John Carroll (11 June 1836–10 November 1903) was
Mayor of Dunedin
The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...
in 1890.
Biography
![Cnr George Street and Moray Place c1972](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Cnr_George_Street_and_Moray_Place_c1972.jpg)
Carroll was born in
Killenaule
Killenaule () is a small town and civil parish in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is part of the ecclesiastical parish of Killenaule and Moyglass, in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, and the barony of Slievardagh. It is east of ...
, Tipperary County, Ireland in 1836. His father was a farmer, but Carroll trained as a stonemason. Carroll emigrated to the
Victorian goldfields
The Goldfields region of Victoria is a region commonly used but typically defined in both historical geography and tourism geography (in particular heritage tourism). The region is also known as the Victorian Golden Triangle.
Description
I ...
, and then crossed to Dunedin in 1863. Having some success at the
Shotover goldfields, Carroll returned to Dunedin where he met his future wife. He was the host of the Hibernian Hotel, on the corner of what was then called the Octagon (now Moray Place) and George Street, which he rebuilt during his tenure, after a fire. The building was afterwards renamed the European Hotel, and then Carroll's Hotel. The building was demolished circa 1972. Carroll also owned the Douglas Hotel, at 50 The Octagon, which was demolished in 1979 to make way for the Civic Centre.
Carroll was elected to the city council in 1869, and was Dunedin's first Catholic mayor when elected in 1890. He had previously stood for Mayor in 1886, but lost narrowly to
Richard Henry Leary
Richard Henry Leary (3 November 1840 – 14 May 1895) was Mayor of Dunedin from 1877 to 1878, and again from 1886 to 1887.
Born in Southall, London on 3 November 1840, Leary emigrated in 1854 to Victoria, where he worked in the timber trade and ...
. When elected Mayor in 1890, Carroll had the largest majority of any of the 19th century elections.
After a brief retirement, Carroll took the European Hotel, before finally retiring and purchasing a property on Walker Street (now Carroll Street). Carroll died in 1903 of presumed heart failure after suffering from 'spasmodic asthma', and was survived by his widow and four sons.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carroll, John
1836 births
1903 deaths
Mayors of Dunedin
Businesspeople from County Tipperary
Irish emigrants to Australia
Politicians from County Tipperary
People from Killenaule