James Walker Bain (1841 – 29 September 1899) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. He was a significant businessman in

Invercargill Invercargill ( , ) is the southernmost and westernmost list of cities in New Zealand, city in New Zealand, and one of the Southernmost settlements, southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland Region, Southlan ...

and Southland. Bain was born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, Scotland, in 1841. His parents were the spirit merchant John Bain and his wife, Elizabeth Middlemass. He received his education at the Free Church Normal School and then at a private academy. He started with the printing company Oliver and Boyd and learned the trade of a compositor. He arrived in

Port Chalmers Port Chalmers () is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The or ...

in New Zealand,

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

's harbour, on 23 September 1858 on the ''Jura'' from

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. His parents, five sisters and one brother arrived in Otago on the ''Gloucester'' three months later; one of his sisters was Wilhelmina Sherriff Bain. He initially worked for 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 introduct ...

'' before going to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

for two years. He moved to Invercargill at the beginning of 1861. Together with George Smallfield, he founded Invercargill's first newspaper, the ''Southland News and Foveaux Straits Herald'', and its first edition was published on 14 February 1861. The paper later became the ''Southland Daily News'' and existed until 1967, when it was bought by the rival ''

The Southland Times ''The Southland Times'' is the regional daily paper for Southland, including Invercargill, and neighbouring parts of Otago, in New Zealand. It is now owned by media business Stuff Ltd, formerly the New Zealand division of Fairfax Media. His ...

''. Bain founded the Mataura Paper Mill in 1875. He was a significant businessman in Invercargill, was president of the Southland Building Society for the first 30 years of its existence. He was a member of the Southland Education Board for many years, and was at times its chairman. He represented the

electorate in Parliament from to 1881, when he retired. He was

Mayor of Invercargill The mayor of Invercargill is the head of the municipal government of Invercargill, New Zealand, and leads the Invercargill City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First-past-the-post voting, First Past the Post electoral system every ...

in 1891–1892. Bain died unexpectedly on the morning of 29 September 1899 after falling ill on 26 September. He was buried at St. John's Cemetery in Invercargill.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bain, James Walker 1841 births 1899 deaths New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Mayors of Invercargill Invercargill City Councillors Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Unsuccessful candidates in the 1890 New Zealand general election Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians Scottish emigrants to New Zealand Burials at St John's Cemetery, Invercargill