John Salmon (1808 – 26 March 1873) was an inaugural member of the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...

and a merchant.

Early life

Salmon was born in 1808 in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, Scotland. Like his brother David, he was engaged in shipping trade; John Salmon went to sea from age 14. His brother owned the Moturoa Island near

Kerikeri Kerikeri () is the largest town in Northland, New Zealand. It is a tourist destination north of Auckland and north of the northern region's largest city, Whangarei. It is sometimes called the Cradle of the Nation, as it was the site of th ...

in New Zealand but drowned at Kororareka (now known as Russell) in 1839. John Salmon came to New Zealand in late 1841 and first arrived in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, with the purpose of settling his brother's estate.

Life in New Zealand

Salmon traded on the east coast of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

, and between New Zealand and Australia. After some time, he based himself 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 ...

, which at the time was the country's capital. Some obituaries incorrectly state he built the

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

Karangahape Road Karangahape Road (commonly known as K' Road) is one of the main streets in the central business district (CBD) of Auckland, New Zealand. The massive expansion of motorways through the nearby inner city area – and subsequent flight of resident ...

above

central Auckland The Auckland isthmus, also known as the Tāmaki isthmus, is a narrow stretch of land on the North Island of New Zealand in the Auckland Region, and the location of the central suburbs of the city of Auckland, including the CBD. The isthmus ...

. In May 1852, an act allowed for two-thirds of the membership of provincial legislative councils to be elected. Salmon was one of the three successful candidates for the Auckland City electorate (the other two were

Frederick Whitaker Sir Frederick Whitaker (23 April 1812 – 4 December 1891) was an English-born New Zealand politician who served twice as the premier of New Zealand and six times as Attorney-General. Early life Whitaker was born at the Deanery Manor House, ...

and William Brown). Before this provincial legislative council could first meet, news was received in December 1852 that the

New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 (15 & 16 Vict. c. 72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the Colony of New Zealand. It was the second such Act, the previous 1846 Act not having been fully i ...

had been passed by the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...

; this established different governance arrangements. No meeting of the elected members was ever called. Salmon was a member of the Legislative Council that was established through the Constitution Act. There were 16 initial members in the upper house who first met in May 1854 and Salmon was 1 of the 6 Aucklanders who had been appointed. His membership lasted from 26 May 1853 to 21 December 1868, when he was disqualified for absence. He stopped attending the council's sessions when parliament moved to Wellington.

Family and death

On 26 January 1853, Salmon married Alice Porter at St Thomas Tamaki in the suburb of

Kohimarama Kohimarama is a coastal residential Auckland suburb, located to the east of the city. Kohimarama is situated between Mission Bay and St Heliers and has an accessible beach with a boardwalk and green recreational spaces located amongst resident ...

. She was the only daughter of William Field Porter, a fellow coastal trader. They had two daughters. Their eldest daughter, Agnes Amy (1854–1916), married William Hall at their residence "Mossley Bank" in Ellerslie on 8 October 1872. Their younger daughter, Alice Lila (1855–1922), married Charles Shipherd on 5 June 1880 at St Peter's Church in

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...

. Salmon died at his residence "Mossley Bank" near the Harp of Erin (the junction of Great South Road and Main Highway in Ellerslie) on 26 March 1873. He was buried at

Symonds Street Cemetery Symonds Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery and park in central Auckland, New Zealand. It is in 5.8 hectares of deciduous forest on the western slope of Grafton Gully, by the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road, and is crossed by th ...

the following day. Four months later, on 13 July 1873, his eldest daughter gave birth to her first son at "Mossley Bank".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salmon, John 1808 births 1873 deaths Politicians from Auckland Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council 19th-century New Zealand politicians Burials at Symonds Street Cemetery