Henry Augustus Field (1852 – 8 December 1899) was a

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Member of Parliament in New Zealand. By profession a surveyor, he retired in his late 20s due to rheumatism and became a farmer. He died in office just two days after having won his second parliamentary election.

Biography

Field was born in

Wanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

in 1852, the son of Henry Claylands Field (1825–1912) and his wife Margaret Symes Puslow. His father was a civil engineer from

Holybourne Holybourne is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 1.3 miles (2.2 km) northeast of the centre of Alton, Hampshire, Alton, is contiguous with it and shares its A31 road, A31 bypass. The nearest Alton railway s ...

, Hampshire, England, who had come to Wanganui in the early 1850s. H. A. Field received a private education at Wanganui. He became a survey cadet in 1868 and qualified in 1872. Together with his

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 / ...

cousin, D. H. Monro, he surveyed the Upper

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...

and the Taupo District immediately following the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...

. He retired from surveying in 1878 as he suffered from

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...

and moved to

Waikanae Waikanae (, ) is a town on the Kapiti Coast, 60 kilometres north of the Wellington CBD. The name is a Māori word meaning "waters" (''wai'') "of the grey mullet". The town lies between Paraparaumu, eight kilometres to the southwest, and Ōtak ...

, where he was farming. On 28 October 1879 at Waikanae, Field married Hannah Erskine, the daughter of Thomas Wilson. He won the Otaki electorate in the

Horowhenua District Horowhenua District is a territorial authority district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Horowhenua District Council. Located north of Wellington and Kapiti, it stretches from slightly north of the town of ...

in the 1896 general election. He was ill during the 1899 session and could not attend the parliamentary sittings on many occasions. Against medical advice, he contested the 1899 general election on 6 December, visibly ill at many of the meetings. He died two days after his re-election at his home in Waikanae. His brother,

William Hughes Field William Hughes Field (17 July 1861 – 13 December 1944) was a Member of Parliament in New Zealand; first for the Liberal Party, then Independent, and then for the Reform Party. He made a significant contribution to the development of tramping ...

, won the resulting by-election on 6 January 1900. Hannah Field died in September 1904.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Field, William Hughes 1852 births 1899 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs New Zealand farmers People from Whanganui 19th-century New Zealand politicians Colony of New Zealand people