Edward Bowes Cargill (9 October 1823 – 9 August 1903) was a 19th-century businessman and

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 ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

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 ...

, New Zealand. He was the

Mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

from 1897 to 1898.

Early life

Cargill was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland, in 1823; he was the seventh son of William Cargill, one of

's most prominent settlers. John Cargill was an elder brother. Edward Cargill was educated in Edinburgh and, after the family moved to England, at

Norwich Grammar School Norwich School (formally King Edward VI Grammar School, Norwich) is a selective English independent day school in the close of Norwich Cathedral, Norwich. Among the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, it has a traceable history to 1096 as a ...

and at Perone's School. He went to sea from age 14 and visited Australia and the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

. In 1844, he settled in

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and worked for the Bank of Western India. He was then a merchant in Ceylon and was in various partnerships. Cargill then went to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

in Australia, where he stayed from 1855 to 1857 an importer of Eastern goods.

Life in New Zealand

Cargill moved to

in New Zealand - his father had previously moved there in 1847. He was initially in a partnership with Johnny Jones as a merchant and ship owner. They dissolved their partnership in 1861 and he partnered with his brother John. Their business prospered due to the

Otago Gold Rush The Otago Gold Rush (often called the Central Otago Gold Rush) was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area – ...

, but their premises burned down twice (in late 1861 and in early 1864). The business expanded and many ships were bought, but Cargill made significant losses during the recession in the 1880s, which caused him to retire from business in 1889.

Political career

Cargill represented the

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been a ...

electorate from

1862 Events January–March * January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria. * January 6 – French intervention in Mexico: French, Spanish and British forces arrive in Veracruz, Mexico. * January ...

to 1865, when he resigned. He represented the Western electorate on the

Otago Provincial Council The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the province again in 1870. Area an ...

(24 February 1862 – 7 February 1862), and represented the Town of Dunedin electorate for two terms (22 May 1863 – 10 January 1867; 13 March 1871 – 13 March 1873). He was twice on the Executive Council of

Otago Province The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the province again in 1870. Area an ...

and served as Provincial Secretary (19 August 1863 – 15 September 1863; 13 April 1871 – 2 June 1871). He was on the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

board. He contested the in the

Dunedin Central Dunedin Central was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand from 1881 to 1890 and 1905 to 1984. Population centres The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the ...

electorate, but was beaten by

Frederick Fitchett Frederick Fitchett (1851 – 5 October 1930) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Dunedin, New Zealand. Biography Born in 1851 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, England, Fitchett was educated at the University of Melbourne and Canterbury U ...

. He was the

from 1897 to 1898, when the 50th anniversary of the founding of the province of Otago was celebrated.

Home and family

In 1854, Cargill married Dorothy Nesham, and the couple went on to have five daughters. Dorothy Cargill died in 1889. Cargill had built as his home the distinctive

Cargill's Castle The ruins of Cargill's Castle stand on a promontory overlooking the Pacific Ocean in New Zealand's southern city of Dunedin. It is one of about ten castles in New Zealand, the other one in Otago being nearby Larnach Castle. More a castle in name t ...

in Dunedin, known originally as "The Cliffs". Several kilometres south of the castle is

Tunnel Beach Tunnel Beach is a locality southwest of the city centre of Dunedin, New Zealand. Located just south of St Clair, Tunnel Beach has sea-carved sandstone cliffs, rock arches and caves. Beyond the beauty of the rugged sandstone cliffs, its claim t ...

, so named because this quiet beach is only accessible through a steeply sloping tunnel cut into the high cliffs by the Cargill family. The house was designed by

Francis Petre Francis William Petre (27 August 1847 – 10 December 1918), sometimes known as Frank Petre, was a New Zealand-born architect based in Dunedin. He was an able exponent of the Gothic revival style, one of its best practitioners in New Zea ...

, at the time a young architect; it is also very likely that Petre was the supervisor of the construction of the tunnel. While designing the house, Petre fell in love with Cargill's daughter Margaret. After a difficult courtship (due to Petre's staunch

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and the Cargill family's equally staunch

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

) the couple were eventually permitted to marry, the wedding taking place in the villa's principal salon on 1 March 1881. Cargill's daughter

Isabel Cargill Isabel Cargill (10 December 1864 – 17 April 1944) was a New Zealand businesswoman who established English-style tearooms in Rome, Italy, in the early 1890s. Biography Cargill was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, on 10 December 1864. She was the g ...

travelled to Italy with Ann Marie Babington and in 1893 they opened

Babington's tea room Babington's tea room, established in 1893, is a traditional English tea shop at the foot of the Spanish Steps in the Piazza di Spagna in Rome, Italy. History The tea room was founded by two young women, one from New Zealand and one from England, ...

on the Spanish Steps in Rome which still today belongs to her descendants. Cargill died on 9 August 1903. He was buried at

Dunedin Southern Cemetery The Southern Cemetery in the New Zealand city of Dunedin was the first major cemetery to be opened in the city. The cemetery was opened in 1858, ten years after the founding of the city in an area known as Little Paisley. This area lies at the ...

Notes

References

* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cargill, Edward 1823 births 1903 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand businesspeople Mayors of Dunedin Settlers of Otago Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Sri Lankan businesspeople Members of Otago provincial executive councils Members of the Otago Provincial Council 19th-century New Zealand politicians

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

Burials at Dunedin Southern Cemetery