James Burman Gow (1862 – 6 August 1942) was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council. Gow was born in 1862 in

Forfarshire Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agri ...

, Scotland. He arrived in New Zealand as a boy and received his education at Otago Boys' High School. He married Agnes Alison Murray in 1886. He was from

Ōpōtiki Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a small town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Ge ...

where he owned a mill. In the

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

general election he was a candidate for the Bay of Plenty electorate, but he was beaten by William MacDonald in the

second ballot The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

. He was a member of the Legislative Council from 7 May 1918 to 6 May 1925; then 7 May 1925 to 6 May 1932, when his term ended. He was appointed by the Reform Government. He died on 6 August 1942 at his residence in Ōpōtiki, and was survived by his wife, three sons and three daughters.

References

1862 births 1942 deaths Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council Reform Party (New Zealand) MLCs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1908 New Zealand general election People educated at Otago Boys' High School British emigrants to New Zealand {{NewZealand-politician-stub