William Francis Buckland (8 August 1847 – 29 December 1915) was a 19th-century

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 ...

in New Zealand, an independent conservative MP and

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

er.

Life and career

Buckland was born in

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 ...

in 1847, a son of

William Buckland William Buckland Doctor of Divinity, DD, Royal Society, FRS (12 March 1784 – 14 August 1856) was an English theologian who became Dean of Westminster. He was also a geologist and paleontology, palaeontologist. Buckland wrote the first full ...

. John Buckland was an elder brother. Frank Buckland received private tuition, and attended

Parnell Grammar School Parnell may refer to: People Surname *Anna Catherine Parnell (1852–1911), Irish nationalist *Archie Parnell, American political candidate * Arthur Parnell (died 1935), British Anglican priest *Babe Parnell (1901–1982), American football player ...

and St John's College. He trained as a civil engineer and was employed by the engineer's department 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 ...

, before joining the Colonial Survey as a surveyor. He then became mine manager in

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

. He also trained in law and was called to the bar in 1884. Buckland held various public offices in

Remuera Remuera is an affluent inner city suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located four kilometres southeast of the city centre. Remuera is characterised by many large houses, often Edwardian or mid 20th century. A prime example of a "leafy" sub ...

between 1873 and 1880. Buckland was one of four candidates who contested the

Franklin North Franklin North was a parliamentary electorate in the southern part of the Auckland Region of New Zealand from 1881 to 1890. Population centres The previous electoral redistribution was undertaken in 1875 for the 1875–1876 election. In the six ...

electorate in the . He was beaten by Captain Benjamin Harris, who had since been one of the two members of the electorate, by just two votes. Early in 1882, Buckland petitioned to the courts against the election on various grounds. The case was heard by the Chief Justice, James Prendergast, and Justice Gillies, who declared the election void. Buckland and Harris contested the resulting , which was won by Harris by 529 votes to 499. In the , Buckland defeated Harris in Franklin North. In the , Buckland was defeated by the liberal politician

Frank Lawry Francis "Frank" Lawry (1839 – 19 January 1921) was a conservative then Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Biography Early life Lawry was born in Bleadon, Somerset, England, in 1839, the son of William Lawry, a farmer and Meth ...

. Buckland then represented the

Manukau Manukau (), or Manukau Central, is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand, centred on the Manukau City Centre business district. It is located 23 kilometres south of the Auckland Central Business District, west of the Southern Motorway, so ...

electorate from

1890 Events January–March * January 1 ** The Kingdom of Italy establishes Eritrea as its colony, in the Horn of Africa. ** In Michigan, the wooden steamer ''Mackinaw'' burns in a fire on the Black River. * January 2 ** The steamship ...

, when he defeated long-term MP

Maurice O'Rorke Sir George Maurice O’Rorke (2 May 1830 – 25 August 1916) was a New Zealand politician, representing (as George O’Rorke) the Auckland seat of Onehunga, and later Manukau, and was Speaker of the House of Representatives. He was a committed ...

. In 1893, O'Rorke defeated him in turn. He again contested the Manukau electorate in the , but could not beat the incumbent, Sir

. He tried again in , when four candidates contested the electorate, but O'Rorke remained successful. He was mayor of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

1898–1903 and 1905–1910. He practised law in Cambridge. Buckland also played seven

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

matches for

between 1873 and 1883. In 1873 he organised the first tour by a New Zealand provincial team, when over three weeks in November and December Auckland played in

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 ...

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 / ...

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

, winning all four matches. At the time he was described as a batsman with "a true eye and capital nerve" and a destructive fast bowler with "good lasting powers". He died on 29 December 1915 at his son's house "Mona Vale" in

. His wife had died before him.

References

;Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckland, William Francis 1847 births 1915 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Mayors of places in Waikato People from Cambridge, New Zealand New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates 19th-century New Zealand lawyers People educated at St John's College, Auckland Unsuccessful candidates in the 1881 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1893 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1896 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election New Zealand surveyors New Zealand cricketers Auckland cricketers Cricketers from Auckland 19th-century New Zealand politicians 19th-century New Zealand engineers New Zealand civil engineers

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

Life and career

See also

References