James Henry Bradney (2 April 1853 – 26 May 1936) was a Reform Party member of parliament and shipping proprietor in New Zealand.

Early life

James Henry Bradney was born on 2 April 1853 at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

, the son of Joseph Bradney, coachsmith & ironmonger, and Emily née Morris. Joseph and Emily, with James Henry and three other children, emigrated on the ''Mermaid'' from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

on 11 July 1859, arriving at

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 ...

, New Zealand on 19 October. Bradney's early schooling was at

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...

. At age 11 he went to work on a farm, and remained there three years. He later worked in a bakery, and as a butcher and grocer.

Maritime activities

Bradney ran away to sea and joined the small steamer '' Go Ahead'' as a deck hand. He later sailed round the coast for some time in the three-masted schooner ''Policeman'', then went bushfelling at

Coromandel Coromandel may refer to: Places India *Coromandel Coast, India **Presidency of Coromandel and Bengal Settlements ** Dutch Coromandel *Coromandel, KGF, Karnataka, India New Zealand *Coromandel, New Zealand, a town on the Coromandel Peninsula *Coro ...

, and gold mining at

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 ...

James Henry Bradney cartoon Observer 20 Feb 1909

Still later he rowed ferry boats plying between Auckland and Northcote, on Auckland's North Shore. He served on the ''Lily'', the first steamer to enter the Kaipara service, and then went abroad on deep-sea vessels.''Auckland Star'' 26 May 1936 While in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

, near

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

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, Bradney met his future wife, Mary Jane Haxton, whom he married in Auckland in 1878 when he was a pilot on the Kaipara bar. He then worked for the

Auckland Harbour Board The Auckland Harbour Board was a public body that operated the ports of both Auckland and Onehunga from 1871 to 1988 and was dissolved in 1989. Its successor organisation is Ports of Auckland, which assumed the possessions and responsibilities of ...

, and finally became a waterman, one of the hardy band of men whose boats formed the means of communication between shore and ship. In 1884 Captain Bradney joined forces with his brother-in-law Ernest Charles Binns (who had emigrated to New Zealand on the same ship, the ''Mermaid'') forming the firm of Bradney & Binns with the launch ''Despatch''. The ''Vivid'' was purchased in 1892, and on 26 March 1904 Captain Bradney's daughter Blanche launched the ''Pitoitoi I''. The replacement ''Pitoitoi II'' was brought into service in 1908.''The New Zealand Herald'' 27 May 1936 The firm was succeeded by J H Bradney & Sons in 1934, and at the time of Captain Bradney's death in 1936 was operating the ''Onewa'', ''Kaipatiki'', ''Matareka'', and ''Presto'', the latter being used by the port health officer.

Political life

Bradney was elected to the

Auckland West The former New Zealand parliamentary electorate on the western inner city of Auckland, was known as City of Auckland West from 1861 to 1890, and then Auckland West from 1905 to 1946. Population centres From 1861 to 1884 the electorate compris ...

electorate in the 1911 general election, but was defeated in

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

. He was a member of the

from 1907 to 1915, and 1922 to 1923.

Later life

Captain Bradney was at one time on the Mt Albert Borough Council. He was a life member of the

Auckland Choral Society Auckland Choral (formally the Auckland Choral Society) is a choir based in Auckland, New Zealand. It is New Zealand's oldest surviving arts organisation and Auckland's only symphonic-scale choir. Founded in 1855, Auckland Choral celebrated its 15 ...

, with which he was associated for 50 years, and a member of the Amateur Opera Club & Auckland Liedertafel. He died at Epsom, Auckland on 26 May 1936, survived by his wife and six children, Henry Cooper, Horace Launcelot, Blanche Ada, Elizabeth Beatrice, Frederick Charles, and Douglas Eric, two other children having died as infants. He is buried at

Hillsborough Cemetery Hillsborough Cemetery is a large cemetery located in the Auckland isthmus suburb of Hillsborough. Location The cemetery lies on a ridge at the south of the Auckland isthmus, overlooking the Manukau Harbour. The cemetery is split in two by a l ...

, Auckland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradney, James 1853 births 1936 deaths Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs People from Wolverhampton New Zealand businesspeople Unsuccessful candidates in the 1914 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates English emigrants to New Zealand Auckland Harbour Board members Burials at Hillsborough Cemetery, Auckland