William Begg (31 May 1870 – 7 January 1950) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He served as

mayor of Dunedin The Mayor of Dunedin is the head of the local government, the city council of Dunedin, New Zealand. The Mayor's role is "to provide leadership to the other elected members of the territorial authority, be a leader in the community and perform c ...

from 1919 to 1921.

Biography

Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland, on 31 May 1870, Begg was the son of Elizabeth Johnston Begg and John Begg. In 1879, the family migrated to New Zealand in 1879, settling 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 ...

. Begg studied at

King Edward Technical College King Edward Technical College is a former school and technical college in Dunedin, New Zealand. The college was established in 1889 as the Dunedin Technical School when the Caledonian Society instigated night education classes. Through the 19 ...

and later at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

, and trained in his father's sheepskin, mat and rug manufacturing firm, John Begg and Company. As a young man, Begg played

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

for the North East Valley and Union clubs, was captain and president of the Dunedin Cycling Club, and was a lieutenant in the North Dunedin Rifles. He later took up

lawn bowls Bowls, also known as lawn bowls or lawn bowling, is a sport in which the objective is to roll biased balls so that they stop close to a smaller ball called a "jack" or "kitty". It is played on a bowling green, which may be flat (for "flat-gre ...

, and was a founding member and president of the North East Valley Bowling Club. In 1902, Begg travelled to Britain and, after travelling for a time, took employment with a rug and mat manufacturing company near London. However, in November 1903, his father was killed in a boating accident at Purakaunui, and Begg was obliged to return to Dunedin to take over the running of the family company. Begg entered public life in 1909, when he was elected as a member of the

North East Valley North East Valley (sometimes spelt Northeast Valley, and often abbreviated to NEV) is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. Geography North East Valley sits in the valley of the Lindsay Creek, a tributary of the Water of Leith and on t ...

Borough Council. The following year, after the amalgamation of the borough into the neighbouring Dunedin City, he became a city councillor, and remained on the council until being defeated at the 1938 local-body elections. Begg served a two-year term as mayor of Dunedin from 1919 to 1921, during which time he hosted the visit to the city of the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in 1920. Subsequently, Begg chaired the council's water committee for many years, and was closely associated with the development of the Deep Creek water supply scheme. During his tenure as mayor, Begg was unmarried, and his mother acted as mayoress. However, on 14 November 1923, Begg married Jessie Isabel Given in Dunedin. Begg served as a member of the

Otago Harbour Board Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth. It ...

from 1929 until 1947, including three years at chairman. He also served on the Dunedin Fire Board, the Dunedin Drainage and Sewerage Board, and the Otago Hospital Board, and was a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. Begg died in Dunedin on 7 January 1950, 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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Begg, William 1870 births 1950 deaths Politicians from Edinburgh Scottish emigrants to New Zealand University of Otago alumni New Zealand businesspeople Mayors of Dunedin New Zealand justices of the peace Burials at Dunedin Northern Cemetery