Gustav Ludwig Theodor von der Heyde (1836–1891) was a 19th-century German-born

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 ...

businessman. In 1874, he became the

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

Waitemata Waitemata or Waitematā may refer to: * Waitematā Harbour, the primary harbour of Auckland, New Zealand * Waitematā (local board area), a local government area in Auckland, New Zealand ** Waitematā Local Board, a local board of Auckland Council, ...

electorate in

, New Zealand.

Biography

Von der Heyde was born in

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

in 1834, the eldest son of a businessman. He emigrated to Australia in 1854, working at the Bremen Consulate in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

from 1858 to 1860. Upon the death of John Macfarlane, Von der Heyde became one of the directors of the Henderson & Macfarlane shipping and logging company. From 1870 to 1874, Von der Heyde was the chairman of the

Auckland Chamber of Commerce Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about It ...

. In 1871, he was elected to the Waitakerei East Highways District Board, and was a member of the

Auckland Harbour Board The Auckland Harbour Board was a public body that operated the ports of both Auckland and Onehunga from 1871 to 1988 and was dissolved in 1989. Its successor organisation is Ports of Auckland, which assumed the possessions and responsibilities of ...

from 1871 to 1874. He represented the

electorate in , which was called after the resignation of Thomas Henderson on 12 June 1874. Von der Heyde represented the electorate from 28 July to 21 August, when he was unseated on a petition. His main political rival,

John Sangster Macfarlane John Sangster Macfarlane (1818 – 2 February 1880) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Auckland, New Zealand. He unsuccessfully contested the for , and the for . He then represented the Waitemata electorate from 1876 to 1879, when ...

, and his supporters, petitioned the Government over the eligibility of Von der Heyde to be a Member of Parliament, due to his German birth. Von der Heyde produced papers showing his naturalisation as a British subject in the

Colony of South Australia In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

, however the petition questioned if his naturalisation applied to other parts of the British Empire, or merely the Colony of South Australia. As the South Australian naturalisation law granted naturalised citizens all of the same rights as British citizens, except the ability to become a member of a council or legislature, the election was voided. On 11 August, the executive council approved the naturalisation of Von der Heyde in New Zealand, and on 8 September, a second by-election was held. Von der Heyde was re-elected with a greater majority. On 15 July 1875, became a member of the

Auckland City Council Auckland City Council was the local government authority for Auckland City, New Zealand, from 1871 to 1 November 2010, when it and Auckland's six other city and district councils were amalgamated to form the Auckland Council. It was an elected b ...

. He remained a Member of Parliament until his resignation on 6 December 1875. As a member, Von der Heyde posed questions on public acts works, such as ports and railways projects. Von der Heyde remained on the Auckland City Council until 1877. Later in life, Von der Heyde was a

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, however his role in the Henderson & Macfarlane company caused conflicts of interest, and he stood down from the position. He died in Sydney on 29 June 1891.

Personal life

Von der Heyde married Mary Henderson, daughter of Thomas Henderson, on 11 February 1864 in

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 ...

. Between 1865 and 1876, the Von der Heydes had six children. He was an active member of the German community in New Zealand.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Heyde, Gustav von der 1836 births 1891 deaths 19th-century New Zealand politicians Auckland City Councillors Businesspeople from Bremen Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Politicians from Bremen