John Anderson (9 May 1849 – 26 May 1934) was a Scottish-born New Zealand engineer. He played rugby union for West of Scotland during his time in Scotland for his education and represented Scotland internationally. He lived in New Zealand from infancy and together with his brother, took over his father's company. The company flourished under their guidance and became one of New Zealand's largest builder of bridges for roads and rail.

Early life

Anderson was born at

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in 1850. His father was

John Anderson John Anderson may refer to: Business *John Anderson (Scottish businessman) (1747–1820), Scottish merchant and founder of Fermoy, Ireland * John Byers Anderson (1817–1897), American educator, military officer and railroad executive, mentor of ...

, who was to become

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 ...

and an influential businessman. His mother was Jane Anderson (née Gibson). The Andersons emigrated to

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. ...

in New Zealand at the end of 1850 on , one of the

First Four Ships The First Four Ships refers to the four sailing vessels chartered by the Canterbury Association which left Plymouth, England, in September 1850 to transport the first English settlers to new homes in Canterbury, New Zealand. The colonists or se ...

, and settled 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 / ...

. His parents, who had married in 1845, had previously lost two children during infancy and it is thought that this contributed to their decision to emigrate; John Anderson Jr. was their only child alive at that point. Another son, Andrew, was born in 1851. The Anderson boys received their education at Scots College in Christchurch. In 1866, they were both sent to Scotland for further education at the

Merchiston Castle School Merchiston Castle School is an independent boarding school for boys in the suburb of Colinton in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has around 470 pupils and is open to boys between the ages of 7 and 18 as either boarding or day pupils; it was modelled a ...

in the Edinburgh suburb of

Colinton Colinton ( gd, Baile Cholgain) is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated south-west of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north ...

. His brother then worked with a firm of civil engineers, while he himself worked at the Clutha Ironworks at

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

as a mechanical engineer. He furthered his education by attending classes of Professor

William John Macquorn Rankine William John Macquorn Rankine (; 5 July 1820 – 24 December 1872) was a Scottish mechanical engineer who also contributed to civil engineering, physics and mathematics. He was a founding contributor, with Rudolf Clausius and William Thomson ( ...

at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

. John Anderson returned to New Zealand in 1873; his brother followed him in 1876.

Rugby union career

Amateur career

Anderson played for West of Scotland.

International career

He was capped only once for

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. His debut came in the second international match on 5 February 1872 playing against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

The Oval The Oval, currently known for sponsorship reasons as the Kia Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, located in the borough of Lambeth, in south London. The Oval has been the home ground of Surrey County Cricket Club since ...

, London.

Professional career

Upon his return to New Zealand, Anderson Jr. joined his father's company. 'J. Anderson, Engineer, Millwright, Boiler Maker &c' manufactured steam boilers and the plant necessary to process agricultural products. A foundry was part of the business that was located in the heart of Christchurch, between Cashel and Lichfield Streets. The firm started to really prosper when both sons worked in the business. It took on large projects, first for the Canterbury Provincial government, and then other provincial councils and also

central government A central government is the government that is a controlling power over a unitary state. Another distinct but sovereign political entity is a federal government, which may have distinct powers at various levels of government, authorized or dele ...

. One example of a significant bridge was the

Beaumont Beaumont may refer to: Places Canada * Beaumont, Alberta * Beaumont, Quebec England * Beaumont, Cumbria * Beaumont, Essex ** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s * Beaumont Street, Oxford France (communes) * Beaumont, Ardèche * ...

road bridge over the

Clutha River The Clutha River (, officially gazetted as Clutha River / ) is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the P ...

, which is also known as the Dunkeld Bridge, as this was the original survey name for the township that soon took the name of Beaumont. The bridge was opened by John Anderson Jr. on 4 March 1887 with a champagne lunch. A champagne lunch of such proportions that the location for the presentation is still called Champagne Flat was held at the opening of the Waiau Ferry Bridge, these days a Category I heritage item registered with

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

. Another early and outstanding bridge was the Waiteti Viaduct, the northernmost viaduct on the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

railway a few kilometres south of Te Kuiti. This structure was also completed in 1887. Probably the most significant structure on the North Island Main Trunk Railway is the Makatote Viaduct south of

National Park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

. At , it is the highest on this line. It took three years to build and Andrew Anderson moved his family to the construction village, so that he could oversee the work. The viaduct was commissioned in 1908. The company diversified by importing engines, locomotives, they built steam engines, and started building oil storage tanks once the importation of oil began.

Other interests

Like his father, who was Christchurch's second mayor in 1869, Anderson Jr. was elected a member of the

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 ...

. In September 1892, he was declared elected unopposed in the North-West ward. At the time, councillors were elected for two-year terms. Anderson resigned in mid-April 1894 as he was about to leave for a trip to England. Anderson was succeeded in the North-West ward by Harry Beswick, who would a year later be elected mayor. Anderson returned from his trip in November 1894. John Anderson, Sr. was an inaugural director of the

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 ...

and when he died in April 1897, the directorship was transferred to Anderson Jr.

Death

Anderson died on 26 May 1934 in Christchurch. He is buried at Addington Cemetery.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, John 1849 births 1934 deaths Scottish rugby union players Scotland international rugby union players Rugby union forwards West of Scotland FC players Rugby union players from Edinburgh People educated at Merchiston Castle School People from Christchurch Christchurch City Councillors Burials at Addington Cemetery, Christchurch Canterbury Pilgrims 20th-century New Zealand engineers 19th-century New Zealand engineers