Daniel Pollen (2 June 181318 May 1896) was a New Zealand politician who became the

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

premier of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (informa ...

, serving from 6 July 1875 to 15 February 1876.

Early life

The son of Hugh Pollen, a dock master, Pollen was born in

Ringsend Ringsend () is a Southside (Dublin), southside inner suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the south bank of the River Liffey and east of the River Dodder, about two kilometres east of the city centre. It is the sou ...

, Dublin. Little is known about the early part of his life, but it is supposed that he grew up in Ireland and in the United States of America.Alexander H. McLintock, ''An encyclopaedia of New Zealand'', vol. 2 (1966), p. 814 However, his father was dock master of the

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at Ringsend in 1812, still held that office in 1832, and died in 1837 to be succeeded as dock master by Thomas Pollen. On some accounts, Pollen's father helped to build the

United States Capitol The United States Capitol, often called The Capitol or the Capitol Building, is the seat of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, which is formally known as the United States Congress. It is located on Capitol Hill ...

. A doctor, Pollen claimed to hold the MD degree, although where he graduated is not recorded.L. K. Gluckman, Ann Gluckman, Mike Wagg, ''Touching on Deaths: a medical history of early Auckland'' (2000), p. 83: "DANIEL POLLEN (1813-1896) Pollen was born in Dublin although it is unknown whether he obtained his MD in Ireland or the USA. Similarly, it is uncertain when he reached New Zealand, but he signed the address of loyalty to Hobson at the Bay of Islands and witnessed the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi. He entered practice in Parnell, in Auckland in 1841." He travelled to

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in the late 1830s, and moved to

North Auckland The Northland Peninsula, called the North Auckland Peninsula in earlier times, is in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is joined to the rest of the island by the Auckland isthmus, a narrow piece of land between the Waitematā ...

in January 1840. He was a witness to the proceedings of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

. He began his practice as a doctor in Parnell, Auckland, in 1841. In 1844 he was appointed as a

coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into Manner of death, the manner or cause of death, and to investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

and held this post for four years. On 18 May 1846, Pollen married Jane Henderson, the daughter of an officer of the

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(Lieutenant Essex, RN, of Demarara). He moved with her to

Kawau Island Kawau Island is in the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana, close to the north-eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. At its closest point it lies off the coast of the Northland Peninsula, just south of Tāwharanui Peninsula, and about ...

in 1847, after becoming medical officer to a Scottish copper-mining company. In 1852, Pollen opened the first brickworks in West Auckland, at Rosebank on the shores of the

Whau River The Whau River is an estuarial arm of the southwestern Waitemata Harbour (rather than a river) within the Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. It flows north for from its origin at the confluence of the Avondale Stream and Whau Stream to ...

. Together with British potter James Wright, Pollen created the first commercial scale crockery kiln in New Zealand here.

Entry into politics

Pollen spent several years on Kawau, during which time he began to contribute articles to ''The New Zealander'' supporting the agitation for responsible government. He was also to the fore in supporting temperance, scientific, and library movements there.

Auckland Province

When the

New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the Colony of New Zealand. It was the second such Act, the previous 1846 Act not having been fully i ...

became law, Pollen was made chief clerk in the Auckland Superintendent's office. From there, he rose through the ranks. Two years after his original appointment, he was appointed to the Executive Council, and in 1858 he was appointed Commissioner of Crown Lands for Auckland. In 1856 he was elected to 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 ...

for the Suburbs of Auckland electorate, where he served until 1861. From 1862 to 1865, he represented the Auckland East electorate on the council. He was one of four candidates in the Suburbs of Auckland electorate in the 1855 general election. He came last in this election. On 16 July 1861, he was appointed to the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...

. In 1862, he resigned as Commissioner of Crown Lands, and became the Deputy Superintendent of Auckland, where he served until the end of his second term. He resigned from the Legislative Council on 4 December 1867 to become agent for the Central Government at Auckland. He returned to the Legislative Council on 10 June 1868 to represent the Stafford Ministry. He resigned from the Legislative Council in 1870 to be agent in Auckland again. In 1870, Daniel Pollen held four positions - Receiver of Land Revenue, Commissioner of Confiscated Lands, Commissioner under the Native Land Act of 1870, and Immigration Officer. In 1870, Pollen purchased land on

Te Korowai-o-Te-Tonga Peninsula Te Korowai-o-Te-Tonga Peninsula, also known as South Head and by its former name of the South Kaipara Peninsula, is a long peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand, extending north along the western edge of the Kaipara Harbour for some from ...

(South Kaipara Head), which over 130 years later was developed into the

Te Rau Pūriri Regional Park Te Rau Pūriri Regional Park is a regional park situated in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is owned and operated by Auckland Council. Geography The regional park is located on the east coast of the Te Korowai-o-Te-Tonga Pe ...

Premier of New Zealand

The Vogel Ministry recalled him to the Legislative Council on 12 May 1873, where he became Colonial Secretary on 4 July 1873. He held this role until 13 October 1877 during various ministries. He became Premier on 6 July 1875 and led the Pollen Ministry until 15 February 1876. After he left this position, he was again appointed to the Legislative Council on 12 May 1873 and served for 23 years until his death on 18 May 1896.

Notes

External links

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References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pollen, Daniel 1813 births 1896 deaths Prime Ministers of New Zealand Politicians from County Dublin Irish emigrants to New Zealand (before 1923) Members of the Auckland Provincial Council Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand public servants Members of Auckland provincial executive councils 19th-century New Zealand politicians Colonial Secretaries of New Zealand