William Hutchison | |
---|---|
4th Mayor of Wellington | |
In office 29 May 1879 – 30 November 1881 | |
Preceded by | George Allen |
Succeeded by | George Fisher |
In office 15 December 1875 – 19 December 1877 | |
Preceded by | William Sefton Moorhouse |
Succeeded by | Joe Dransfield |
Personal details | |
Born | 1820 Banffshire, Scotland |
Died | 3 December 1905 Dunedin, New Zealand |
Spouse |
Helen Hutchison (
m. 1846) |
Relations | George Hutchison (son) |
Children | 8 |
Occupation | Journalist |
William Hutchison (1820 – 3 December 1905) was a New Zealand politician and journalist. Hutchison and his son George were both Members of Parliament.
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]
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]
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]