James Crowe Richmond (22 September 1822 – 19 January 1898) was a New Zealand politician, engineer, and an early painter in watercolours of the New Zealand landscape.

Early life

Richmond was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, the son of Christopher Richmond, barrister and his wife, Maria Wilson. He was educated at Hackney Grammar School, at

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

House,

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

and at the school attached to

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. He was apprenticed to the engineer

Samuel Clegg Samuel Clegg (2 March 1781 – 8 January 1861) was a British engineer, known mostly for his development of the gas works process. Biography Clegg was born at Manchester on 2 March 1781, received a scientific education under the care of Dr. Dalt ...

and from 1845 served on the staff of

Isambard Kingdom Brunel Isambard Kingdom Brunel (; 9 April 1806 – 15 September 1859) was a British civil engineer who is considered "one of the most ingenious and prolific figures in engineering history," "one of the 19th-century engineering giants," and "one ...

for three years working on the

Great Western Railway The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...

in southern England. Richmond emigrated to New Zealand with his younger brother Henry Richmond on the ''Victory'' on 3 October 1850. The ship arrived in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in February 1851 and the two walked south to

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

where they purchased a few acres near the home of their aunt Helen, who had married John Hursthouse and had also settled in Taranaki. Eventually members of the Richmond, Hursthouse,

Atkinson Atkinson may refer to: Places *Atkinson, Nova Scotia, Canada * Atkinson, Dominica, a village in Dominica *Atkinson, Illinois, U.S. * Atkinson, Indiana, U.S. *Atkinson, Maine, U.S. *Atkinson Lake, a lake in Minnesota, U.S. *Atkinson, Nebraska, U. ...

and Ronald families, who were related by marriage, all settled near one another in the area. Richmond returned to England in 1854 and married Mary Smith on 21 August 1856 before returning to New Zealand on the ''Kenilworth'', which arrived in

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

on 8 July 1857.

Political career

Richmond was elected unopposed as

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 Omata at a 16 April 1860 by-election. He remained in Parliament until he resigned in 1865, as he was called to the Legislative Council, where he remained for only four months. He then represented

Grey and Bell Grey and Bell was a Taranaki electorate in the New Zealand Parliament from 1853 to 1881. Population centres The electorate covered the northern, rural part of the Taranaki Province. The localities of Inglewood and Waitara fell within Grey and B ...

from

1866 Events January–March * January 1 ** Fisk University, a historically black university, is established in Nashville, Tennessee. ** The last issue of the abolitionist magazine '' The Liberator'' is published. * January 6 – Ottoman tr ...

to 1870, when he was defeated. Mary had left 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 ...

with other Taranaki refugees from the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...

in 1860. In 1862 he joined her and became the editor of the ''Nelson Examiner'' while continuing his political career. After the fall of the Fox Ministry, he also became the Commissioner of Crown Lands. He served on the

Nelson Provincial Council Nelson Province was constituted in 1853 under the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, and originally covered the entire upper South Island, including all of present-day Buller, Kaikoura, Marlborough, and Tasman districts, along with Nelson Ci ...

and was also appointed provincial secretary from 1863 to 1865.

Art

He formed a close and lifelong friendship with

John Gully John Gully (21 August 1783 – 9 March 1863) was an English champion prizefighter who became a racehorse owner and, from 1832 to 1837, a Member of Parliament. Early life Gully was born at Wick, near Bath, the son of an innkeeper who became a ...

and continued to paint and sketch in what little spare time he had.

Later life

Mary died in Nelson on 29 October 1865 having never fully recovered from the birth of her fifth child, and this event left Richmond 'harassed & broken'. However, by 1866 he was back in politics and moved his family to Taranaki. By 1869 the family had moved back to Nelson. Other family connections were also living there, including his brother William's family and his sister

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

and her husband, Arthur Atkinson. Richmond travelled with his three eldest children to England and Europe in 1873 but returned to Nelson by January 1881. He continued to travel frequently. His daughter Dorothy Kate Richmond was an artist and art teacher.

Death

Richmond died at the house of his daughter, Ann Elizabeth, in Ōtaki, which he was visiting, on 19 January 1898.

References

External links

Artworks by James Crowe Richmond in the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaBiography in the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richmond, John Crowe 1822 births 1898 deaths English emigrants to New Zealand Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the Nelson Provincial Council People from Taranaki Unsuccessful candidates in the 1871 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from the London Borough of Hackney 19th-century New Zealand painters 19th-century New Zealand male artists Atkinson–Hursthouse–Richmond family Colonial Secretaries of New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians Engineers from London