Henry Smith Fish (15 July 1838 – 23 September 1897) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. For a time, he was a member of the

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 ...

. He was

Mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

for a total of six years. Smith is remembered as one of the staunch opponents of

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

Early life

Fish was born in

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, London, in 1838. His parents were Mary Ann Passmore and Henry Smith Fish, a painter. He received his education at Cave House School and from 1849 at

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 ...

, where the family settled. He accompanied his father to the gold diggings in

The Ovens, Nova Scotia The Ovens Natural Park in Feltzen South is part of the fairhaven site of a Gold Rush over a century ago. "The Ovens Natural Park" is a privately owned 190 acre pristine reserve of coastal forest, located on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia ...

. Afterwards, he worked in his father's painting and glazier business in Melbourne, and from around 1863, 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 ...

, to where the family relocated. They traded as H. S. Fish and Son and were based in Princes Street South. On 31 January 1867, he married Jane Carr at Dunedin's St Paul's Church.

Political career

Fish was first elected onto

Dunedin City Council The Dunedin City Council ( mi, Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Ōtepoti) is the local government authority for Dunedin in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Dunedin. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Dunedin is Jules ...

in 1867. He was the

from 1870 to 1873 and again from 1893 to 1895. In total, he served on Dunedin City Council for over 20 years. Fish represented the Dunedin electorate on the

Otago Provincial Council The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the province again in 1870. Area an ...

in 1870, and from 1873 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. He was briefly a member of the Executive Council in May/June 1875. He represented the

Dunedin South Dunedin South is a former New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It first existed from 1881 to 1890, and subsequently from 1905 to 1946. In 1996, the electorate was re-established for the introduction of MMP, before being abolished in 2020. Po ...

electorate from 1881 to 1884 when he was defeated, then from 1887 to 1890. He then held one of the three seats for the City of Dunedin multi-member electorate from 1890 to 1893 when he was defeated, and from 1896 to 1897, when he died. He was replaced by Alexander Sligo. Fish represented liquor interests in Parliament, and was an opponent of

Women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

in 1890–1893 on their behalf. He paid his anti-suffragist campaigners a bounty for signatures collected, but lost credibility when some signatures were found to be fraudulent.

Death

Smith died of throat cancer in Dunedin on 23 September 1897.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Henry Smith 1838 births 1897 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Mayors of Dunedin Deaths from cancer in New Zealand Deaths from esophageal cancer New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates Burials at Dunedin Southern Cemetery Members of the Otago Provincial Council Members of Otago provincial executive councils Unsuccessful candidates in the 1884 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1893 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians Dunedin City Councillors