John Graham (12 January 1843 – 8 February 1926) was a New Zealand

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

in the South Island.

Early life

Graham was born in Nelson in 1843, the eldest son of one of the earliest European settlers of the region.

Member of Parliament

John Graham represented the Nelson electorate in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for 18 years from

1893 Events January–March * January 2 – Webb C. Ball introduces railroad chronometers, which become the general railroad timepiece standards in North America. * Mark Twain started writing Puddn'head Wilson. * January 6 – Th ...

1911 A notable ongoing event was the Comparison of the Amundsen and Scott Expeditions, race for the South Pole. Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ...

, when he retired. The 1893 general election was contested by four candidates in Nelson: Graham (1289 votes),

Richmond Hursthouse Richmond Hursthouse (5 May 1845 – 11 November 1902) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Nelson, New Zealand, and a cabinet minister. Family life Hursthouse was born in New Plymouth in 1845, soon after his family's emigration from Engl ...

(1011 votes), John Kerr (910 votes) and

William Lock William Lock (1 May 1858 – 20 July 1940) was Mayor of Nelson, New Zealand, from 1913 to 1915 and again from 1921 to 1927. Lock was an auctioneer, and a grain and produce merchant for 40 years. During his term as mayor, HMS ''New Zealand'' ...

(74 votes). The 1896 general election was contested by Graham and

Jesse Piper Jesse Piper (1836 – 21 April 1920) was a Nelson, New Zealand city councillor and mayor. Early life Piper was born in 1836 at Hastings, Sussex, England. He went to sea as a youth. On the outbreak of the Crimean War joined the storeship and sa ...

, who received 2061 and 1718 votes, respectively. Graham was thus elected with a majority of 343 votes.

Independent Liberal

In 1894, Graham successfully opposed the Midland Railway Bill insofar as it proposed to abandon the obligations of the company to provide a railway to Nelson. As Chairman of the Banking Enquiry Committee of 1896, John Graham frequently came into conflict with the Premier

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-se ...

, the Minister of Lands, John McKenzie, and George Hutchison

Public offices

Graham was for some years chairman of the Town Schools' Committee. He was the first chairman of the Nelson Harbour Board and held that position for twelve years. He served on the Nelson Education Board, the Board of Governors of

Nelson College Nelson College is the oldest state secondary school in New Zealand. It is an all-boys school in the City of Nelson that teaches from years 9 to 13. In addition, it runs a private preparatory school for year 7 and 8 boys. The school also has ...

(1894) and Council of Victoria College in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

(1899–1912). He was also a member of the

Nelson City Council Nelson City Council is a unitary local authority. It has its headquarters in Nelson. History Nelson City Council was created in 1992. Local governance of Nelson began with Nelson Province in 1853, which covered the entire upper South Island ...

. Vol. 5 (1906) p. 30.

Death

Graham died in

Feilding Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has ...

on 8 February 1926, after having lived in Nelson for practically all of his life.

Early life

Member of Parliament

Independent Liberal

Public offices

Death

See also

References

Further reading