
(m. 1846)​
RelationsGeorge Hutchison (son)
Children8
OccupationJournalist

William Hutchison (1820 – 3 December 1905) was a New Zealand politician and journalist. Hutchison and his son George were both Members of Parliament.

Early life

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Hutchison was born in Banffshire, Scotland, and trained as a journalist.[1] On 12 August 1846, he married Helen Hutchison (née Aicheson) of Inverness.[2] They emigrated to New Zealand in 1866 for him to take up employment with The Southern Cross.[1][3]

Life in New Zealand

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1879–1881 7th City of Wellington Independent
1881–1884 8th Wellington South Independent
1890–1893 11th City of Dunedin Liberal
1893–1896 12th City of Dunedin Liberal

A journalist,[4] Hutchison worked for The Southern Cross in Auckland for some months, then bought the Wanganui Chronicle and started the Tribune in Wellington.[1]

He was Mayor of Wanganui, New Zealand from 1873 to 1874.[1] Then he was Mayor of Wellington from 1876 to 1877, and from 1879 to 1881.[5] As Mayor of Wellington, a central issue was whether the Wellington Waterfront should be controlled by the city council or a separate entity.[5]

He was a member of the Wellington Provincial Council from 1867 to 1876 for the Wanganui electorate.[6]

He stood in the 1875 election in the Hutt electorate and was decisively beaten by the incumbent, William Fitzherbert.[7] He represented the City of Wellington in Parliament from 1879 to 1881, then Wellington South from 1881 to 1884, when he was defeated.[8] He moved to Dunedin in 1884.[2]

He unsuccessfully contested the Bruce electorate in the 1885 by-election, and the Dunedin Central electorate in the 1886 by-election where he was a controversial candidate. He then stood for the Roslyn electorate in the 1887 general election.[1] He then represented the City of Dunedin from 1890[9] to 1896, when he was defeated.[8] He came fifth in the 1896 election in the three-member Dunedin electorate.[10] Following the death of Henry Fish, he contested the resulting 1897 by-election. Alexander Sligo, Hugh Gourley and Hutchison received 5045, 4065 and 2030 votes, respectively.[11] He was a supporter of the Liberal Party.[12]

His son George Hutchison represented Taranaki electorates in Parliament. For six years (from 1890 to 1896) they were in Parliament at the same time,[8] and were often seen glaring at each other from opposite sides of the house.[13]

Another son, Sir James Hutchison, was editor of the Otago Daily Times.[3]

Death

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Hutchison's wife died five years before him.[2] He had been ill for some time before he died on 3 December 1905 at his home in Queen Street, Dunedin.[14] He was survived by four sons and four daughters.[2]

Hutchison Road in Wellington was named in his honour.[15]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d e "BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES". The Star. No. 7030. 8 December 1890. p. 3. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d "Obituary". Otago Witness. No. 2699. 6 December 1905. p. 81. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  3. ^ a b "Obituary". Otago Daily Times. No. 13457. 4 December 1905. p. 2. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  4. ^ "New Member". Evening Star. 6 December 1890.
  5. ^ a b "Past Mayors of Wellington – 1842–1889". Wellington City Council. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  6. ^ Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. p. 238.
  7. ^ "The Hutt Election". The Evening Post. Vol. XII, no. 154. 30 December 1875. p. 2. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
  8. ^ 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. p. 207. OCLC 154283103.
  9. ^ "The General Election, 1890". National Library. 1891. p. 2. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  10. ^ "The General Election". Otago Witness. No. 2232. 10 December 1896. p. 26. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  11. ^ "Dunedin City Election". Otago Witness. Vol. 14, no. 2276. 14 October 1897. p. 30. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  12. ^ "On the Eve of the Battle". The Wanganui Herald. Vol. XXVII, no. 8336. 27 November 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  13. ^ Thomson, Jane, ed. (1998). Southern People: A dictionary of Otago Southland biography. Longacre Press Dunedin & Dunedin City Council. p. 242. ISBN 1-877135-119.
  14. ^ "Death". Otago Witness. No. 2699. 6 December 1905. p. 47. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  15. ^ Irvine-Smith 1948, p. 109.

References

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  • Irvine-Smith, F. L. (1948). The Streets of My City. Wellington: A. H. & A. W. Reed.
  • No Mean City by Stuart Perry (1969, Wellington City Council) includes a paragraph and a portrait or photo for each mayor.
Political offices
Preceded by Mayor of Wellington
1876–1877

1879–1881 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Succeeded by
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