William Douglas Hall Baillie (22 February 1827 – 24 February 1922) was a New Zealand politician. He was known as W. D. H. Baillie and often referred to as Captain Baillie owing to his military background.

Early life

Baillie was born in 1827 in

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, New Brunswick, Canada. His parents were Thomas Baillie from Scotland and his first wife, Elizabeth (née Monckton-Hall). His parents had married in 1824 in Limerick, Ireland, and later that year, Thomas Baillie had joined the Colonial Office, and had quickly been appointed commissioner of

Crown land Crown land (sometimes spelled crownland), also known as royal domain, is a territorial area belonging to the monarch, who personifies the Crown. It is the equivalent of an entailed estate and passes with the monarchy, being inseparable from it. ...

s and

Surveyor General of New Brunswick Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Two-dimensional space#In geometry, two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of ...

. Baillie Jr. received his education at

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers of the Royal Corps of Sig ...

. He received a commission to the 24th (2nd Warwickshire) Regiment of Foot and spent six years in India, where he saw action in the Second Anglo-Sikh War, with battles at the Chenab River, at Sadoolapore,

Chillianwala Chillianwala is a village and union council of Mandi Bahauddin District in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located at 32°39'0N 73°36'0E at an altitude of 218 metres (718 feet) and lies to the north-east of the district capital Mandi ...

, and Gujrat. He returned to England in 1853 and was promoted to the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

. Baillie married Hannah Maria Ann Greensill on 11 July 1854 at West Thurrock in Essex. She was the daughter of John Greensill, and a cousin of Frederick Roberts, the latter of whom would make a career with the British army. The Baillies were to have three sons and one daughter.

Life in New Zealand

Baillie resigned from the army in 1857 and the family came to New Zealand on the ''Oriental''. He initially had a sheep run of in the Wairau Valley but sold the land at settled at Para near Picton. Baillie was first elected to the Marlborough Provincial Council in 1860, when he represented the Wairau electorate. He was the second Superintendent of Marlborough Province (28 August 1861 – 18 February 1863) and the longest-serving member of the New Zealand Legislative Council; 61 years, from 8 March 1861 to his death on 24 February 1922. He was the second Chairman of Committees of the Legislative Council. From 1890, Baillie's vision deteriorated and later on, he was totally blind. His wife would bring him into the Legislative Council chamber and put him into his seat. He was last elected as Chairman of Committees in 1901 when he consented to stand in a ballot; the intention was to keep out the government nominee,

William Cowper Smith William Cowper Smith (1843 – 5 March 1911) was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. Biography William Cowper Smith was born in London on 28 December 1843, went to Queen Elizabeth's School, Barnet, arrived on the Egmont at Ly ...

. Once Smith was eliminated from the ballot, Baillie wanted to withdraw, but the Speaker would not allow him to speak over a misunderstanding. When the other remaining candidate,

John Rigg The Hon. John Rigg MLC CMG (1 November 1858 – 20 October 1943) was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party. Biography Rigg was born in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia in 1858 and was a typographer and union secretary. His family came to ...

, withdrew, Baillie was declared elected. Hannah Baillie died on 12 November 1919 in Wellington. Captain Baillie died aged 95 at his daughter's residence in Maoribank, Upper Hutt, New Zealand on 24 February 1922. His funeral was held at what is now known as Old St. Paul's in Wellington. The Baillies are buried at Karori Cemetery. Two of his sons had died before him.

Notes

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Baillie, W. D. H. 1827 births 1922 deaths Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council People from Picton, New Zealand Members of the Marlborough Provincial Council Superintendents of New Zealand provincial councils Graduates of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich British military personnel of the Second Anglo-Sikh War Burials at Karori Cemetery