Alfred Kingcome Newman (27 April 1849 – 3 April 1924) was the

mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representat ...

, New Zealand, in 1909–1910, and a Member of Parliament.

Early life

Newman was born in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

, India, in 1849. The family migrated to New Zealand in 1853 and farmed at

Waipukurau Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings. ...

. He received his primary education in the

Hawke's Bay Region Hawke's Bay ( mi, Te Matau-a-Māui) is a local government region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region's name derives from Hawke Bay, which was named by Captain James Cook in honour of Admiral Edward Hawke. The region ...

and

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

, and travelled in 1863 to receive his secondary education in Bath, England. Newman became a doctor of medicine and returned to New Zealand in 1875.

Political career

Newman was a Wellington City Councillor from 1881 to 1885. He was

Mayor of Wellington The Mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of the City of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional representat ...

in 1909–1910. Newman contested the in the electorate, where he came fifth of six candidates, beaten by

James Wilson James Wilson may refer to: Politicians and government officials Canada * James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada *James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Quebe ...

. The resignation of William Levin from the electorate caused an . At the nomination meeting, Thomas Dwan, Alfred Newman and

Henry Bunny Henry Bunny (7 October 1822 – 15 February 1891) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in the Wairarapa, New Zealand. Early life Henry Bunny was born in 1822 in Newbury in Berkshire, the second son of Jere Bunny, solicitor, of that town and ...

were proposed as candidates, with Dwan winning the show of hands. At the election on 14 May 1884, Newman, Bunny and Dwan received 636, 379 and 121 votes, respectively. At the , Newman was re-elected unopposed. At the , Newman beat

William McLean William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conqu ...

by 873 to 425 votes. The Thorndon electorate was abolished at the end of the parliamentary term in 1890. Newman successfully contested the electorate in the . At the , he successfully contested the Suburbs of Wellington electorate. He was defeated in when he stood for Otaki. In the , he came second in the Suburbs of Wellington electorate. Later he was MP for Wellington East, from to 1922, when he retired. From 1909, he belonged to the Reform Party. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 1 June 1923 to when he died on 3 April 1924, and for many years was on the Wellington Education Board, the Wellington College Board of Governors and the Senate of the University of New Zealand. Newman Terrace in Wellington is named after him.

Notes

References

* *''No Mean City'' by Stuart Perry (1969, Wellington City Council) includes a paragraph and a portrait or photo for each mayor * * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Alfred 1849 births 1924 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates New Zealand MPs for Hutt Valley electorates Mayors of Wellington Wellington City Councillors Wellington Harbour Board members Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council 19th-century New Zealand medical doctors Unsuccessful candidates in the 1881 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1896 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians