James McGowan (1841 – 7 May 1912) was a New Zealand politician of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

Biography

McGowan was born in Maxwell's Court,

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Ireland, in 1841. He emigrated to

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 ...

in 1865 on the ship ''Liverpool''. After five years, he moved to

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, where he had a large store and a bakery.

Political career

He was Mayor of Thames in 1889, and in 1892–1893. He represented the

electorate in

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from an 1893 by-election. The by-election was caused after the resignation of

Alfred Cadman Sir Alfred Jerome Cadman (17 June 1847 – 23 March 1905) was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party. He was the Minister of Railways from 1895 to 1899 in the Liberal Government. Early life Cadman was born in Sydney, Australia, in 1847 ...

. The Liberals selected the incumbent Mayor of Thames, James McGowan as their candidate for Cadman's seat. After a large public gathering, it was decided not to run another candidate against McGowan in light of a general election being only months away, resulting in McGowan being elected unopposed. From 1896 until 1900 he was the Liberal Party's junior

whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

. He was

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

and Minister of Mines from 23 January 1900 in the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

. From 6 August 1906, he was Minister of Immigration. From 23 November 1906, he was

Minister of Industries and Commerce The Minister of Industries and Commerce in New Zealand is a former cabinet position (existing from 1894 to 1972) appointed by the Prime Minister to be in charge of matters of industrial and commercial growth and trade. In 1972 it was replaced w ...

. He held all ministerial posts until his resignation from the lower house. He resigned on 6 January 1909 so that he could be appointed to the Legislative Council on that same day, where he served until his death.

Notes

References

* * , - , - 1841 births 1912 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council New Zealand Liberal Party MLCs Mayors of Thames Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election 19th-century New Zealand politicians Justice ministers of New Zealand {{NewZealand-mayor-stub