Charles Gordon O'Neill (23 March 1828 – 8 November 1900) was a Scottish-Australasian civil engineer, inventor, parliamentarian and philanthropist, and a co-founder of the

St Vincent de Paul Society The Society of St Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdP or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal service of the poor. Innumerable Catholic parishes have ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

Biography

He was born in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, son of John O'Neill, hotel proprietor, and his wife Mary."Charles Gordon O'Neill", ''Dictionary of Scottish Architects''
/ref> O'Neill studied civil engineering and mechanics at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. He worked on the city's

public works Public works are a broad category of infrastructure projects, financed and constructed by the government, for recreational, employment, and health and safety uses in the greater community. They include public buildings ( municipal buildings, sc ...

for 14 years, rising to become chief assistant in the Public Works Office. Although a full-time official he appears to have had permission to undertake private work for the Roman Catholic community, designing churches and schools. He served as a captain in the Third Lanarkshire Rifle Volunteers, and was active in the Society of St Vincent de Paul, becoming secretary at

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990. Dumbarton was the ca ...

(1851), president of the Superior Council of Glasgow (1863), and a member of the Council General in Paris. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1864. In January he became 1864 to the Otago provincial government and later district engineer at Clutha, where he laid out the town of

Milton Milton may refer to: Names * Milton (surname), a surname (and list of people with that surname) ** John Milton (1608–1674), English poet * Milton (given name) ** Milton Friedman (1912–2006), Nobel laureate in Economics, author of '' Free t ...

Political career

He arrived in Otago in January 1864, where he was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for the Goldfields electorate in the

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

region (elected on 26 February 1866 during the 1866 general election; dissolution of the

4th New Zealand Parliament The 4th New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. Elections for this term were held in 61 electorates between 12 February and 6 April 1866 to elect 70 MPs. Parliament was prorogued in late 1870. During the term of this ...

on 30 December 1870), and then for the Thames electorate (elected on 9 February 1871 during the 1871 general election; dissolution of the

5th New Zealand Parliament The fifth New Zealand Parliament was a term of the New Zealand Parliament. Elections for this term were held in 68 European electorates between 14 January and 23 February 1871. Elections in the four Māori electorates were held on 1 and 15 Janu ...

on 6 December 1875).

Philanthropy

O'Neill led the St Vincent de Paul Society in the Western Districts of Scotland between 1859 and 1863."Founder of the Society in Australia", St. Vincent de Paul Society - Australia
/ref> After emigrating to New Zealand, he was active in the Society of St Vincent de Paul and in 1876 founded its first conference to be aggregated in New Zealand in Wellington. At the request of Society's President-General Adolphe Baudon (1819–88), successfully established the Society in New South Wales, Australia, beginning with St Patrick's Church Hill Conference. The Conference celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2006.O'Neill, John. "Vinnies, 125 years on", ''Catholic Weekly'', 2 July 2006
A second conference was established at St Francis's, Haymarket.

Later life and death

He moved to Australia in 1881, where he practised as an architect and engineer. He died in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

at the age of 72, on 8 November 1900.

References

*''Captain Charles, engineer of charity: the remarkable life of Charles Gordon O'Neill'' by Stephen Utick (2008, Allen & Unwin, NSW) {{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, Charles Gordon 1828 births 1900 deaths Engineers from Glasgow Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand engineers New Zealand Roman Catholics Australian Roman Catholics Scottish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand philanthropists Australian philanthropists Scottish people of Irish descent Scottish philanthropists Scottish civil engineers Scottish inventors Scottish Roman Catholics Alumni of the University of Glasgow Scottish soldiers Volunteer Force officers New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates 19th-century New Zealand politicians 19th-century New Zealand engineers 19th-century British philanthropists Milton, New Zealand