Thomas Alexander Peterkin (1839 – 12 June 1926) was a British born New Zealand engineer and politician who was

mayor of Lower Hutt The city of Lower Hutt, New Zealand, was first proclaimed a borough on 1 February 1891. Prior to this it had been part of Hutt County, initially as a Roads Board and from 1881 as a Town Board. Since 2019, the mayor has been Campbell Barry. Li ...

Biography

Peterkin was born in 1839 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 ...

. He found employment with the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

, later becoming a leading hand. He then emigrated to Victoria, Australia, to become manager of the Vulcan Foundry at

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. Three years later he superintended the building of a

freezing works A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

and established a foundry there as well. He then became an engineer overseeing cable work before shifting to New Zealand. In 1876 he was appointed as a railway engineer at Westport, later becoming manager of the Christchurch Tramway Company. He rejoined the railways department, working at Hillside and

Addington Addington may refer to: Places In Australia: * Addington, Victoria In Canada: * Addington, Ontario * Addington County, Ontario (now Lennox and Addington County, Ontario) * Addington Highlands, Ontario * Addington Parish, New Brunswick * Adding ...

, and was again manager at Westport for seven years. In 1897 he moved to

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 ...

where he was a locomotive engineer. In 1907 he was elected

Mayor of Lower Hutt The city of Lower Hutt, New Zealand, was first proclaimed a borough on 1 February 1891. Prior to this it had been part of Hutt County, initially as a Roads Board and from 1881 as a Town Board. Since 2019, the mayor has been Campbell Barry. Li ...

, defeating borough councillors Albert Burton Clark and

Frederick de Jersey Clere Frederick de Jersey Clere (7 January 1856 – 13 August 1952) was an architect in Wellington, New Zealand. Biography He was born in Walsden, near Todmorden, Lancashire and trained as an architect before emigrating to New Zealand with his family ...

for the position. He presided over a period of large population growth and urbanisation. The council spent on upgrading sewage and water infrastructure and constructing public facilities causing the council to amass much debt. By the time Peterkin retired as mayor the council had almost no money left for any further expenditure. After he left office an independent audit of the council's finances and its ₤7,000 debt was held but found no corruption or willful mismanagement by Peterkin and the council members, though City Engineer Henry Rix-Trott would resign over the matter in 1910. He died at his home in

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area. It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...

in 1926.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterkin, Thomas 1839 births 1926 deaths British emigrants Immigrants to Australia Immigrants to New Zealand New Zealand engineers Mayors of Lower Hutt