Thomas King (21 November 1821 – 28 April 1893) was a 19th-century

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

politician. He served in the 1st and

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds or 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Second of arc, an angular measurement unit ...

Parliaments, and was otherwise active 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. ...

. He was one of the first settlers, coming out on the first ship to New Plymouth in 1841.

Early life

King 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 ...

on 21 November 1821. He received his education at the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , speciali ...

and then at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. He came to New Zealand in March 1841 on the ''William Bryan''. He married Mary Chilman (born in London), the daughter of the New Plymouth settler Richard Chilman, in 1846. She was the sister of Richard Chilman, the local secretary of the Plymouth Company. The Kings had seven children.

Political career

King was a member of the

Taranaki Provincial Council ''For the current top-level subdivision of Taranaki in New Zealand, see Taranaki region'' The Taranaki Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Initially known as New Plymouth Province, ...

, serving as provincial treasurer.

Member of Parliament

King served in the

1st New Zealand Parliament The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 24 May 1854, following New Zealand's first general election (held the previous year). It was dissolved on 15 September 1855 in preparation for that year's ...

for

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 ...

and resigned on 22 June 1855. He declared himself "tired of political life with its anxieties, cares, and responsibilities – with my severance from my home and my family". Financial worries may also have played a part – King was not by any means wealthy, and was consequently a notable champion of remuneration and expenses for MPs. He entered Parliament again during its second term in the same electorate in a 28 May 1860 by-election. The by-election resulted from the resignation of Charles Brown, whose militia service required his full attention. King was the only candidate in the by-election, and was thus declared elected.

William Cutfield King William Cutfield King (1829 – 8 February 1861) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician who was elected to Parliament, but was killed in the New Zealand Wars before the first session. Early life King was born in Devonshire, England in 1829 ...

and Thomas King (no relation) contested the Grey and Bell electorate in the 1860 election. On nomination day, the contestants addressed the electors and at the end of the meeting, the

Returning Officer In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. Australia In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral c ...

requested a show of hands, which was declared to be in favour of Thomas King. Consequently, W. C. King requested an election, which was held on Tuesday, 27 November 1860. W. C. King and T. King received 93 and 34 votes, respectively. Thus, his namesake was elected, but didn't attend Parliament, since he was killed in the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori people, Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North ...

in February 1861 before the first session had started.

Professional life

Upon arrival in New Zealand, King was originally a farmer and later became the manager of the

Bank of New Zealand Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is one of New Zealand's Big Four (banking), big four banks and has been operating in the country since the first office was opened in Auckland in October 1861 followed shortly after by the first branch in Dunedin in D ...

in New Plymouth for 16 years, from 1861 to 1878. He chaired the New Plymouth Harbour Board for many years until his death. He was the chairman of the New Plymouth Gas Company from its inception until his death.

Death

King died at 4 am on 28 April 1893 at his residence in Dawson Street, New Plymouth. He was buried at

Te Henui Cemetery Te Henui Cemetery, also known as New Plymouth Cemetery, is the oldest public cemetery in New Plymouth, New Zealand. It was first used in 1861. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "the great mistake" for . ...

. He was survived by four sons, one daughter, and his wife. One of his sons,

Truby King Sir Frederic Truby King (1 April 1858 – 10 February 1938), generally known as Truby King, was a New Zealand health reformer and Director of Child Welfare. He is best known as the founder of the Plunket Society. Early life King was born in N ...

, was at the time of his death the Medical Superintendent of the

Seacliff Lunatic Asylum Seacliff Lunatic Asylum (often Seacliff Asylum, later Seacliff Mental Hospital) was a psychiatric hospital in Seacliff, New Zealand. When built in the late 19th century, it was the largest building in the country, noted for its scale and extrava ...

. Truby's older brother

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

became a successful businessman in New Plymouth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Thomas 1821 births 1893 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Taranaki Provincial Council English emigrants to New Zealand Burials at Te Henui Cemetery Unsuccessful candidates in the 1860–1861 New Zealand general election New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People educated at the City of London School Alumni of the University of Oxford 19th-century New Zealand politicians