Henry Isaac, died 1909, Mayor of Auckland 1874

Henry Isaacs (1831 – 2 August 1909, London) London-born, was a prominent

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand general merchant from 1850 to 1875 principally through the firm known as E. and H. Isaacs. His elder brother Edward (1820—1891), who established the firm's

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 ...

base in 1842, moved to Auckland in 1865 and they ran a troop provisioning business from central Auckland during the

invasion of the Waikato The Invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federatio ...

. By centuries old tradition this, as with other army contracts, could on occasion be a lucrative business.

Leading businessmen

They both participated in the establishment of major Auckland financial institutions and served the community in various ways, Henry as an Auckland City councillor and representative of the council on the

Auckland Harbour Board The Auckland Harbour Board was a public body that operated the ports of both Auckland and Onehunga from 1871 to 1988 and was dissolved in 1989. Its successor organisation is Ports of Auckland, which assumed the possessions and responsibilities of ...

. Henry was also a member of the Auckland province's Board of Health Among other important enterprises the brothers were promoters of Auckland Shipping Company which became a part of

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 ...

in which Edward represented the brothers' interests.

Auckland City council

Philip Aaron Philips councillor and first mayor of Auckland City resigned his offices in July 1874 and accepted the position of Auckland's

Town Clerk A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...

. Isaacs, because he was the most senior member of the Auckland City council, was elected to fill the temporary vacancy of

mayor of Auckland City The Mayor of Auckland City was the directly elected head of the Auckland City Council, the municipal government of Auckland City, New Zealand. The office existed from 1871 to 2010, when the Auckland City Council and mayoralty was abolished and ...

on 20 July 1874. At the end of 1874 he declined to stand for re-election as mayor because he would shortly retire and return to London. Councillor Frederick Lambert Prime (1825–1916) elected on 16 December 1874 replaced him.City Council—This Day, Election of mayor. The Evening Star
16 December 1874 Page 3

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaacs, Henry 1831 births 1909 deaths Mayors of Auckland English emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand businesspeople