William Brown (circa 1809/1810 – 19 January 1898) was a 19th-century Scottish-born New Zealand politician, merchant and newspaper proprietor.

Early life

Brown was born in

Angus, Scotland Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agr ...

, in 1809 or 1810. He moved to New Zealand on 2 February 1840, arriving in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its ...

Business career

He made friends with

John Logan Campbell Sir John Logan Campbell (3 November 1817 – 22 June 1912) was a prominent Scottish-born New Zealand public figure. He was described by his contemporaries as "the father of Auckland". Early life John Logan Campbell was born in Edinburgh, Sco ...

on the voyage and they became business partners in New Zealand. They bought Motukorea, to become known as Browns Island, near

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 ...

, from

Ngāti Tamaterā Ngāti Tamaterā is a Māori '' iwi'' (tribe) of the Hauraki region of New Zealand, descended from Tamaterā, the second son of Marutūāhu. It is a major tribe within the Marutūāhu confederation and its leaders have been prominent in Hauraki ...

on 22 May 1840 and moved there on 13 August. Brown moved to Auckland in early 1841 and on 19 April 1841 he and Campbell bought a section in Shortland Crescent, where they built Acacia Cottage, the Browns' home, and a store. Acacia Cottage still exists and is now located in Cornwall Park. The firm of Brown and Campbell was very successful, working as auctioneers, shipping agents, importers, and traders with

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

Publisher of ''The Southern Cross'' and ''The Daily Southern Cross''

William Brown started ''The Southern Cross'' newspaper as a weekly paper in 1843. In 1862 it became a daily newspaper, with a change of name to ''The Daily Southern Cross''. The editorial policy was to support the land claimants, such as the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...

, and the newspaper vigorously attacked Governor

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

's administration. The

Flagstaff War The Flagstaff War, also known as Heke's War, Hōne Heke's Rebellion and the Northern War, was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The conflict is best remembered for the actions of Hō ...

adversely affected business in Auckland, such that ''The Southern Cross'', stop publishing from April 1845 to July 1847.

Member of Parliament

Brown stood for the newly-created position of

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

Auckland Province The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the six initial provinces, both ...

at the 1853 provincial elections but lost to

Robert Wynyard Robert Henry Wynyard (24 December 1802 – 6 January 1864) was a New Zealand colonial administrator, serving at various times as Lieutenant Governor of New Ulster Province, Administrator of the Government, and was the first Superintendent o ...

. He became the Member of Parliament in the 1st Parliament for the

City of Auckland Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

from a by-election held on 4 August

1854 Events January–March * January 4 – The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the ''Samarang''. * January 6 – The fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is perhaps born. * January 9 – The Teut ...

, when he replaced Thomas Bartley, who had resigned. He retired on 15 September 1855 at the end of the Parliament's first term and did not seek re-election. Robert Wynyard resigned from the role of Superintendent in January 1855, and Brown was elected the second Superintendent of Auckland in March 1855, beating

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, ...

. Not long after being elected Brown then himself resigned from the role in July 1855, and was replaced by

Family

Brown had already married Jessie Smith when they emigrated to

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

in 1839. They had two children: Owen and Laura. His daughter married the painter

Marcus Stone Marcus Stone (4 July 1840 – 24 March 1921) was an English painter. Stone was born in London, and was educated at the Royal Academy. Life Marcus Clayton Stone was the son of Frank Stone ARA. Marcus was trained by his father and began to ...

. Whilst in the mid-1850s, Brown was probably Auckland's richest man, he had to sell his London house at old age and move in with his daughter and son-in-law. He died on 19 January 1898 in London as a poor man.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, William 1809 births 1898 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Superintendents of New Zealand provincial councils New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates People from Angus, Scotland Scottish emigrants to New Zealand Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council (1841–1853)