John Graham (politician)

John Graham in 1910

John Graham (12 January 1843 – 8 February 1926) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament for Nelson in the South Island.

Early life

Graham was born in Nelson in 1843, the eldest son of one of the earliest settlers of the region.^[1]

Member of Parliament

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1893–1896	12th	Nelson		Liberal
1896–1899	13th	Nelson		Liberal
1899–1902	14th	Nelson		Liberal
1902–1905	15th	Nelson		Liberal
1905–1908	16th	Nelson		Liberal
1908–1911	17th	Nelson		Liberal

John Graham represented the Nelson electorate in the House of Representatives for 18 years from 1893 to 1911, when he retired.^[1][2]

The 1893 general election was contested by four candidates in Nelson: Graham (1289 votes), Richmond Hursthouse (1011 votes), John Kerr (910 votes) and William Lock (74 votes).^[3] The 1896 general election was contested by Graham and Jesse Piper, who received 2061 and 1718 votes, respectively. Graham was thus elected with a majority of 343 votes.^[4]

Independent Liberal

In 1894, Graham successfully opposed the Midland Railway Bill insofar as it proposed to abandon the obligations of the company to provide a railway to Nelson.^[5]

As Chairman of the Banking Enquiry Committee of 1896, John Graham frequently came into conflict with the Premier Richard Seddon, the Minister of Lands, John McKenzie, and George Hutchison^[6]

Public offices

Graham was for some years chairman of the Town Schools' Committee.^[1] He was the first chairman of the Nelson Harbour Board and held that position for twelve years.^[7] He served on the Nelson Education Board, the Board of Governors of Nelson College (1894) and Council of Victoria College in Wellington (1899–1912). He was also a member of the Nelson City Council.^[8]

Death

Graham died in Feilding on 8 February 1926, after having lived in Nelson for practically all of his life.^[1]

See also

• Nelson Railway Proposals

References

1. "Obituary". The Evening Post. CXI (34). 9 February 1926. p. 9. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
2. Wood, G. Antony (ed.) (1996), Ministers and Members in the New Zealand Parliament, Dunedin, [N.Z.]: University of Otago Press, p. 200
3. "Nelson City". Nelson Evening Mail. XXVII (281). 29 November 1893. p. 2. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
4. "The Nelson Election". Nelson Evening Mail. XXX (292). 10 December 1896. p. 2. Retrieved 21 July 2011.
5. Scholefield, Guy H. (ed.) (1940), A dictionary of New Zealand biography (2 vol.), Wellington, [N.Z.]: Dept. of Internal Affairs I:316.
6. The Cyclopedia of New Zealand: industrial, descriptive, historical, biographical facts, figures, illustrations (6 vol.), Wellington, [N.Z.]: Cyclopedia Co., 1897–1908 Vol. 5 (1906) p. 31.
7. "Harbour Board Meeting". The Evening Post. CXI (37). 12 February 1926. p. 11. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
8. The Cyclopedia of New Zealand: industrial, descriptive, historical, biographical facts, figures, illustrations (6 vol.), Wellington, [N.Z.]: Cyclopedia Co., 1897–1908 Vol. 5 (1906) p. 30.

Further reading

• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.