Nathaniel William Levin (4 May 1818 – 30 April 1903) was a merchant and politician in New Zealand.

Wellington, New Zealand

Levin, born in 1818 in London, England, came to the new settlement of

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 me ...

in 1841 and set himself up in business selling drapery hosiery and haberdashery on

Lambton Quay Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach) is the heart of the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the foreshore, and sometimes the sea would roll ...

in partnership with Abraham Hort junior who would become his brother-in-law.

Levin & Co

The business soon moved to importing food and liquor and exporting whale oil and whale bone and gradually established itself as a shipping and land agency. Sheepfarming grew as whaling declined and wool exports replaced the whaling products. In 1862 he went into partnership with Charles Johnson Pharazyn. By 1868 Levin was depressed by the stagnation of the business of the colony and decided to arrange his affairs so he might return to England. He ended his partnership with Pharazyn and the business activities were taken over by his eldest son W H Levin in partnership with Charles Pharazyn and

Walter Woods Johnston Walter Woods Johnston (10 August 1839 – 31 August 1907) was a prominent merchant in 19th-century Wellington, a Member of Parliament for the Manawatu region of New Zealand and a Minister of the Crown. Family and immigration Johnston was born ...

. At the end of 1869 he and his wife left for England.

Redfern Alexander & Co

He became a partner in the firm of his former London agents for 12 years, retired in 1882 in his mid-60s and died in 1903, his wife Jessie the following year.

Parliament

Nathaniel Levin was the first Jew to be appointed to 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 served from 25 June 1869 until his membership lapsed on 11 January 1871; he had returned to England at the end of 1869. In the Legislative Council, he distinguished himself by never having made a speech. His son

William Levin William Hort (Willie) Levin (7 August 1845 – 15 September 1893) was a 19th-century merchant, philanthropist and politician who lived in Wellington, New Zealand. Levin & Co Levin was born in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of English-born par ...

continued his trading company in Wellington.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levin, Nathaniel William 1818 births 1903 deaths New Zealand merchants Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand businesspeople Businesspeople from London English emigrants to New Zealand English Jews New Zealand Jews New Zealand people of English-Jewish descent Jewish New Zealand history 19th-century New Zealand politicians Wellington City Councillors 19th-century English businesspeople

Wellington, New Zealand

Levin & Co

Redfern Alexander & Co

Parliament

See also

References