James Arthur Flesher (13 August 1865 – 18 August 1930) was a politician in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, New Zealand. He held many public offices and was

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, Phil ...

from 1923 to 1925.

Early life

Flesher was born on 13 August 1865 in

. His parents were William Flesher (a land agent) and Dorothy Flesher (née Johnson). He attended Christ's College. After school, he started a legal career, first at the Christchurch and Ashburton offices of Messrs Wilding and Lewis. Four years later, he joined the offices of Messrs Thomas Joynt and

Acton Adams William Acton Blakeway Adams (1843 – 24 January 1924), known as Acton Adams, was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Nelson, New Zealand, Nelson, New Zealand. Early life Adams was born at Wilden Manor, Tenbury Wells, Worcestershire, Engl ...

. When that firm was dissolved, he joined the offices of Messrs Acton-Adams and Kippenberger. In 1898, he was admitted as a solicitor. In 1899, he was admitted as a barrister and started his own legal practice at 9

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. He married Margaret Lucy England on 18 January 1900 at the Weslyan Church in

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. At the time, his wife was 32 years old and working as a teacher. She was born in

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to Robert Deakin and Ellen (née Grant). Their relatives E.M. Deakin ( Ashburton) and Harold Edmund Flesher were the witnesses to the marriage ceremony.

Political life

Flesher's political career began in either 1891 or 1893, when he was elected onto the Richmond Ward of

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 ...

. He was the mayor of the New Brighton Borough from 1915 to 1917. From 1918 to 1920, he represented Christchurch City Council as a councillor. During that time, he chaired the By-laws and Finance Committee. From 1923 to 1925, Flesher was the elected Mayor of Christchurch. He was once again elected councillor for Christchurch City Council in 1928 and held that post until his death. He stood in the in the electorate for the Reform Party and was narrowly beaten by

Richard Hawke Richard Wilson Hawke (1865 – 12 July 1941) was a United Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand, and a farmer and poultry-breeder. Biography He won the Kaiapoi electorate in 1928, but was defeated in 1935. In 1935, he was awarded the ...

of the United Party. Flesher was appointed

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(OBE) in

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for services in connection with the New Zealand Branch of the British Bed Cross Society and Order of St John.

Community involvement

Flesher was involved in a great number of organisations, and held important roles with many of those: * Christchurch Tramway Board (1906–1930, including chairman from 1913 to 1916) * Christchurch Domains Board *

Waimakariri River The Waimakariri River is one of the largest rivers in Canterbury, on the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It flows for in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean. ...

Trust * Richmond Domain Board *

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Committee * McLean's Institute * Avon Licensing Committee *

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* St. John Ambulance * Canterbury Pilgrims Association *

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Methodist Church ("James Flesher, 4 May 1886" is written on the foundation stone) * North Canterbury Methodist Sunday School Union (including being its president)

Avebury House

In 1871, James Flesher's father William (born 1837) bought a site of the Avebury farm from Dr John Seager Gundry for £500. Flesher senior commissioned Avebury House from architect James Glanville. The 4,289 m² dwelling was completed in 1885, replacing an earlier house from 1873. William Flesher died suddenly on the steamship ''SS Tarawera'' on a passage from Melbourne to Lyttelton, and James Flesher inherited Avebury house. After James Flesher's death, the house was in turn passed to his son Hubert de Rie Flesher, who sold the building and of land to the Crown in 1945, and it was on-sold to Christchurch City Council. The house became the Cora Wilding Youth Hostel in 1965 and the land became a public reserve (Avebury Park). After a threat of demolition in 1997, the house was renovated. It was opened in 2002 by Prime Minister

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

and serves as the Avebury House Community Centre. Avebury House and Avebury Park are located in Eveleyn Couzins Avenue in Richmond, Christchurch. Flesher Avenue, off Eveleyn Couzins Avenue, is named after the Flesher family. Both roads occupy land that was previously part of the Avebury House property.

Death

Flesher died on 18 August 1930 at Avebury House following a long illness. He was buried at the

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

cemetery of Holy Trinity Avonside. He was survived by his wife and his two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flesher, James 1865 births 1930 deaths Mayors of Christchurch Deputy mayors of Christchurch Burials at Holy Trinity Avonside Christchurch City Councillors Unsuccessful candidates in the 1928 New Zealand general election Reform Party (New Zealand) politicians New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire