Alfred Christopher Picard (24 May 1824 – 17 September 1855) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. Picard was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1824. He arrived in New Zealand in 1848 with the ''Ajax'' and first settled in

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

. By 1853, he was living in

Riwaka Riwaka ( mi, Riuwaka) is a small settlement in the Tasman District of New Zealand's South Island. It lies beside Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, five kilometres north of Motueka, and close to the mouth of the Riuwaka River. The land where the tow ...

near

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding dis ...

, with his profession listed as solicitor. He married Mary Ann Askew on 10 July 1850 and they had two sons; William Alfred and John Thomas. On 18 August 1853, Picard and Samuel Stephens contested the Motueka and Massacre Bay electorate for a seat in the

1st New Zealand Parliament The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 24 May 1854, following New Zealand's first general election (held the previous year). It was dissolved on 15 September 1855 in preparation for that year's ...

, which Picard won by 44 votes to 32. On the following day, Picard was one of three candidates for the two seats for the Motueka District in the

Nelson Provincial Council Nelson Province was constituted in 1853 under the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, and originally covered the entire upper South Island, including all of present-day Buller, Kaikoura, Marlborough, and Tasman districts, along with Nelson Ci ...

. At 12 noon, Picard withdrew from the election and the other two candidates, Samuel Stephens and Charles Parker, were thus elected. On 31 July 1855, an additional member was to be elected for the Nelson Provincial Council. Picard was the only candidate and was declared returned unopposed. When the House of Representatives started its third session in early August 1855, James Mackay read a letter from Picard who was asking for a month's leave, but upon protest from Picard's adversary, William Travers, leave was denied. The third parliamentary session was short and parliament, at the time based in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, was dissolved on 15 September 1855 without Picard having attended this session. On 17 September 1855, Picard died in

from heart failure. He had never taken his seat at the Provincial Council, which would next meet in January 1856. Picard was described as a "man of considerable culture and education and a brilliant speaker."

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Picard, Alfred Christopher 1824 births 1855 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People from Motueka New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates 19th-century New Zealand politicians Members of the Nelson Provincial Council Politicians from London English emigrants to New Zealand