|
Alfred Cox (3 June 1825 – 23 May 1911) was a 19th-century runholder and Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. Born in New South Wales into an upper middle class military family, he was sent home to England to learn about farming. Upon returning to New South Wales, he heard about the large profits that were possible in South Canterbury and bought licenses for land that he had not seen. He stocked the land, put a manager in charge and made another trip to England with his wife and their, at that time, small family. He moved to New Zealand permanently in 1857 and lived on his large farm, Raukapuka, which stretched from the sea to the foothills, and of which the homestead was located in present-day Geraldine. He sold his South Canterbury interests and moved to the Waikato, where he bought large land holdings in Hamilton and Thames. He tried to drain his swamp land and lost a lot of money with those ventures. He sold up in 1882 and moved to Christchurch, where he retired. He became politically active in South Canterbury and represented the area first in the Canterbury Provincial Council and then in the House of Representatives. He was the driving force behind the establishment of some of the South Canterbury local bodies. During his time in the Waikato, he represented a local electorate in the House of Representatives. He resigned due to ill health and later tried to re-establish his parliamentary career in a South Canterbury electorate, but was beaten by William Rolleston. ==Early life== Cox was born in 1825 in Clarendon, New South Wales. His father was William Cox, an English soldier, known as an explorer, road builder and pioneer in the early period of British settlement in Australia. His mother was Anna Blachford, his father's second wife. Cox received his education at The King's School in Parramatta. As a teenager, he attended the funeral of Samuel Marsden in Parramatta. Cox had Samuel Wallace, the father of William Vincent Wallace, as his music teacher, and he developed into an accomplished musician. From 1844 to 1847, he spend time in England to learn about farming. He visited Ireland and saw the dire consequences of the Irish Potato Famine. After his return, he married Mary Macpherson, a daughter of Lieutenant-colonel Ewan Macpherson, on 26 November 1849. Her father was stationed with the 99th Regiment of Foot in Tasmania at the time. Her sister married Ernest Gray.〔 Like Cox, his wife was a good flute player. She also played the piano, and they often entertained guests with musical performances. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Alfred Cox (politician)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|