James Craigie (7 September 1851 – 17 August 1935) was

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 of ...

for the electorate in the

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of New Zealand and 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 ...

. He was also Chairman of the South Canterbury Health Board, Chairman of the Timaru Harbour Board, a Timaru Borough Councillor and

Mayor of Timaru The mayor of Timaru is the directly elected head of the Timaru District Council, the local government authority for the Timaru District in New Zealand, which it controls as a territorial authority. List of officeholders There have been 40 mayor ...

Early life

Craigie was born in

Coupar Angus Coupar Angus (; Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic: ''Cùbar Aonghais'') is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, south of Blairgowrie and Rattray, Blairgowrie. The name Coupar Angus serves to differentiate the town from Cupar, Fife. The town was traditi ...

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

, Scotland, on 7 September 1851. He came to New Zealand in 1867 with his parents, James and Agnes Craigie (née McFarlane). Craigie and his family landed in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

, where he remained for several years after completing an apprenticeship as a painter and decorator. Craigie married Catherine Orr from County Donegal, Ireland and they had six daughters and one son.

Move to Timaru

Craigie moved to Timaru in 1873 where he started a glass and house decoration business. He also opened a large home decoration shop in Cains Terrace, Timaru. He subsequently merged his business with a Dunedin firm and it became known as Smith & Craigie. The merged business would ultimately become part of Smith & Smith, a company which continues to operate throughout New Zealand. As his business success grew, Craigie purchased a large farm in Kingsdown, about 5 km south of Timaru, where he built a substantial house, Craigielea. Craigielea was subsequently destroyed by fire. Craigie served on the South Canterbury Health Board for nine years, serving the last several years as Chairman. He also served as Chairman of the Timaru Harbour Board for four years during which time significant progress was made in the development of the Port of Timaru.

Election to the Timaru Borough Council

Craigie was elected to the Timaru Borough Council in 1901.

Mayor of Timaru

Craigie was

for ten years from 1902 to 1913.

Member of Parliament

James Craigie represented the electorate in the

New Zealand House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the New Zealand Parliament. The House passes Law of New Zealand, laws, provides Ministers of the New Zealand Government, ministers to form Cabinet of New Zealand, Cabinet, and supervises the ...

for 14 years from to 1922.

Independent Liberal

In the 1919 election, Craigie broke from the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and stood as an

Independent Liberal Independent Liberal is a description allowed in politics to denote party affiliation. It is used to designate a politician as a liberal, yet independent of the official Liberal Party of a country. Those parties were the Liberal Party of Canada, ...

or Progressive Liberal. After retiring as a Member of Parliament Craigie was appointed to the Legislative Council on 1 June 1923. He served for one term until 31 May 1930 and was not re-appointed. In 1935, Craigie was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver J ...

Admirer of Robert Burns

Craigie was an enthusiastic admirer 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 ...

and was at one-time regarded as New Zealand's leading authority on Burns. Craigie was an Overseas Vice President of the

Robert Burns World Federation The Robert Burns World Federation is a literary society based in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland, aimed at educating the public about the life, poetry and works of the poet Robert Burns.

. In 1931, Craigie delivered a lecture to the Wellington Burns Club entitled "The Humanity of Robert Burns". Craigie provided funds for the erection in the Timaru Botanic Gardens of a statute of Robert Burns. The statue was unveiled by Craigie before a huge crowd on 28 May 1913.

Death

James Craigie died at his home Craigilea in Kingsdown, South Canterbury on 17 August 1935 due to “heart weakness”. He is buried in the Craigie Family Plot in Timaru Cemetery.

Legacy

Craigie was a generous benefactor to his adopted hometown of Timaru. He provided the chimes for the Timaru Town Clock in 1913. This was initially hung in the Chief Post Office but in 1933 it was moved to the Timaru Council Building, which had been constructed during Craigie's tenure as Mayor. Craigie provided the money for the oak trees planted in (what was to become known as) Craigie Avenue, Timaru now part of

New Zealand State Highway 1 State Highway 1 (SH 1) is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand road network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the of ...

. The double row of trees were planted on 12 October 1905. He also donated ten pounds for the building of the Catholic Sacred Heart Basilica, also located in Craigie Avenue, on 8 February 1910, the day the foundation stone for the church was laid. In 1914 Craigie presented the renowned painting “The Mother” by Thomas Kennington to the South Canterbury Art Society. After his death, the Craigie family donated a

C.F. Goldie Charles Frederick Goldie (20 October 187011 July 1947) was a New Zealand artist, best known for his portrayal of Māori people, Māori dignitaries. Early life Goldie was born in Auckland on 20 October 1870. He was named after his maternal gran ...

painting "Memories. The Last of her Tribe” (painted in 1913) to the people of Timaru. Both paintings can be seen at the Aigantighe Art Gallery in Wai-iti Road, Timaru. His descendants planted a tree in his honour in Craigie Avenue at Easter, 1994.

Notes

References

* * *''Substance of a lecture delivered at the inaugural meeting of the ''Wellington Burns Club'', in the Concert Chamber, Town Hall, Wellington, February 25, 1931.'' rom ''Te Puna'' record Craigie was an authority on Burns * *''A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography'', edited by G.H. Scholefield, Vol. 1, pp. 180–181, 1940, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Craigie, James 1851 births 1935 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Independent MPs of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand businesspeople New Zealand businesspeople in retailing New Zealand farmers Scottish emigrants to New Zealand People from Timaru Mayors of Timaru Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates People from Perthshire Burials at Timaru Cemetery