Hugh Percy Murray–Aynsley (8 October 1828 – 22 February 1917) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

, New Zealand.

Early life

Murray-Aynsley was born in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

, England, in 1828. His father was John Murray-Aynsley (1795–1870) from

Little Harle Tower Little Harle Tower is a Grade II* listed privately owned country house with 15th-century origins, located at Little Harle, Kirkwhelpington, Northumberland. his grandfather was

Lord Charles Murray-Aynsley Lord Charles Murray-Aynsley (21 October 1771 – 5 May 1808) was an English dean. Life Murray-Aynsley was the youngest of nine children of John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl, and Charlotte Murray, Duchess of Atholl, and baptized as Charles Murray. O ...

(1771–1808), and his great-grandfather was

John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl KT, PC (6 May 1729 – 5 November 1774), known as John Murray until 1764, was a Scottish peer and Tory politician. Background He was born 6 May 1729. Murray was the eldest son of Lord George Murray, fifth son ...

(1729–1774). His mother was Emma Sarah Peach, and his mother's grandfather was

Henry Cruger Henry Cruger Jr. (November 22, 1739April 24, 1827) was an American and British merchant at the time of the American Revolution. He has a unique distinction of having been elected to both the Parliament of Great Britain (MP, 1774–1780, 1784– ...

. His grandfather was baptised as Charles Murray and upon his marriage to Alicia Mitford (1768–1813), the heiress of her great-uncle, Gawen Aynsley, Esq, he assumed the additional surname Aynsley. Murray-Aynsley was educated privately; his tutor later became Bishop of Ely. For a time, Murray-Aynsley managed a sugar plantation in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

for his cousin, Sir William Miles, with the firm operating as Miles & Co. He came to

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 ...

on the ''Royal Bride'', and from there to New Zealand in 1858, arriving on the ''Queen'' in Lyttelton.

Life in New Zealand

He was manager and the principal partner for the Christchurch branch of Miles & Co, a stock and station agency. He married Elizabeth Campbell on 7 June 1859. In 1862, Murray-Aynsley purchased Riverlaw, a rural property at the bottom of Rapaki Track adjacent to the

Heathcote River Heathcote may refer to: Places in Australia *Heathcote, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney **Electoral district of Heathcote, a seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly **Heathcote National Park ** Parish of Heathcote a parish of Cumberla ...

originally owned by Alexander Lean. Sometime between 1885 and 1892, Murray-Aynsley had a two-storey homestead built. He sold Riverlaw in 1905 to

George John Smith Colonel George John Smith (1862–1946) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for the City of Christchurch electorate in the South Island, and later a member of the Legislative Council. Early life Smith was born in Consett in County Durh ...

, who further enlarged the house including the addition of a third storey. On 6 September 1984, the house was registered with

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

as a Category II heritage place, with registration number 3728; Riverlaw was regarded as one of the finest colonial homes in Christchurch. It was significantly damaged in the

2011 Christchurch earthquake A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

and demolished soon after. Murray-Aynsley also bought the

Mount Hutt Mount Hutt ( mi, Opuke) rises to the west of the Canterbury Plains in the South Island of New Zealand, above the braided upper reaches of the Rakaia River, and 80 kilometres west of Christchurch. Its summit is 2190 metres above sea level. The Ne ...

Station in the Canterbury foothills from Alexander Lean. In 1873, he was one of the founders of the

New Zealand Shipping Company The New Zealand Shipping Company (NZSC) was a shipping company whose ships ran passenger and cargo services between Great Britain and New Zealand between 1873 and 1973. A group of Christchurch businessmen founded the company in 1873, similar ...

. He was one of the directors, and then chairman of directors until his death.

Political career

He was a member of the

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 Town of Lyttelton electorate from 6 February 1864 to 7 May 1866. He was a member of the Canterbury Executive Council from 22 July 1862 to 13 November 1863 under Robert Wilkin, and for a few days until his resignation under Thomas Cass. He was Deputy

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

from 31 May 1869 to August 1872 and stood in for

William Rolleston William Rolleston (19 September 1831 – 8 February 1903) was a New Zealand politician, public administrator, educationalist and Canterbury provincial superintendent. Early life Rolleston was born on 19 September 1831 at Maltby, Yorkshire as th ...

in 1869 who was in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

attending

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

. He represented the Lyttelton electorate in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

to 1879, when he was defeated by

Harry Allwright Harry Allwright (1837 – 18 July 1892) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand. A painter and glazier by trade, he came out with his parents and siblings in the '' Cressy'' in 1850, one of the First Four Ships. He took ...

, the Mayor of Lyttelton. Note that some sources, for example Wilson (1985) and Scholefield (1950), list him under the surname ''Aynsley''.

Death and legacy

Murray-Aynsley died on 22 February 1917 at his residence at 38 Holly Road, St Albans, Christchurch. He was buried at Woolston Cemetery. A variety of geographic features commemorate Murray-Aynsley. A spur of the

Port Hills The Port Hills are a range of hills in Canterbury Region, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Lyttelton volcano, which erupted millions of years ago. The hi ...

above the old homestead is known as Murray Aynsley Hill. Two roads on the true right of the Heathcote River, initially known as River Road, were renamed. While Murray-Aynsley was still alive, the road from Opawa Bridge to Rapaki Track was renamed Aynsley Terrace; the homestead was located at the Rapaki Track end of this road. The next section of road upstream from here was renamed to Riverlaw Terrace in the following year some months after Murray-Aynsley's death. Harold Street in

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne ...

was on land that belonged to Murray-Aynsley; it was initially known as Aynsleys Alley No 4, and then Aynsley Street.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray-Aynsley, Hugh 1828 births 1917 deaths New Zealand stock and station agents Burials at Woolston Cemetery

Hugh Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Members of Canterbury provincial executive councils People from Gloucestershire English emigrants to New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1879 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians Lyttelton Harbour Board members