Henry Thomas Joynt Thacker (20 March 1870 – 3 May 1939) was a medical doctor, New Zealand

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 ...

and

Mayor of Christchurch The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor, Ph ...

Early life

Thacker was born in

Okains Bay Okains Bay is a settlement, beach and bay on the Banks Peninsula in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located approximately from the main town on the Banks Peninsula, Akaroa. It is 86km (90 minutes drive) from Christchurch. The sandy ...

Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...

on 20 March 1870. His parents were Essy Joynt and John Edward Thacker. His father was an editor of the ''

Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...

Guardian'' and after emigration to Christchurch in 1850, launched the second newspaper in

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, 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, Kent, River Stour. ...

, the ''Guardian and Canterbury Advertiser''. The newspaper failed after only a few months. Henry Thacker attended Boys' High School and then

Canterbury College Canterbury College may refer to: * Canterbury College (Indiana), U.S. * Canterbury College (Waterford), Queensland, Australia * Canterbury College (Windsor, Ontario), Canada * Canterbury College, Kent, England * Canterbury College, Oxford, England ...

(what is now known as the University of Canterbury), from where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

. He then enrolled at

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

where he gained his M.B. and C.M. diplomas in 1895. Two years later he gained a fellowship in the

Royal College of Surgeons The Royal College of Surgeons is an ancient college (a form of corporation) established in England to regulate the activity of surgeons. Derivative organisations survive in many present and former members of the Commonwealth. These organisations a ...

in Dublin.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987

Return to New Zealand

Thacker returned to Christchurch in 1898 and opened a practice in Latimer Square. He represented

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

in 1889 and 1891 and assisted in the development of

Richard Arnst Richard Arnst or Dick Arnst (28 November 1883 – 7 December 1953), born Jacob Diedrich Arnst, was a New Zealand rower and cyclist. He won the Single Sculls World Championship six times during the early part of the 20th century. Early life Ric ...

. From 1899 he held the rank of captain in the Army Medical Corps.

Rugby league

Thacker was the first president of the

Canterbury Rugby Football League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

when the organisation began holding competitions in 1913. He served in this position from 1912 until 1929Coffey and Wood ''The Kiwis: 100 Years of International Rugby League'' and became a life member in 1920. Thacker also donated the

Thacker Shield The Thacker Shield is a rugby league football trophy awarded on an annual basis to the winner of a match between the champion clubs of the Canterbury Rugby League and West Coast Rugby League. History The shield was donated by Dr Henry Thacker in ...

in 1913. He was the manager of the New Zealand side during their tour of Australia in 1913.

Political career

Thacker was a member of the Christchurch Hospital Board (1907–1922),

Lyttelton Harbour Board The Lyttelton Harbour Board was established on 10 January 1877 to manage Lyttelton Harbour. The harbour had previously been managed by the Canterbury Provincial Council, but provincial government ceased to exist on 1 January 1877. The harbour boa ...

(1907–1922),

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, who ...

(1929–1931) and Mayor of Christchurch between 1919 and 1923. The 1919 mayoral election was contested by Thacker,

John Joseph Dougall John Joseph Dougall (1860 – 5 September 1934) was Mayor of Christchurch in 1911–1912. He was a solicitor by profession. In his later life, the Navy League was his main interest. Early life Dougall was born in Aberdeenshire in Scotland in 1 ...

(Mayor of Christchurch 1911–1912) and

James McCombs James (Jimmy) McCombs (9 December 1873 – 2 August 1933) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Lyttelton. Biography Early life and career McCombs was born in Treanmore, Mohill, County Leitrim, Ireland, the elder child of George McCombs, ...

(MP for Lyttelton). Thacker contested the and general elections without success in the and electorates, respectively. He then contested the Lyttelton by-election in 1913 as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Liberal, coming fourth with 5% of the vote in the first ballot. Thacker 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 ...

and represented the

Christchurch East Christchurch East, originally called Christchurch City East, is a current New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created for the and was abolished for two period, from 1875–1905 and again from 1946–1996. It was last created for ...

electorate in the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...

from

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

. He was re-elected in

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the c ...

but was defeated in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

Tim Armstrong Timothy Ross Armstrong (born November 25, 1965) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and producer. Known for his distinctive voice, he is the singer/guitarist for the punk rock band Rancid and hip hop/punk rock supergroup Transplants. ...

from the Labour Party, when he came second out of three candidates. In 1935, he was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal.

Death

Thacker died on 3 May 1939 at Christchurch. His wife died in 1955, and they are both buried at Waimairi Cemetery. The Thackers had no children.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Thacker, Henry Thomas Joynt 1870 births 1939 deaths People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School Mayors of Christchurch Deputy mayors of Christchurch New Zealand Liberal Party MPs New Zealand hospital administrators University of Canterbury alumni Alumni of the University of Edinburgh New Zealand rugby league administrators New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Burials at Waimairi Cemetery Christchurch City Councillors Unsuccessful candidates in the 1908 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1911 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1922 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1925 New Zealand general election New Zealand general practitioners New Zealand military doctors Lyttelton Harbour Board members