William Prudhoe (14 January 1832 – 29 April 1908) was

Mayor of Christchurch The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor, Phil ...

, New Zealand, for 1892.

Early life

Prudhoe was born

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, England. He received his education at a public school and then undertook an apprenticeship as a builder and mason. He married Anne (Annie) Adamson in 1855 and they had two boys in England; the second one (Joseph) born in

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county *Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...

. They emigrated on the ''Regina'', arriving in Lyttelton on 4 December 1859. The Prudhoes never returned to England. They had one further child in New Zealand; Mary Evangaline was born in 1867.

Professional life

Prudhoe participated in one of the New Zealand gold rushes as a digger after his arrival. Otherwise, was self-employed in Christchurch. He built many of the town's important buildings, including the first section of the Canterbury Museum (1870), the Kaiapoi Borough School (1874), Coker's Hotel in Manchester Street (1879), the synagoge in Gloucester Street (1881), and Bonnington's (or Bonnington House) in High Street (1883). For many years, he was in a partnership with William Henry Cooper.

Political career

Prudhoe was first elected onto

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Mauger, who ...

for the North-west ward in September 1882 and remained a member until his election as mayor. Prudhoe announced his intention to run for mayor and for a long time, it was expected that he was going to be returned unopposed. George Bonnington, another city councillor, received a petition to stand for election that he acceded to. Prudhoe won the election, held on 25 November 1891, by 604 votes to 544. Prudhoe was installed as mayor on 16 December 1891. He served for one term and did not stand for re-election in November 1892. He was succeeded by

Eden George Ernest Eden George (18 September 1863 – 2 May 1927), known as Eden George, was born in New South Wales and came to New Zealand as a young man. He made his career in photography and was active in Auckland and Dunedin, but mainly in Christch ...

, who was installed on 21 December 1892. Prudhoe was again elected onto Christchurch City Council in 1894 and remained a city councillor until 1901. He was a member of the North Canterbury Charitable Aid Board and was on the Hospital Board for five years.

Community involvement

While still in England, he was a member of the Odd Fellows. He was "Grand Master of the

Orange Order The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants, particularly those of Ulster Scots heritage. It also ...

for the Middle Island" (i.e.

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

). He took a deep interest in the Canterbury Bowling Club in Salisbury Street.

Death

Prudhoe died on 29 April 1908 at his home in Montreal Street in the

central city In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city i ...

. He was buried at Linwood Cemetery two days later. He was survived by his wife and their three children. His wife died on 24 November 1909. Their son Joseph died in 1930. Their eldest son, William, died in 1934. Their daughter, never having married, died in 1951.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prudhoe, William 1832 births 1908 deaths Mayors of Christchurch New Zealand builders Burials at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch Grand Masters of the Orange Order People from Sunderland