Leonard Harper (politician)
Leonard Harper | |
|---|---|
 Harper, ca. 1890s | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Cheviot | |
| In office 8 January 1876 – 2 April 1878 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Avon | |
| In office 22 July 1884 – 3 May 1887 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 2 June 1837 Berkshire, England |
| Died | 27 October 1915 (aged 78) Somerset, England |
| Children | Arthur Paul Harper (son) |
| Relatives | Henry Harper (father) Emily Acland (sister) |
Leonard Harper (2 June 1837 – 27 October 1915) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Canterbury, New Zealand.
Early life
[edit]Harper was born in 1837, either in Eton or Stratfield Mortimer in Berkshire, England.[1] His father was Henry Harper, who became the first bishop of Christchurch.[2] Leonard Harper and his brother Charles (1838–1920) came to New Zealand with Bishop George Selwyn, who returned from a visit to England on the Sir George Seymour, landing in Auckland on 5 July 1855.[1][3]
In 1856 Henry Harper was appointed to the episcopate as Bishop of Christchurch. Harper and his family arrived on 23 December 1856 in Lyttelton on the Egmont.[2]
Harper Pass
[edit]In 1857, his father heard from Tainui, a Ngāi Tahu leader from Kaiapoi, that some Māori wanted to travel to the west coast of the South Island via their traditional route along the Hurunui and Taramakau rivers. Tainui agreed that his son and two other Māori would lead Leonard Harper and Mr. Locke over the pass.
On 4 November 1857, Harper set off from Mr. Mason's station on the Waitohi River to cross the pass; the party included Locke and four Māori from Kaiapoi. Once they reached the Taramakau, they encountered flooding and built a raft from flax stalks. They reached the West Coast 23 days after setting off, and took 14 days for the return journey to Mason's farm. Before they returned, they travelled along the coast as far south as the Waitangitāhuna River. The party returned to Christchurch in January 1858.[4]
Edward Dobson had been over the pass only weeks before Harper, but Dobson was stopped by bad weather from completing his journey. Harper descended to the coast and was thus the first European to cross the Southern Alps from east coast to west coast. The pass has since been known as Harper Pass.[5][6]
Political career
[edit]| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1876–1878 | 6th | Cheviot | Independent | ||
| 1884–1887 | 9th | Avon | Independent | ||
He represented the Cheviot electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1876 to 1878, when he resigned. He then represented the Avon electorate from 1884 to 1887, when he again resigned.[7]
He bought Ilam homestead, once the largest residential building in Christchurch,[8] and was for some years co-owner of Risingholme, which was bought from the estate of William Reeves.[9]
Professional career
[edit]In May 1857, Harper was elected clerk of the Canterbury Provincial Council.[10]
In 1865, he joined the legal firm of Travers and Hanmer, run by William Travers and Philip Hanmer.[1] His brother, George Harper, joined them in 1870 as a clerk.[11][12] Hanmer died in November 1878,[13] and his executors dissolved the partnership in May 1879.[14] George Harper took Hanmer's place for a substantial payment to the executors,[11] with the legal practice then continuing to operate as Harper and Harper.[14]
Leonard Harper left New Zealand on 25 July 1891;[15] officially this was a business trip on behalf of the New Zealand Shipping Company.[11][16] Three days later, he was voted in absentia the inaugural chair of the New Zealand Alpine Club.[17] Over the next two years, it emerged that his law firm was bankrupt, and that NZ£200,000 had been embezzled by him.[18]
Family and death
[edit]He later lived on Jersey in the Channel Islands.[19] Harper settled at Bruton, Somerset, in 1906.[20]
In 1864 at Huntsham, Devon, he married Joanna Dorothea Dyke Troyte. Arthur Paul Harper and John Ernest Harper were their sons.[2]
Emily Acland was his eldest sister (1830–1905). She married the farmer and politician John Acland in 1860.[21] The politician and farmer Charles Blakiston married his second sister, Mary Anna Harper (1832–1924).[22] The priest Henry Harper (1833–1922) was his eldest brother. Ellen Shephard Harper (1834–1916) was his third sister; she married the farmer Charles George Tripp.[23]
Notes
[edit]- ^ a b c Macdonald, George. "Leonard Harper". Macdonald Dictionary. Canterbury Museum. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ a b c Langton, Graham. "Arthur Paul Harper". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Ports of Auckland". Daily Southern Cross. Vol. XII, no. 837. 6 July 1855. p. 3. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ "Exploration of the West Coast". Lyttelton Times. Vol. IX, no. 544. 20 January 1858. p. 4. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
- ^ Holm, Janet (2005). Caught Mapping: The Life and Times of New Zealand's Early Surveyors. Christchurch: Hazard Press. pp. 172f. ISBN 1-877270-86-5.
- ^ Canterbury Centennial Association (1971). Gardner, Jim (ed.). A History of Canterbury : General History, 1854–76 and Cultural Aspects, 1850–1950. Vol. II. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd. pp. 136f. ISBN 0 7233 0321 5.
- ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 203. OCLC 154283103.
- ^ "History of the Club". University of Canterbury. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
- ^ "Risingholme". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
- ^ "Provincial Council". Lyttelton Times. Vol. VII, no. 477. 30 May 1857. p. 6. Retrieved 20 December 2020.
- ^ a b c Macdonald, George. "George Harper". Macdonald Dictionary. Canterbury Museum. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
- ^ "Public notice". Lyttelton Times. Vol. XXV, no. 1618. 21 February 1866. p. 4. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Death". The Press. Vol. XXX, no. 4141. 4 November 1878. p. 2. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ a b "Partnership notices". Lyttelton Times. Vol. LI, no. 5686. 17 May 1879. p. 6. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Town & country". Lyttelton Times. Vol. LXXVI, no. 9476. 27 July 1891. p. 4. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ "Town & country". Lyttelton Times. Vol. LXXVI, no. 9476. 27 July 1891. p. 4. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ "Alpine Club". Lyttelton Times. Vol. LXXVI, no. 9478. 29 July 1891. p. 3. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
- ^ Langton, Graham. "Arthur Paul Harper". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 7 January 2021.
- ^ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1903). "Mr. Leonard Harper". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Canterbury Provincial District. Christchurch: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. p. 96. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
- ^ "Death and Funeral of the Late Mr Leonard Harper". Western Chronicle. 29 October 1915. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
- ^ Scholefield 1940a, pp. 2f.
- ^ Scholefield 1940a, p. 74.
- ^ Scholefield 1940b, p. 379.
References
[edit]- Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : A–L (PDF). Vol. I. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs.
- Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : M–Addenda (PDF). Vol. II. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs.