John McLachlan (1840 – 11 September 1915) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Ashburton in the

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Early life

McLachlan was born in

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, Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1840. He learned his father's trade as a plasterer. He came to New Zealand in 1863 by the ship ''Sebastopol'' and arrived at Lyttelton. After some time spent in looking around the country, he chose land near

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and became a farmer. His brothers, sister and his mother followed him to New Zealand.

Member of Parliament

McLachlan stood for election in the Selwyn electorate for the

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, but lost to

Edward Jollie Edward Jollie (1 September 1825 – 7 August 1894) was a pioneer land surveyor in New Zealand, initially as a cadet surveyor with the New Zealand Company. The Christchurch Central City is laid out to his survey. Biography Jollie was born in ...

. McLachlan unsuccessfully contested the for , coming third. He then unsuccessfully contested the electorate in the , coming second and being beaten by

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. He represented the Ashburton 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 twelve years (–1896; –1908). He came second to

Edward George Wright Edward George Wright (14 June 1831 – 12 August 1902) was an independent conservative Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Biography Wright was born in Woolwich, Kent, England, in 1831. After an education in private schools, he worked fo ...

in the , but Wright retired in 1899. He was a colourful character in

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. "The representative of Ashburton", wrote a newspaper reporter, "is about the wildest looking specimen in the Parliamentary collection. But if he is in the rough to gaze on, he can give 'points' to some more ornamental members in the matter of ability and originality of thought and expression. He is a sturdily built, carelessly dressed man, with a large head, made to look larger by the wild disorder of a huge shock of curly hair. He is a farmer and might have stepped out of his market trap into his place in the House. He is, as a rule, a breezy, happy-go-lucky sort of member with a good sense of humour and a fine stock of anecdotes and a great admiration for and acquaintance with the writings of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

." He was a leading Canterbury Presbyterian, and was known for his love of whisky. On occasions he spoke on the platform or in the house while intoxicated and made a fool of himself, and in 1894 he fell into Wellington Harbour when he mistook the lights of a ship for the lights outside a chemist's shop where he had lodgings. In 1907 he was 'almost certainly' the subject of a complaint by

J. T. Marryat Hornsby John Thomas Marryat Hornsby (13 March 1857 – 23 February 1921), generally known as J. T. Marryat Hornsby, was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party from the Wairarapa. He was a newspaper editor and proprietor. Biography Early life Ho ...

to the Speaker about his language and his intoxicated condition in the house, which the Premier promised to have put right.

Family and death

John McLachlan died on 11 September 1915. His son Alexander McLachlan (1870–1945) was a farmer and mill owner and

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate for

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at the 1919 election. Archibald Albany McLachlan (1898–1961), a solicitor from

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, was a grandson of John McLachlan. Archibald McLachlan stood in the in the electorate for the United Party, coming second to

Bert Kyle Herbert Seton Stewart Kyle (29 August 1873 – 5 January 1955) was a member of the Reform Party (New Zealand), Reform Party and since 1936 New Zealand National Party, National Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Early life and professio ...

. Kyle was the official candidate of the

United–Reform Coalition The United–Reform Coalition, also known as the National Political Federation from 1935, was a coalition between two of the three major parties of New Zealand, the United and Reform parties, from 1931 to 1936. The Coalition formed the Governmen ...

for the , and McLachlan opposed him in Riccarton as an Independent, again coming second. McLachlan stood in the as an Independent in the electorate and came third.

Notes

References

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the

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: * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McLachlan, John 1840 births 1915 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand farmers Scottish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates People from Ashburton, New Zealand Unsuccessful candidates in the 1890 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1896 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians