Hugh Joseph Finn (1847 – 18 December 1927) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in the

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

region of New Zealand.

Biography

Finn was born in

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

, Ireland, in 1847. He was a younger brother of

Peter Finn Peter Thomas Finn (1827/1828 – 1 April 1911) was a barrister in Victoria, Australia and Invercargill, New Zealand. For a short time, he was a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the electorate of Avoca. Biography Finn was born ...

. He was initially home-schooled and started attending Blackrock College in Blackrock near Dublin from the age of twelve. He then attended the Jesuit College in

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

, France, and finally the

Melbourne Church of England Grammar School Melbourne Grammar School is an Australian Independent school, independent Anglican Church of Australia, Anglican Day school, day and boarding school. It comprises a co-educational preparatory school from Prep to Year 6 and a middle school and seni ...

in Australia. He went to the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

for his tertiary education. He joined the practice of George Godfrey in

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 ...

as a clerk and passed his law exam. In March 1874, he emigrated to New Zealand and arrived 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 ...

. In August of that year, he was admitted as a barrister and solicitor to the

Supreme Court of New Zealand The Supreme Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Mana Nui, lit=Court of Great Mana) is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It re ...

. He practised as a barrister in Queenstown. He was also manager of the Gladstone Gold-Mining Company. In early 1875, he travelled in New Zealand with judge

Robert Molesworth Robert Molesworth, 1st Viscount Molesworth PC (Ire) (7 September 1656 – 22 May 1725) was an Anglo-Irish politician and writer. Molesworth came from an old Northamptonshire family. He married Hon. Letitia Coote, daughter of Richard Coote, 1st ...

from Victoria. Finn married Lizzie McLean, daughter of John McLean of Kurow Station, on 20 February 1877 at

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

. They had a son in July 1878. He stood for a county council election in November 1878 in the Kingston Riding and was beaten by 43 votes to 12. He contested the as a supporter of

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

against

Henry Manders Isaac Henry Manders (11 July 1829 – 5 January 1891) was a New Zealand politician who was a Member of Parliament in the Otago region. Manders was born in England and baptised in Finsbury, London. He lived in Australia in the 1850s and 1860s with ...

(the incumbent) and

William Mason William, Willie, or Willy Mason may refer to: Arts and entertainment *William Mason (poet) (1724–1797), English poet, editor and gardener *William Mason (architect) (1810–1897), New Zealand architect *William Mason (composer) (1829–1908), Ame ...

(a prominent architect who had moved to Queenstown in 1876). Mason won the show of hands at the nomination meeting.

Thomas Fergus Thomas Fergus (6 April 1850 or 1851 – 29 September 1914) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. Early life Thomas Fergus was born in Ayr Scotland on 6 April 1850. There is some question as to his date of birth as the New Zealand Governmen ...

had also considered contesting Wakatipu, but he decided against it. Finn, Mason and Manders received 266, 236 and 143 votes, respectively. The ''Dunedin Herald'' commented after the election that Wakatipu voters had had a difficult choice between the incumbent Manders ("he had cut such a sorry figure

n Parliament N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

before"), Mason (who was supported by large land owners, which kept people from obtaining land for farming) and Finn (who was in a serious dispute with Queenstown's Resident Magistrate before the election). In the end, the voters decided for Finn, "the least of three evils". Finn represented the Wakatipu electorate from 1879 until the end of the parliamentary term in 1881, when he retired. He later moved to Gisborne and practised there. He died in Tauranga on 18 December 1927.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finn, Hugh J 1847 births 1927 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates 19th-century New Zealand lawyers Irish emigrants to New Zealand Politicians from County Kilkenny 19th-century New Zealand politicians 20th-century New Zealand lawyers