James Dilworth (15 August 1815 – 23 December 1894) was a New Zealand farmer, investor, speculator and philanthropist. He was born in

Donaghmore, County Tyrone Donaghmore (pronounced , Irish: ''Domhnach Mór'' (great church)) is a village, townland and civil parish in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, about five kilometres (3 mi) northwest of Dungannon. In the 2011 Census it had a populatio ...

, Ireland, on 15 August 1815 and attended the nearby Royal School, Dungannon, where a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...

was unveiled in his memory on 7 October 2014, by the

Ulster History Circle The Ulster History Circle is a heritage organisation that administers Blue Plaques for the area that encompasses the province of Ulster on the island of Ireland. It is a voluntary, not-for-profit organisation, placing commemorative plaques in pub ...

Political career

Dilworth was elected to the first

Auckland Provincial Council The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the six initial provinces, both ...

for the Southern Division electorate in August 1853. He remained a member of the provincial council until September 1861.

Charitable work

The Dilworth Trust Board was the benefactor of the estate of Dilworth, who received his legal advice from the solicitor Samuel Jackson. The trust funds

Dilworth School Dilworth School, often referred to simply as Dilworth, is an independent full boarding school for boys in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest full boarding school in both the country and Australasia. Owned and operated by a charitable tru ...

a full

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

for boys in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. A school where all boys are on full scholarships covering all education and boarding costs.

References

1815 births 1894 deaths New Zealand farmers New Zealand philanthropists Irish emigrants to New Zealand (before 1923) People from County Tyrone Members of the Auckland Provincial Council 19th-century New Zealand politicians 19th-century philanthropists {{NewZealand-bio-stub