Vincent Pyke, born Vincent Pike, (4 February 1827 – 5 June 1894) was a 19th-century politician in

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, New Zealand and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, Australia.

Early life

Pyke was born in

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based t ...

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 England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

as Vincent Pike. He married Frances Renwick on 7 September 1846 at

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, England; they had four sons and one daughter. He changed the spelling of his surname some time after their wedding.

Australia

Pyke and family went to Australia in 1851, first to

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

and then the gold diggings in Victoria where he spent two years as a miner around Forest Creek, Castlemaine and Fryer's Creek

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, makin ...

and opened a store at Forest Creek. Pyke was elected to represent Castlemaine in the

Victorian Legislative Council The Victorian Legislative Council (VLC) is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria, Australia, the lower house being the Legislative Assembly. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The Legislative Co ...

from November 1855 to March 1856 and Castlemaine Boroughs in the

Victorian Legislative Assembly The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne. The presiding ...

from November 1856 to February 1857 and again from October 1859 and June 1862. In 1857, Pyke was appointed emigration agent in England in conjunction with the Right Hon.

Hugh Childers Hugh Culling Eardley Childers (25 June 1827 – 29 January 1896) was a British Liberal statesman of the nineteenth century. He is perhaps best known for his reform efforts at the Admiralty and the War Office. Later in his career, as Chancellor ...

New Zealand

In 1862 Pyke visited the Otago goldfields, and became Secretary or Commissioner of the goldfields for the

Otago Provincial Council The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the province again in 1870. Area an ...

. He then moved to

Dunstan Saint Dunstan (c. 909 – 19 May 988) was an English bishop. He was successively Abbot of Glastonbury, Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, Bishop of Worcester, Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restor ...

and

Clyde Clyde may refer to: People * Clyde (given name) * Clyde (surname) Places For townships see also Clyde Township Australia * Clyde, New South Wales * Clyde, Victoria * Clyde River, New South Wales Canada * Clyde, Alberta * Clyde, Ontario, a tow ...

. He was the first Chairman of Vincent County, which was named after him following an ironic suggestion by an opponent. He represented the electorates of Wakatipu –1875, then

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

–1890. He contested the in the electorate, but was beaten by

Scobie Mackenzie Mackay John Scobie Mackenzie (23 January 1845 – 15 September 1901), known as Scobie, was an independent conservative Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Biography Mackenzie was born in Tain in Scotland in 1845. He moved from Victoria ...

. He then represented Tuapeka from 1893 to 1894 when he died. He was noted for his loyalty to Clyde and his Central Otago constituents. Pyke was also a journalist, and wrote two novels about life on the goldfields, ''Wild Will Enderby'' (1873) an
''The Adventures of George Washington Pratt''
(1874).

Death

Pyke died at

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

, Otago, and is buried in the

Dunedin Northern Cemetery The Dunedin Northern Cemetery is a major historic cemetery in the southern New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located on a sloping site close to Lovelock Avenue on a spur of Signal Hill close to the Dunedin Botanic Gardens and the suburb of O ...

References

External links

five works by Pyke
from the

New Zealand Electronic Text Centre The New Zealand Electronic Text Collection (NZETC; mi, Te Pūhikotuhi o Aotearoa) is a freely accessible online archive of New Zealand and Pacific Islands texts and heritage materials that are held by the Victoria University of Wellington Library ...

Cartoon of Vincent Pyke in New Zealand Parliament
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyke, Vincent 1827 births 1894 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates New Zealand Liberal Party MPs New Zealand public servants Local politicians in New Zealand Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Burials at Dunedin Northern Cemetery People from Shepton Mallet Unsuccessful candidates in the 1890 New Zealand general election 19th-century Australian politicians 19th-century New Zealand politicians 19th-century Australian public servants People of the Otago Gold Rush