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The Christchurch City mayoral election, 1876 was the first election for the Mayor of Christchurch held by public vote. The election, held on 20 December, was won by James Gapes, who beat fellow city councillor Charles Thomas Ick.
The Mayor of Christchurch is the head of the municipal government of Christchurch, New Zealand, and presides over the Christchurch City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor, Lianne Dalziel, was first elected in the October 2013 mayoral election and was re-elected in October 2016. The current deputy mayor is Andrew Turner.
James Gapes was a local politician in Christchurch, New Zealand. He was Mayor of Christchurch on two occasions, and the father of a later mayor, Thomas Gapes. He was the first mayor who was elected by the voting public; previously city councillors chose one from their rank as mayor.
Charles Thomas Ick was Mayor of Christchurch from December 1878 to December 1880. Born in Shropshire, he learned the trade of a mercer and draper. The Icks had five children when they emigrated to Otago in 1858. He worked in his learned trade in Dunedin for five years before becoming a farmer in Waikouaiti for seven years. In 1870, he came to Christchurch and set himself up as an auctioneer and later opened a drapery business.
Initially, councillors elected one of their own as mayor towards the end of the year, and the role was usually awarded to the most senior councillor. The system changed with the introduction of The Municipal Corporations Acts Amendment Act, 1875, as that legislation stipulated that mayors had to be elected at large (i.e. by eligible voters). [1] In December 1875, when the new act first applied, the incumbent mayor, Fred Hobbs, was the only candidate nominated. The returning officer, Edward Bishop, thus declared Hobbs elected unopposed on 17 December 1875. [2] After having served two terms, it became known at the beginning of November 1876 that Hobbs would not seek election for a third term. This was regretted by one of the local newspapers, The Star , as they regarded him as having "discharged his duties with a thoroughness and zeal which will not be readily equalled by his successor." [3] In the same editorial, the two eventual candidates were named. [3] From December 1876 onwards, George Leslie Lee acted as returning officer for mayoral elections for many years. [4]
Frederick (Fred) Hobbs JP was Mayor of Christchurch, New Zealand 1874–1877 for two terms; he was the first mayor who served more than one term. He is credited with having made significant improvements to the drainage system, and thus improving health in the wider Christchurch area. Upon his lobbying, The Christchurch District Drainage Act 1875 was passed, and Hobbs became the first chairman of the Christchurch Drainage Board. The family were tailors and the location of their business premises in the north-east quadrant of Cathedral Square gave the area the name of Hobbs' corner. Fred Hobbs commissioned a new building of permanent materials for the site, which became known as Cathedral Chambers and which stood there from the mid-1880s to the 1970s. The locality changed name to Broadway corner, based on the popular café that occupied the first floor; this name is no longer in use in Christchurch.
Edward Brenchley Bishop was the fourth chairman of the Christchurch Town Council, and seven years later the sixth Mayor of Christchurch in 1872–1873. Born in Maidstone, Kent to a wealthy family, his family lived in Belgium during his childhood. He took his father's profession as a distiller and worked in London for 21 years. His sister Susannah emigrated to New Zealand in 1849 and in the following year, many Bishop siblings followed her on the Charlotte Jane, one of the First Four Ships of organised settlement of Canterbury. With his brother Frederick, he had a large farm just south of Christchurch, and the suburb of Somerfield continues to use their farm's name. The brothers were spirit merchants in the city.
The Star is a newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was published daily from 1868 to 1991. It became the Christchurch Star-Sun in June 1935 after merging with a rival newspaper, The Sun, and at the time it ceased daily publication in 1991 it was known as The Christchurch Star. It later became a free newspaper, published twice a week until 2016, then once a week since 2016.
James Gapes was from Essex in England. He came to Christchurch with his wife, children, and a relative in 1859. They travelled as assisted immigrants, i.e. they were part of a supported immigration scheme and thus of humble origin. He started a glass, paint and paperhanging business in Victoria Street and was a member of many organisations. He was also known as a flutist, giving concerts together with Sir John Cracroft Wilson. [5] [6] Gapes was first voted onto Christchurch City Council as a city councillor in a February 1873 by-election. [7] [8]
Essex is a county in the south-east of England, north-east of London. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and London to the south-west. The county town is Chelmsford, the only city in the county. For government statistical purposes Essex is placed in the East of England region.
Victoria Street is a road in the central city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It runs from the intersection of Papanui Road and Bealey Avenue in the north-west, and terminates in the south-east at the corner of Kilmore and Durham Streets. One of the two diagonal roads that break the original grid plan, it was very important in the development of Christchurch.
Sir John Cracroft Wilson, also known as Nabob Wilson, was a British-educated civil servant in India, farmer and politician in New Zealand.
Charles Thomas Ick was an auctioneer by trade. He came from Otago to Christchurch in 1870. [9] He was first elected as a city councillor in October 1872. [10]
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately 32,000 square kilometres (12,000 sq mi), making it the country's third largest local government region. Its population was 229,200 in June 2018.
Eligible electors in Christchurch had their first opportunity to vote for a mayor on 20 December 1876. [11] [12] Gapes represented working class interests, whereas Ick represented the wealthier part of the population. [13]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | James Gapes | 680 | 56.90 | ||
Independent | Charles Thomas Ick | 515 | 43.10 | ||
Majority | 165 | 13.81 | |||
Turnout | 1,195 | ||||
Gapes won the election, [14] and was sworn in as mayor at the next Christchurch City Council meeting on 2 January 1877. [15] Gapes was defeated at the next mayoral election in December 1877 by Henry Thomson, [16] but won another election as mayor in November 1880. [17] Ick became mayor in November 1878 when he beat Thomson. [18]
Henry Thomson JP was a 19th-century Mayor of Christchurch and Member of Parliament for the Christchurch North electorate in Canterbury, New Zealand.
Sir William Jukes Steward was a New Zealand politician and the first Liberal Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He represented South Canterbury electorates in Parliament for a total of 34 years, before being appointed to the Legislative Council. He served briefly on the Otago Provincial Council and was Mayor of Oamaru for three years.
Charles Partridge Hulbert was Mayor of Christchurch in from December 1883 to December 1885.
John Joseph Dougall was Mayor of Christchurch in 1911–1912. He was a solicitor by profession. In his later life, the Navy League was his main interest.
William Barbour Wilson, also known as Cabbage Wilson, was the first Mayor of Christchurch in New Zealand in 1868. A nurseryman by profession, he had large landholdings in Christchurch. His reputation was dented by a fraud conviction, and when he was subsequently elected onto the city council once more, five councillors resigned in protest.
Henry Sawtell was Mayor of Christchurch 1871–1872.
John George Ruddenklau JP was Mayor of Christchurch from December 1881 to December 1883. A baker from Germany, he was later the proprietor of the City Hotel. He was very active with a number of organisations, founded the German Benefit Association, and was the driving force behind the establishment of the German Church.
Aaron Ayers arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand from England as a newly married man in his mid 20s. He was a hairdresser and tobacconist for two decades before entering the auctioneering business. He was elected Mayor of Christchurch in 1885 unopposed, and was re-elected a year later in the most keenly contested mayoral election thus far, narrowly beating Charles Louisson. He retired after his second term as mayor. In 1887 he contested a 1887 by-election for Heathcote and the 1887 election for Christchurch South, but came second on both occasions. After his mayoralty, he lived mostly a private life and was known as an avid gardener.
Charles Melville Louisson, known as Charles Louisson or Chas Louisson, was a New Zealand politician. Born in London, and relocated to Australia as a teenager, he worked in farming and on the gold fields. He moved to Christchurch to join his brother Alfred in business, which they conducted in transport, as merchants and farmers in various places in the South Island. Back in Christchurch, they were joined by their brother Cecil and bought a brewery, which under their stewardship became very successful.
Thomas Gapes was Mayor of Christchurch 1893/94. His father James Gapes was twice mayor in the 1870s/80s. The family was of humble origin, had come out to New Zealand from London as assisted immigrants and were running a painting and paper-hanging business, but had come to status in their new country.
Walter Henry Cooper was Mayor of Christchurch in 1895, and again in 1897. Born in Somerset, he came to New Zealand early in his life via Australia. A butcher by trade, he later worked in trade and export. He was for many years a member of Christchurch City Council. After his wife died, he lived with his daughter in Victoria, Australia.
Harry Joseph Beswick was Mayor of Christchurch in 1896.
The Mayor of Nelson is the head of the municipal government of Nelson, New Zealand, and presides over the Nelson City Council. The mayor is directly elected using a First Past the Post electoral system. The current mayor is Rachel Reese, who was elected in October 2013.
The Christchurch mayoral election held on 27 November 1878 was contested by the incumbent mayor, Henry Thomson, and senior Christchurch City Councillor Charles Thomas Ick. The election was won by Ick with a large margin.
The Christchurch mayoral election held on 30 November 1881 was contested by German-born baker, hotel proprietor and businessman George Ruddenklau, and businessman Charles Taylor. The election was won by Ruddenklau with a small margin.