Allan Kerr Taylor (30 December 1832 – 14 April 1890) was a notable New Zealand landowner and businessman. He was born in

Negapatam Nagapattinam (''nākappaṭṭinam'', previously spelt Nagapatnam or Negapatam) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Nagapattinam District. The town came to prominence during the period of Medieval ...

, India in 1832. His second wife was

Sophia Taylor Sophia Louisa Taylor (2 July 1847 – 24 January 1930) was a New Zealand suffragist and landowner. Early life She was born Sophia Davis in Kaitaia, Northland, New Zealand in 1847. Her parents were the private tutor John Davis, who worked for t ...

(née Davis). His father was General William Taylor.

Personal life

In 1848, he emigrated to New Zealand where his father owned land at west Tamaki, now absorbed into the

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 ...

suburban area. At the age of 16, he bought of land at Mount Albert, later adding another , and calling the property ''Alberton''. Allan Kerr Taylor's three eldest brothers lived in Auckland near the

Tamaki River Tamaki may refer to: New Zealand *Tāmaki, a suburb of Auckland to the west of the Tamaki River *Tāmaki (New Zealand electorate), in Auckland *East Tāmaki, a suburb of Auckland to the east of the Tamaki River *Tamaki River, in Auckland *Tamaki St ...

Charles John Taylor Charles John Taylor (1826 – 22 April 1897) was a New Zealand politician. He was the second son of General Taylor (1790–1868) who owned land at west Tamaki, now absorbed into the Auckland suburban area. Charles was a judge in India bef ...

at Glen Orchard (now

Saint Heliers Saint Heliers is an affluent seaside suburb of Auckland with a population of as of This suburb is popular amongst visitors for the beaches, cafés, and views of Rangitoto Island, the distinctive volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf. St. Helier ...

), William Innes Taylor at Glen Innes, and Richard James Taylor at Glen Dowie. The names of the latter two properties became the names of the suburbs Glen Innes and

Glendowie Glendowie is a suburb in Auckland, New Zealand. It is under the local governance of Auckland Council. It was under Auckland City Council from 1989 until the merger of all of Auckland's councils into the "super city" in 2010. Location Glendowie i ...

respectively. The Mount Albert Taylors became known as the Kerr Taylors or Kerr-Taylors – apparently adopting Allan's middle name as part of their surname. Kerr Taylor was a member of the

Auckland Provincial Council The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the six initial provinces, both ...

. He represented the Northern Division from October 1855 to August 1857, and from December 1869 to October 1873. He stood in the 1876 election in the electorate and came second to

Joseph Tole Joseph Augustus Tole (1846 – 13 December 1920) was a 19th-century New Zealand lawyer, politician, and Minister of Justice from 1884 to 1887. Tole was born in 1846 in Wakefield, Yorkshire, England. He came to Auckland with his parents, John T ...

Alberton, an 18-room mansion, was bequeathed to the public by the descendants of Allan Kerr Taylor in 1972. It is situated on Mount Albert Road in Mount Albert, close to Kerr Taylor Avenue. On 7 April 1983, Alberton was registered by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust (now

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

) as a Category I heritage structure, with register number 26.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Allan Kerr 1832 births 1890 deaths New Zealand businesspeople Unsuccessful candidates in the 1875–1876 New Zealand general election Members of the Auckland Provincial Council 19th-century New Zealand businesspeople