Christchurch mayoral election, 1878

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Christchurch mayoral election, 1878
Chch COA.JPG
← 187727 November 18781879 →

  Charles Thomas Ick portrait.jpg Henry Thomson portrait.jpg
Candidate Charles Thomas Ick Henry Thomson
Party Independent Independent
Popular vote 601 343
Percentage 63.67 36.33
Mayor before election

Henry Thomson

Elected Mayor

Charles Thomas Ick

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.

Henry Thomson (New Zealand politician) New Zealand politician

Henry Thomson JP was a 19th-century Mayor of Christchurch and Member of Parliament for the Christchurch North electorate in Canterbury, New Zealand.

Christchurch City Council local government authority for Christchurch, Canterbury in New Zealand

The Christchurch City Council is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the 388,400 people of Christchurch. Since October 2013, the Mayor of Christchurch is Lianne Dalziel, who succeeded Bob Parker. The council currently consists of 16 councillors elected from sixteen wards, and is presided over by the Mayor, who is elected at large. The number of elected members and ward boundaries changed prior during the 2016 election.

Charles Thomas Ick

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.

Contents

Background

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] The 1875 was won unopposed by the incumbent, [2] and the 1876 election was the first that was put to public vote. [3] The 1878 election was the third mayoral election where eligible ratepayers voted. The incumbent, Henry Thomson, was first elected in 1877. [4]

One of the Christchurch newspapers, The Star , ran a vigorous campaign against Ick. [5] [6] [7] The source of their editor's objection was Ick's alignment with former mayor William Wilson. Wilson was evidently a capable men, but his reputation was seriously dented when he lost a fraud case on all counts. [8] [9] [10] Wilson stood for election to the city council once more earlier in 1878 and upon being elected, five city councillors resigned in protest, including George Ruddenklau, James Jameson, and Alexander William Bickerton. [11] [12] [13]

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.

William Wilson (mayor) Mayor of Christchurch in New Zealand in 1868

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.

George Ruddenklau New Zealand politician

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.

Candidates

Henry Thomson

Henry Thomson was born in Scotland in 1828. He emigrated to Australia in 1852, came to New Zealand in 1856, and settled in Christchurch in 1865. He worked as a jeweller for his father-in-law. He was also a manager for the railways. [14] Thomson was elected onto the town and later city council in 1867, 1868, and 1875, before being elected mayor in 1877. [15]

Charles Thomas Ick

Charles Thomas Ick came to Dunedin in 1858, where he was in business as a mercer and draper. [16] He farmed in Waikouaiti between 1863 and 1870, when he came to Christchurch and established himself as an auctioneer. [17] He held various public offices while living in Waikouaiti [17] and was elected onto the Christchurch city council in 1872, [18] 1874, and 1877. [15] Ick contested the 1876 mayoral election but was defeated by James Gapes. [19]

Dunedin City in Otago, New Zealand

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.

Mercery initially referred to silk, linen, and fustian textiles imported to England in the 12th century.

Draper cloth merchant

Draper was originally a term for a retailer or wholesaler of cloth that was mainly for clothing. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher.

Election

Ick was nominated by former mayors Henry Sawtell and James Gapes. Thomson was nominated by former mayors Andrew Duncan and James Jameson. [20] George Leslie Lee acted as the returning officer. Ick won the election by a large margin. [21]

Henry Sawtell

Henry Sawtell was Mayor of Christchurch 1871–1872.

James Gapes New Zealand politician

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.

Andrew Duncan (mayor) New Zealand mayor

Andrew Duncan was Mayor of Christchurch 1869–1870. From a working-class background in Scotland, he emigrated to New Zealand as a young man and became a highly respected member of the Christchurch community. He is remembered for his later work as an immigration agent in Scotland on behalf of the Canterbury Province.

Christchurch mayoral election, 1878 [21]
PartyCandidateVotes%±
Independent Charles Thomas Ick 601 63.67
Independent Henry Thomson 343 36.33 -14.36
Majority 258 27.33 +25.94
Turnout 944

A year later, Ick won the 1879 mayoral election against Aaron Ayers and Gapes. [22] Ick did not stand again in 1880, [23] and was succeeded by James Gapes. [24]

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James Jameson New Zealand mayor

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Fred Hobbs New Zealand politician

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References

  1. ↑ "Municipal Corporations Acts Amendment Act 1875". University of Auckland. 21 October 1875. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  2. ↑ "Christchurch". The Press . XXIV (3214). 18 December 1875. p. 3. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  3. ↑ "Christchurch". The Star (2724). 21 December 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  4. ↑ "The Mayoral Election". The Press . XXVIII (3855). 29 November 1877. p. 3. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  5. ↑ "The Star". The Star (3294). 28 October 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "The Star". The Star (3309). 14 November 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "The Star". The Star (3311). 16 November 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  8. ↑ Challenger, Charlie. "Wilson, William Barbour". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture and Heritage . Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  9. ↑ "Supreme Court". The Star (2598). 22 July 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  10. ↑ "Supreme Court". The Star (2625). 23 August 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  11. ↑ "Christchurch". The Press . XXX (4098). 14 September 1878. p. 4. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  12. ↑ "The Star". The Star (3257). 14 September 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  13. ↑ "City Council". The Press . XXX (4100). 17 September 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
  14. ↑ "Mr. Henry Thomson". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand (Canterbury Provincial District). Christchurch: Cyclopedia Company Limited. 1903. p. 95. Retrieved 25 April 2012.
  15. 1 2 "Councillors of the City of Christchurch". Christchurch: Christchurch City Council. Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
  16. ↑ "Notice". Otago Witness (391). 28 May 1859. p. 3. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  17. 1 2 "News of the Day". The Press . XLI (6118). 28 April 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  18. ↑ "City Council Election". The Press . XX (2951). 17 October 1872. p. 3. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "Christchurch". The Star (2724). 21 December 1876. p. 2. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
  20. ↑ "Local and General". The Star (3314). 20 November 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  21. 1 2 "The Star". The Star (3321). 28 November 1878. p. 3. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  22. ↑ "Christchurch Mayoral Election". The Star (3630). 28 November 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  23. ↑ "Mayoral Elections". The Star (3933). 25 November 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  24. ↑ "City Council". The Star (3950). 15 December 1880. p. 3. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
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