Richard Packer (1794 – 27 July 1872) was a New Zealand politician and

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 ...

from 1856–1859 representing the Town of Christchurch electorate. He was also a member of the

Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential Eng ...

, including its treasurer.

Early life

Packer lived in Claverton near Bath in the

County of Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, England, when he decided to emigrate to New Zealand, which he did in 1851. He took up employment as church steward. His family arrived in Lyttelton on 31 May 1851 on the ship ''Travancore''.

Political career

Packer was elected to the first Canterbury Provincial Council in 1853, together with

Samuel Bealey Samuel Bealey (1821 – 8 May 1909) was a 19th-century politician in Canterbury, New Zealand. Bealey came out to Canterbury in 1851, a pastoralist with capital to invest in farming. He married Rose Ann, daughter of Archdeacon Paul in 1852. Havi ...

and Thomas Cass. He was a member of the 1st and 2nd council, from 1853 until 1860. During a day of low attendance in October 1854, he secured a suspension of the standing orders, which allowed him to pass the first two readings of a bill to enlarge the council's membership by 12 additional members. Whilst there was justification for such a measure due to the long session lengths, the Executive Council consisting of Henry Tancred, Henry Godfrey Gouland,

Charles Simeon Charles Simeon (24 September 1759 – 13 November 1836) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric. Life and career He was born at Reading, Berkshire, in 1759 and baptised at St Laurence's parish church on 24 October of that year. He was the ...

, and

William John Warburton Hamilton William John Warburton Hamilton (April 1825 – 6 December 1883), who generally signed as J. W. Hamilton, was an administrator, explorer, and politician in New Zealand. Early life Hamilton was born in 1825 at Little Chart, Kent, England. His fa ...

regarded the matter as a vote of no confidence and resigned. Packer was part of the Executive Council in 1855 and again in 1857. For a time, he was Provincial Treasurer and Provincial Secretary.

Henry Sewell Henry Sewell (7 September 1807 – 14 May 1879) was a prominent 19th-century New Zealand politician. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-government, and is generally regarded as having been the country's first premier (an office ...

vacated his seat for the Town of Christchurch electorate on 21 October 1856 to commence overseas travel. Packer was elected on 18 November in the 1856 Town of Christchurch by-election to fill this vacancy. On 28 December 1859, Packer resigned his seat at parliament. The 18 January 1860 by-election was won by Sewell, who had returned from overseas. He served on the Waste Lands Board until his death.

Later life

Packer had an early shop in

Cashel Street City Mall is the main pedestrian mall in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand, comprising two sections of Cashel Street plus the Bridge of Remembrance and one section of High Street. It is also known colloquially as Cashel Mall. The Brid ...

on the site that was later occupied by the

Bank of Australasia The Bank of Australasia was an Australian bank in operation from 1835 to 1951. Headquartered in London, the bank was incorporated by Royal Charter in March 1834. It had initially been planned to additionally include first South Africa and then ...

. Packer owned of land at the southern end of

Colombo Street Colombo Street is a main road of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It runs south-north through the centre of Christchurch with a break at Cathedral Square. As with many other central Christchurch streets, it is named for a colonial Anglica ...

. The property was previously owned by the brothers

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

and Frederick Augustus Bishop, and they had called it Somerfield based on their birthplace (Somerfield House in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

). Packer's son, Henry William Packer (1831–1890), increased the family's land holding to .

Somerfield Somerfield (; originally Gateway) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The company also previously owned the Kwik Save chain of discount food stores. The company was taken over by the Co-operative ...

has since been adopted for the name of the suburb in that part of Christchurch. Packer was active in the

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...

movement in the Anglican church. He was on the building committee for the Saint Michael and All Angels Church, which these days forms part of the St Michael's Church School in the

Christchurch Central City Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue ...

. His name is written on

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...

stored in a glass cylinder underneath the cornerstone in the foundation. Packer died in Christchurch on 27 July 1872. Packer's wife Hannah died on 7 December 1879 in the Christchurch suburb of Somerfield, aged 85.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Packer, Richard 1794 births 1872 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Canterbury Provincial Council People from Christchurch New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Members of Canterbury provincial executive councils New Zealand Anglo-Catholics 19th-century New Zealand politicians