Harry Joseph Beswick (2 May 1860 – 11 April 1934) was
Mayor of Christchurch in 1896.
Early life
Beswick was born in
Kaiapoi in 1860, the son of
Joseph Beswick
Joseph Sutton Beswick (1831 – 3 June 1888) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament and a magistrate in Canterbury, New Zealand.
Beswick represented the Mandeville electorate in the Canterbury Provincial Council
The Canterbury Province w ...
. In the mid-1860s, his father was a member of parliament for the
Kaiapoi electorate. Beswick Jr received his education at
Christ's College in
Christchurch.
Beswick played
rugby union for Christchurch Football Club and also played for the Canterbury representative team.
On 25 October 1899, Beswick married Florence Ethel Mills (known as Florence) at
St. Matthew's Church in
Dunedin. She was the second daughter of
James Mills, the founder of the
Union Steam Ship Company in
Dunedin.
Professional life
After school, he trained at Harper and Harper, solicitors in Christchurch. Later, he worked for Thomas Duncan and Henry Cotterill; the law firm still exists under the name Duncan Cotterill.
Political career
John Anderson John Anderson may refer to:
Business
*John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland
* John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...
resigned from
Christchurch City Council in mid-April 1894 to visit England. Anderson was succeeded in the North-West ward by Beswick who was unopposed for the position. Beswick's term expired in September 1895 and he was again returned unopposed for the North-West Ward. Beswick would by the end of
1895 be elected mayor. He was installed as mayor on 18 December 1895.
In his speech after his installation, Beswick claimed that he was the youngest Christchurch mayor yet (he was 35 years and 7 months old)
but that was not correct.
Andrew Duncan, the third mayor, had also been 35 years old when he got installed (although only Duncan's year of birth is known) but
Fred Hobbs, the eighth mayor, got installed the day before his 33rd birthday.
In October 1896, Mayor Beswick decided to stand for Parliament in the
City of Christchurch electorate. He was eventually backed by the National Conservative Association. He was one of eleven candidates in the three-member electorate in the and came sixth.
Beswick did not stand for re-election as mayor, but a contest was held by former mayor Cooper and senior councillor John Tippett Smith.
Beswick was again elected as a Christchurch city councillor in 1903 at the first elections for Greater Christchurch (when many suburbs got amalgamated). He served until 1905.
Beswick was for many years chairman of the Christchurch Domain, now known as the
Christchurch Botanic Gardens
The Christchurch Botanic Gardens, located in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand, were founded in 1863 when an English oak was planted to commemorate the solemnisation of the marriage of Prince Albert and Princess Alexandra of Denmar ...
. An avenue of lime trees planted in 1917 in the domain is named Beswick's Walk in his honour.
Death
Beswick died in London on 11 April 1934.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beswick, Harry
1860 births
1934 deaths
Mayors of Christchurch
People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch