Henry Brown JP (1842 – 10 March 1921) was an independent conservative

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. He was a prominent saw miller in the

Taranaki Region Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

Early life

Brown was born in 1842 in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, England. His parents were Sophia Brown and the Rev. Henry Handley Brown (1813–1893), who had been appointed to the Omata District by the

Bishop Selwyn George Augustus Selwyn (5 April 1809 – 11 April 1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand (which included Melanesia) from 1841 to 1869. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was Metropolitan (late ...

. In

North Kesteven North Kesteven is a local government district in Lincolnshire, England. The district is located to the east of Nottinghamshire, north-east of Leicestershire and south of the city of Lincoln. Its council, North Kesteven District Council, is b ...

, the Reverend was Rector of Burton Pedwardine and Vicar of

Howell Howell may refer to: Places In the United Kingdom *Howell, Lincolnshire, England In the United States *Howell, Georgia * Howell, Evansville, a neighborhood of Evansville, Indiana *Howell, Michigan * Howell, Missouri *Howell, Utah * Howell C ...

, where his parishioners gave him £50 for land in the colony. Henry Brown received his education in

Neuwied Neuwied () is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the east bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne. Th ...

, Germany and

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

, Switzerland. He arrived with his parents and siblings (Sophie, Francis 'Frank', Mary, Frances, Caroline, John, Thomas, and William) in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

on 4 March 1859 on the ''Eclipse'' and they settled in Omata. During the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori people, Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North ...

, he served in the

volunteers Volunteering is a voluntary act of an individual or group freely giving time and labor for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency rescue. Others serve ...

for about four years, and received the

New Zealand Medal New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

. When five settlers, including two boys, were either shot or tomahawked by

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

in the Omata district on 27 March 1860, the Browns were still in their house and felt safe, as church ministers were regarded as tapu or untouchable by the Māori. The events eventually led to the

Battle of Waireka The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from Mar ...

. The family relocated to

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 ...

, but the brothers Henry and Frank stayed behind to fight. They both fought at the

Battle of Mahoetahi The Battle of Mahoetahi was a battle fought as part of the First Taranaki War. In November 1860 a small force of around 150 Ngāti Hauā warriors travelled to Taranaki from the Waikato and challenged the British to battle at Mahoetahi, near New ...

, where Frank was one of the two Pakeha settlers killed on 6 November 1860. Brown became an ensign in the Rifles in 1863, and in the militia became a lieutenant (1865) and then captain (1871). In 1867, he married Harriet Brown (née Brooking), a daughter of John Brooking of New Plymouth, and they had one son and one daughter.

Professional career

Brown was interested in the timber trade in the neighbourhood of New Plymouth for about ten years, and was one of the pioneers of Inglewood, where he established a timber mill in 1877, which became one of the largest mills in New Zealand. The main factory remained at Inglewood, but the head office was located in New Plymouth, where they also had a timber yard. Brown & Co was an important manufacturer of butter boxes used in the export of butter, and at the turn of the century they produced between 30,000 and 40,000 units annually.

Political career

For many years, Brown was chairman of the Inglewood Town Board, and he was a member of the Taranaki County Council (1876–1892). In the , he contested the newly established Taranaki electorate against the incumbent in the discontinued New Plymouth electorate,

Edward Smith Ed, Eddie, Edgar, Edward, Edwin, and similar, surnamed Smith, may refer to: Military * Edward H. Smith (sailor) (1889–1961), United States Coast Guard admiral, oceanographer and Arctic explorer * Edward Smith (VC) (1898–1940), English recipien ...

. Brown defeated Smith and served for one term until the , when he was in turn defeated by Smith.

Death

He died on 10 March 1921, aged 78, at his residence in Inglewood.

Notes

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

: * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Henry 1842 births 1921 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives People from Taranaki New Zealand military personnel New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from North Kesteven District English emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians