Henry Sawtell (1832 – 19 June 1913) was Mayor of Christchurch 1871–1872.

Early life

Sawtell was born near

Langport Langport is a small town and civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton in the South Somerset district. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 1,081. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, a separate ...

in Somerset, England in 1832. His parents were Mary and Thomas Sawtell. He came to

Nelson, New Zealand (Let him, who has earned it, bear the palm) , image_map = Nelson CC.PNG , mapsize = 200px , map_caption = , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = ...

on the ''John Masterman'' in February 1857. In August 1858, Sawtell came to Lyttelton. In 1861, he lived on town section 200 in Lyttelton. On 14 June 1862 at the Trinity Church in Lyttelton, he married Mary Ann, the daughter of Thomas Abrahams of Lyttelton. Their first son, Leonard Sefton Sawtell, was born on 11 March 1863 when they were living in Lyttelton's Oxford Street. By 1864, they were living in Christchurch's Hereford Street. His wife died in 1879, and on 20 January 1880 at St John's Church, Christchurch, he married Maria Parnham.

Professional life

Initially, Sawtell was a grocer in Christchurch, working for Dalgety. For some time he was in partnership with Alexander Cracroft Wilson, son of

John Cracroft Wilson Sir John Cracroft Wilson (21 May 1808 – 2 March 1881), also known as Nabob Wilson, was a British-educated civil servant in India, farmer and politician in New Zealand. Early life John Cracroft Wilson was born in Onamore, India, the son of Al ...

, and the firm carried on business as general merchants in High Street under the name of Wilson, Sawtell and Co.

Political career

Christchurch City Council

Before 1916, elections for Christchurch City Council were held annually. Sawtell was elected onto the town and later city council three times: in 1868, 1871 and 1872. In those days, the councillors elected one of their group as mayor, i.e. the position was not elected at large (by the voting public) as is the case today. On 20 December 1871, Sawtell was elected to be the next mayor of Christchurch, succeeding James Jameson. Towards the end of his term as mayor, Sawtell fell ill and could not fulfil his functions. Councillor Edward Bishop filled his place during that time. The election of the next mayor was held on 18 December 1872, but '' The Press'', the local Christchurch newspaper, already reported on 14 December of Councillor Bishop as mayor-elect. The election took place on the agreed date, and Bishop was elected unanimously. Sawtell resigned as a city councillor during February 1873 due to ill health. Whilst Christchurch City Libraries lists the 7th mayor, Michael Hart, as the one who gave the first link to the Christchurch

mayoral chain A livery collar or chain of office is a collar or heavy chain, usually of gold, worn as insignia of office or a mark of fealty or other association in Europe from the Middle Ages onwards. One of the oldest and best-known livery collars is the Co ...

, this tradition was in fact started by Sawtell, who gave the first link on the day his successor was chosen. Edward Bishop gave the second link in April 1874, some months after he was succeeded by Hart, who was thus the third person to add a link to the mayoral chain.

Canterbury Provincial Council

Sawtell was a member of the 6th

Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential Eng ...

for the City of Christchurch electorate from 6 May 1870 until the end of the term on 28 February 1874, when he did not stand for re-election.

Family

His son Claude Sawtell married the artist E. Rosa Sawtell, Rosa Budden. Henry Sawtell was buried at Barbadoes Street Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawtell, Henry 1832 births 1913 deaths Mayors of Christchurch Members of the Canterbury Provincial Council Burials at Barbadoes Street Cemetery New Zealand merchants Lyttelton Harbour Board members