William Henry Cutten (10 April 1822 – 30 June 1883) was a New Zealand politician from the

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 ...

region.

Biography

Cutten 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 ...

in 1822. He received a good education and then studied law, which earned him a job at the department of the commissioner of bankruptcy. At age 26, Cutten emigrated to New Zealand in 1848, arriving in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

with the first settlers, including William Cargill on the '' John Wickliffe''. Two years later, in 1850, he married Cargill's eldest daughter, Christina Dorothea Cargill, and the couple had 11 children. Initially in the new settlement he was an auctioneer and storekeeper, but then became an immigration agent before being appointed a lands claim commissioner and, later, chief commissioner of Crown lands. Cutten 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 ...

as representative for the

Dunedin Country Dunedin Country was a parliamentary electorate in the rural area surrounding the city of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, from 1853 to 1860. It was a two-member electorate and was represented by a total of five members of parliament. Population c ...

electorate –1855, but resigned before the end of his term, as he found it unsustainable to spend that much time at parliament in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

away from his business. He was one of four candidates in the 1870 Caversham by-election, one of two candidates in the 1872 Caversham by-election; and came second both times. He was one of five candidates in the 1871 Roslyn by-election and came second. He served in the 6th Parliament as a representative for Taieri from an until the end of the parliamentary term in 1879, when he retired. In the , he contested the and, of the four candidates, he came a close second against James Seaton. He served on 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 ...

representing the Town of Dunedin electorate. He was a member of the first, second, third and sixth council, from 1853 to 1863, and from 1871 to 1873. He was on the Council's Executive for four periods between 1854 and 1872. He was the first editor of the ''

Otago Witness The ''Otago Witness'' was a prominent illustrated weekly newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Published weekly it existed from 1851 to 1932. The introduction ...

'' newspaper in 1851, and in 1861 he founded the ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (ODT) is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and a c ...

'' with

Julius Vogel Sir Julius Vogel (24 February 1835 – 12 March 1899) was the eighth premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. He was the first Jewish prime min ...

. He died at his home in the Dunedin suburb of

Anderson Bay Anderson Bay is a bay of Atlin Lake in northwestern British Columbia, Canada, located southwest of Pike Bay. The landscape surrounding Anderson Bay lies in the Atlin Volcanic Field of the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province. During the Miocen ...

in 1883, and was 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 ...

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cutten, William 1822 births 1883 deaths Lawyers from London English emigrants to New Zealand Settlers of Otago Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates Members of the Otago Provincial Council 19th-century New Zealand journalists Male journalists Newspaper editors Unsuccessful candidates in the 1881 New Zealand general election Burials at Dunedin Northern Cemetery 19th-century male writers 19th-century New Zealand politicians Unsuccessful candidates in the 1871 New Zealand general election 19th-century English lawyers