Henry Chamberlin
{{short description|New Zealand politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=January 2017}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|honorific-prefix = The Honourable
|name = Henry Chamberlin
|image =
|alt =
|caption =
| blank1 = Other name
| data1 = Henry Chamberlain
|office7 = Member of the New Zealand Legislative Council
|term_start7 = 8 February 1869
|term_end7 = 12 April 1888
|birth_date = {{birth date|1825|07|31|df=y}}
|birth_place = Narborough, Norfolk, England
|death_date = {{death date and age|1888|04|12|1825|07|31|df=y}}
|death_place = Drury, Auckland, New Zealand
|restingplace = St Thomas' Cemetery, Kohimarama
|restingplacecoordinates =
|birthname =
|nationality =
|party =
|spouse = {{marriage|Elizabeth Catherine Heard|1859|1888}}
|relations =
|children = one daughter
|alma_mater =
|occupation = land holder
politician
|profession =
}}
Henry Chamberlin (31 July 1825 – 12 April 1888), in many sources referred to as Chamberlain, was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council. He came to New Zealand in his late 20s with a younger brother and a lot of capital, which he invested in land south and west of Auckland. After a failed attempt to win election to the House of Representatives in 1867, he was called to the Legislative Council in early 1869. He remained a member until his accidental drowning in 1888.
Early life and family
File:Gatehouse by entrance to Narborough Hall - geograph.org.uk - 1637652.jpg
Chamberlin was born at Narborough Hall in Narborough, Norfolk on 31 July 1825 and baptised on 7 August,{{cite web |title=Norfolk, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813–1919 |url= https://www.ancestry.com.au/imageviewer/collections/61042/images/4098101_00286?treeid=35493304&personid=28437304193&hintid=&queryId=d2be5526bf05836870ea6798b0dd598d&usePUB=true&_phsrc=VGZ3&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.203920342.739806133.1609457981-1413854554.1608422027&pId=877398 |publisher=Ancestry |access-date=2 January 2021 |page=157}}{{subscription required}} one of ten children of Hannah Chamberlin ({{nee|Tyne}}, 1799–1863) and Henry Chamberlin (1773–1848). He had one elder sister and eight younger siblings.{{cite web |title=Henry Chamberlin |url= https://www.ancestry.com.au/family-tree/person/tree/35493304/person/28437304200/facts |publisher=Ancestry |access-date=2 January 2021}}{{subscription required}}{{cite news |title=Deaths |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS18880421.2.36.3 |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=Auckland Star |volume =XIX |issue=94 |date=21 April 1888 |page=6}}
After some years in New Zealand, Chamberlin returned to England in the late 1850s to marry Elizabeth Catherine Heard (1841–1929) at St Mary and St Peter's Church in Kelsale, Suffolk in November 1859.{{cite web |title=Elizabeth Catherine Heard |url= https://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=9852&h=22875770&tid=35493304&pid=28437304192&queryId=1730c3d77ec3a88267dca82272ff0542&usePUB=true&_phsrc=VGZ4&_phstart=successSource |publisher=Ancestry |access-date=2 January 2021}}{{subscription required}} They had one daughter, Eva Ellen Chamberlin, born in 1861.{{cite news |title=Births |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZ18610703.2.6 |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=New Zealander |volume =XVII |issue=1587 |date=3 July 1861 |page=2}}
Life in New Zealand
Chamberlin and his younger brother Charles (1829–1878) came to Auckland in 1853;{{cite news |title=His career |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TAN18880418.2.42.3 |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=Te Aroha News |volume =V |issue=256 |date=18 April 1888 |page=4}} Chamberlin had about £20,000 when he immigrated and he invested mostly in land, much of it in the Raglan, Drury, and Hobsonville areas. One of his first purchases was at Ōpaheke in 1853.{{cite news |title=A return of the sale of Crown Lands at the Surveyor General's Office |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZ18531123.2.16.2 |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=New Zealander |volume =9 |issue=794 |date=23 November 1853 |page=4}} Ponui Island, also known as Chamberlin's Island, belonged to his brother Charles.{{cite news |title=Agricultural boards |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS18880418.2.30 |access-date=1 January 2021 |work=Auckland Star |volume =XIX |issue=91 |date=18 April 1888 |page=4}}
In the 1860s, Chamberlin was a trustee of the Hūnua Highway Board.{{cite news |title=Hunua |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DSC18681007.2.25.14 |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=Daily Southern Cross |volume =XXIV |issue=350 |date=7 October 1868 |page=4}} When Joseph Newman resigned his membership in the House of Representatives for the Raglan electorate, Chamberlin was one of three candidates contesting the 1867 Raglan by-election. Chamberlin was nominated by Reader Wood but came last, getting 10% of the vote.{{cite news |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DSC18670614.2.22 |title= Election of Mr Farmer |work= Daily Southern Cross |date=14 June 1867 |volume=XXIII | issue=3092 | access-date=2 January 2021 |page=5}}{{cite news|url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DSC18670524.2.58 |title= Raglan Election |work= Daily Southern Cross |date=24 May 1867 |volume=XXIII | issue=3071 | access-date=2 January 2021 |page=7}} During the premiership of Edward Stafford, Chamberlin was called to the New Zealand Legislative Council, effective from 8 February 1869. Appointments at the time were for life and he held membership until his death.{{cite news |title=New Zealand Gazette |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DSC18690217.2.19 |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=Daily Southern Cross |volume=XXV |issue=3614 |date=17 February 1869 |page=3}}{{cite book |last= Wilson |first= James Oakley |title= New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840-1984 |edition= 4 |orig-year= First ed. published 1913 |year= 1985 |publisher= V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer |location= Wellington |isbn= |oclc= 154283103 |page=151}}
Death
Chamberlin fell into a hole on his Drury property and drowned; he had long been prospecting on his land for coal and had recently dug the trench in which he drowned. The inquest was held on 16 April at the Railway Hotel in Drury.{{cite news |title=Death of the Hon Henry Chamberlin, M.L.C. |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH18880423.2.53.5 |access-date=1 January 2021 |work=The New Zealand Herald |volume =XXV |issue=9035 |date=23 April 1888 |page=9}} The intention was for him to be buried at St Stephen's Chapel but the graveyard had been restricted for family burials, and his body was interred at St Thomas' Cemetery in Kohimarama instead. The funeral was attended by Frederick Whitaker, William Pollock Moat, and Frederick Moss.{{cite news |title=Untitled |url= https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH18880418.2.15 |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=The New Zealand Herald |volume =XXV |issue=9031 |date=18 April 1888 |page=4}}
His wife died in October 1929{{cite news |title=Deaths |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19291017.2.3 |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=Auckland Star |volume =LX |issue=246 |date=17 October 1929 |page=1}} and his daughter in November 1938.{{cite news |title=Mrs. Eva Ellen Laing |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19381121.2.157 |access-date=2 January 2021 |work=The New Zealand Herald |volume =LXXV |issue=23200 |date=21 November 1938 |page=14}}
==References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlin, Henry}}
Category:Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council
Category:Deaths by drowning in New Zealand