De Renzie James Brett (11 April 1809 – 16 June 1889) was a soldier, farmer and politician. He was a member of 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 ...

Brett was born at

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

, Ireland, in 1809. Together with his family, he came to New Zealand on the ''Greyhound'' in May 1865. He represented the Selwyn electorate on the 6th

Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential Eng ...

from 1870 to 1874. He was appointed to the Legislative Council on 3 July 1871 and served until his death on 16 June 1889 at

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

. Brett is notable for having brought irrigation to inland

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. He named his farm

Kirwee Kirwee is a town located west of Christchurch in the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It was named after Karwi in India by retired British Army colonel De Renzie Brett. Kirwee is also home to the South ...

and the township of that name developed around it. He is buried at Linwood Cemetery.

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References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brett, De Renzie James 1809 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Irish people Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council Burials at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch New Zealand farmers Politicians from County Wexford Irish emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians