John Bathgate, taken by an unidentified photographer

John Bathgate (10 August 1809 – 21 September 1886) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician, and

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

and Commissioner of Stamps from 1872 to 1874.

Life

Bathgate was born in

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 1809. While a boy, the family moved to

Peebles Peebles ( gd, Na Pùballan) is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in June 2018 wa ...

where his father had a teaching position. After school, he went to West Scotland to act as a private secretary and then to Edinburgh for an apprenticeship. At age 33, he married Miss Anderson. After her death, he married Miss McLaren. He had three sons, nine daughters, and (at the time of his death) 27 grandchildren. In his early 30s, Bathgate became town clerk in Peebles. Bathgate was the principal promoter of the

Peebles Railway The Peebles Railway was a railway company that built a line connecting the town of Peebles in Peeblesshire, Scotland, with Edinburgh. It opened on 4 July 1855, and it worked its own trains. The friendly North British Railway later promoted a l ...

. He was chosen by English backers as manager for the new

Bank of Otago The Bank of Otago was a bank which successfully operated in New Zealand's Otago province from late 1863 until it was bought in 1873 by a new London incorporation, The National Bank of New Zealand, also run from Dunedin but endowed with many time ...

and emigrated to New Zealand within months. There was a great depression during the mid-1860s and Bathgate had lost money to the Commercial Banking Co., and had allowed the Southland Provincial Council to overdraw well beyond the agreed limit. These events put an end to Bathgate's banking career. From June 1871 to November 1872, he served on the Executive Council of the

Otago Province The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the province again in 1870. Area an ...

. He represented two Dunedin electorates in the House of Representatives, first the City of Dunedin electorate from to 1874, when he resigned to take up the offer by

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Julius Vogel Sir Julius Vogel (24 February 1835 – 12 March 1899) was the eighth premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. He was the first Jewish prime min ...

of resident magistrate in Dunedin and district judge for Otago, and the Roslyn electorate from to 1884, when he was defeated. He was a member of the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...

from 15 May 1885 to 21 September 1886, when he died. He was buried at

Dunedin Northern Cemetery The Dunedin Northern Cemetery is a major historic cemetery in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located on a sloping site close to Lovelock Avenue on a spur of Signal Hill close to the Dunedin Botanic Gardens and the suburb of O ...

. He was the father of

Alexander Bathgate Alexander Bathgate (4 August 1845 – 9 September 1930) was a New Zealand lawyer, company director, writer and conservationist. He was born in Peebles, Peeblesshire, Scotland on 4 August 1845. He was the son of John Bathgate. When Alexander was ...

. John Denniston was his son-in-law.

Notes

References

* *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bathgate, John 1809 births 1886 deaths Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates District Court of New Zealand judges Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Burials at Dunedin Northern Cemetery Unsuccessful candidates in the 1884 New Zealand general election Members of Otago provincial executive councils Colony of New Zealand judges 19th-century New Zealand politicians 19th-century New Zealand judges People from Peebles Justice ministers of New Zealand