Cecil Fitzroy
{{Short description|New Zealand politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2014}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2013}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific-prefix =
| name = Cecil Fitzroy
| honorific-suffix =
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| constituency_MP = {{NZ electorate link|Selwyn}}
| parliament = New Zealand
| term_start = 30 December 1875
| term_end = 15 August 1879
| predecessor = William Reeves
| successor = John Hall
|order2 =
|office2 = Mayor of Hastings
|term_start2 = 1894
|term_end2 = 1899
|predecessor2 =
|successor2 =
|birth_date = 10 January 1844
|birth_place = Norfolk, England
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1917|11|13|1844|1|10|df=yes}}
|death_place = Havelock North, New Zealand
|spouse = {{marriage |Susannah Fitzroy |21 February 1878}}
|relations = Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton (great-grandfather)
Robert FitzRoy (distant uncle)
William Beetham (father-in-law)
|religion =
|profession =
}}
Cecil Augustus Fitzroy (10 January 1844 – 13 November 1917) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from the Canterbury region of New Zealand, and later Mayor of Hastings.
Early life
Fitzroy was born in Norfolk, England, in 1844.{{cite book |title=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Taranaki, Hawke's Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts |year=1908 |url=http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-Cyc06Cycl-t1-body1-d2-d27-d4.html#name-417764-mention |publisher=The Cyclopedia of New Zealand |author=Cyclopedia Company Limited |access-date= 2 July 2015 |location=Christchurch |chapter=Ex Councillors}} His father was the Reverend Frederick Thomas William Coke Fitzroy (1808–1862) and his mother was Emilia Le-Strange Styleman. His grandfather was Lt.-Gen. William FitzRoy (1773–1837), his great-grandfather was Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton (1737–1797) and his 5th-great-grandfather was Charles II of England (1630-1685).{{cite journal |title=Obituary — Lt.-Gen. FitzRoy. — Gen. Sir H. T. Montresor |journal=The Gentleman's Magazine |date=1837 |volume=8 |page=313 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=11RIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA313 |access-date=11 July 2015}} He was a distant nephew of Robert FitzRoy, the 2nd Governor of New Zealand, whose grandfather Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton was the elder brother of the 1st Baron Southampton.{{DNZB|Wards|Ian |1f12|FitzRoy, Robert|27 June 2015}} He was educated at Eton and Cambridge.{{sfn|Scholefield|1940|p=261}}
Canterbury
{{NZ parlbox header|nolist=true|align=left}}
{{NZ parlbox
|start = 1875
|end = 1879
|term = 6th
|electorate = {{NZ electorate link|Selwyn}}
|party = Independent politician
}}
{{NZ parlbox footer}}
He emigrated to Australia in 1867 and came to New Zealand soon after, where he was initially a cadet at Mesopotamia Station (previously owned by Samuel Butler){{sfn|Scholefield|1940|p=261}} and then settled in Heslerton, Canterbury;{{cite news | title=Personal | url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=MS19171116.2.19 |access-date=10 July 2015 | work=Manawatu Standard | volume=XLII | issue=1014 | date=16 November 1917 | page=5}} the main farm is now known as Northbank homestead, located north of the Rakaia River.{{cite web |last1=Gilbert |first1=Roger |title=Northbank, Historic homestead |url=http://keteselwyn.peoplesnetworknz.info/places_of_interest/topics/show/614-northbank-historic-homestead |publisher=Selwyn Kete |access-date=10 July 2015}} In total he spent 12 years in Canterbury.{{sfn|Scholefield|1940|p=261}}
The dominant topic for the 1875 election was the abolition of the Provinces. William Reeves, the incumbent, favoured the retention of the provincial system of government, whilst Fitzroy was an abolitionist. Fitzroy narrowly won the election in the Selwyn electorate by 14 votes.{{cite news |title=Mr. C. A. Fitzroy at Doyleston |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18751223.2.12.2 |access-date=11 July 2015|work=The Press |volume=XXIV|issue=3218|date=23 December 1875|page=2}}{{cite news |title=Selwyn Poll |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=CHP18751231.2.11.1 |access-date=11 July 2015|work=The Press |volume=XXIV |issue=3224 |date=31 December 1875 |page=2}} He represented the Selwyn electorate for one parliamentary term until 1879, when he retired because he had moved to Hastings.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=197}}
Hawke's Bay
He married Susannah Beetham, the daughter of the portrait painter William Beetham, on 21 February 1878 at St James Church in Lower Hutt; his wife had grown up in Lower Hutt.{{cite news |title=Marriages |url=http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=HBH18780223.2.6 |access-date=11 July 2015 |work=Hawke's Bay Herald | volume=XXI |issue=5016 |date=23 February 1878 |page=2}} He thus became brother-in-law with George Beetham, who represented the {{NZ electorate link|Wairarapa}} electorate at the same time that he represented Selwyn.{{sfn|Wilson|1985|p=183}} He moved to Hastings in Hawke's Bay, where he was involved in local politics before becoming mayor from 1894 to 1899. During his mayoralty, a system of surface drainage was undertaken. He was only opposed once for the mayoralty. He was also on the Hawkes Bay Education Board and the local A & P Association. He was secretary of the Hawkes Bay Club and served for 20 years on the Hawkes Bay Acclimatisation society. He had a seat on the Hospital Board.{{sfn|Scholefield|1940|pp=261f}}
In the {{NZ election link|1896}} and {{NZ election link|1899}}s, he contested the {{NZ electorate link|Waiapu}} electorate and came second after the incumbent, James Carroll.{{cite news |title=Wairau |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=AS18961223.2.28.13 |access-date=13 January 2014 |work=Auckland Star |date=23 December 1896 |volume=XXVII |issue=305 |page=6}}{{cite web |url= https://atojs.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/atojs?a=d&cl=search&d=AJHR1900-I.2.3.2.54 |title=The General Election, 1899 |date=19 June 1900 |publisher=Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives |page=1 |access-date=12 February 2014 |location=Wellington}}{{cite news |title=Notice of Nominations |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=PBH18991130.2.9.3 |access-date=7 March 2014 |work=Poverty Bay Herald |date=30 November 1899 |volume=XXVI |issue=8683 |page=3}} He later moved to Havelock North, where he died.{{cite book |editor-last=Ammundsen |editor-first=R. |title= From Swamp to City: A History of Hastings, New Zealand |year=1961 |publisher=Heretaunga Intermediate School |location=Hastings |page=104}}{{cite news |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=EP19171115.2.71 |title= Personal Matters | work=The Evening Post |date=15 November 1917}}{{cite news |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=TDN19171116.2.22 |title=Personal | work=Taranaki Daily News | date=16 November 1917 | page=4}} He was survived by his wife. She died in 1940 and is buried at Havelock North Cemetery.{{cite web |title=Details for Fitzroy, Susanna |url=http://cemeterybase.hdc.govt.nz/Details.aspx?id=HN1063 |publisher=Hastings District|access-date=11 July 2015}}
Notes
{{Reflist}}
References
- {{cite book | editor-last = Scholefield | editor-first = Guy | editor-link = Guy Scholefield | title = A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : A–L | volume = I | year = 1940 | publisher = Department of Internal Affairs | location = Wellington | url = https://www.nzhistory.net.nz/files/documents/dnzb-1940/scholefield-dnzb-v1.pdf |access-date= 12 July 2015}}
- {{cite book |last= Wilson |first= James Oakley |title= New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 |edition= 4th |orig-date= First ed. published 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher=V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |oclc=154283103}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par | nz}}
{{s-bef | before = William Reeves }}
{{s-ttl | title = Member of Parliament for Selwyn| years=1875–1879}}
{{s-aft | after = John Hall}}
{{end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzroy, Cecil}}
Category:People educated at Eton College
Category:Alumni of the University of Cambridge
Category:Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1896 New Zealand general election
Category:Unsuccessful candidates in the 1899 New Zealand general election
Category:Mayors of Hastings, New Zealand