Henry Scotland

Hon. Henry Scotland M.L.C.
Born	(1821-07-11)11 July 1821 Muswell Hill, London, England
Died	27 July 1910(1910-07-27) (aged 89) Wellington, New Zealand
Known for	Member of New Zealand Legislative Council
Relatives	Will Scotland (son)

Henry Scotland (11 July 1821 – 27 July 1910) was an English-born member of the New Zealand Legislative Council from 24 February 1868 until his death on 27 July 1910.[1]

Early life

Scotland was born in Muswell Hill, London, the fourth son of George Scotland, Chief Justice of Trinidad, and Sarah Humphrys. He was educated at Merchant Taylors School,[2] matriculated at St John's College, Oxford in 1840, and was called to the bar at the Middle Temple in 1849. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1850 on the Eden.[3][4][5]

New Zealand career

Scotland initially settled in New Plymouth, where he practised law. Following his appointment to the Legislative Council in 1868, Scotland stood for Maori land rights, civil liberties, the preservation of native bush, and the peaceful settlement of international differences. Historian Dick Scott remarks that these concerns "put him light-years ahead of time in nineteenth-century New Zealand". In the 1880s, Scotland moved to Pahi in the Northland Region.[6]

Personal life

Scotland was married three times; his first two wives predeceased him. His first marriage was to Sarah Biggs (c. 1817–1887), whom he married in London in 1842.[7][8] In 1889, he married Mary Ann Spriggs (1861–1896), with whom he had two sons.[9][10][11] He was survived by his third wife, Margaret Venning (c. 1847–1916), whom he married in 1898.[12][13][6][a]

His younger son, Will Scotland, became a noted aviator.[11]

Death

Scotland died in Wellington on 27 July 1910, aged 89.[14][15] He is interred at Auckland's Purewa Cemetery.[16]

Publications

• The New-Zealander on London Bridge, or, Moral ruins of the modern Babylon (1878)
• Denominationalism: The Bane of Christianity – Two Letters to a Friend in the Country (1888)

Notes

1. Scott (1999) incorrectly states that the two sons were from Scotland's third marriage.

References

1. Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840-1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 163. OCLC 154283103.
2. Robinson, Charles J. (1883). A Register of the Scholars Admitted Into Merchant Taylors' School: From A.D. 1562 to 1874. Vol II. Lewes: Farncombe & Company. p. 241.
3. Scholefield, G.H., ed. (1940). Dictionary of New Zealand Biography (PDF). Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. pp. 277–278.
4. Foster, Joseph (1888–1891). "Scotland, Henry" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: James Parker – via Wikisource.
5. Who's Who in New Zealand and the Western Pacific. Wellington, NZ: Gordon & Gotch. 1908. p. 152 – via Ancestry.com.
6. Scott, Dick (1999). Seven Lives on Salt River. Reed Publishing. ISBN 9780790007083.
7. "Deaths". New Zealand Herald. 17 October 1887. p. 1 – via PapersPast.
8. "London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1938". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
9. "Marriage Search". Births, Deaths & Marriages Online. NZ Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 10 August 2023. Reg. No. 1889/999
10. "Deaths". The Press. Christchurch, NZ. 26 October 1896. p. 1 – via PapersPast.
11. Foster, Bernard George (1966). "SCOTLAND, James William Humphrys". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand – via Te Ara.
12. "Marriage Search". Births, Deaths & Marriages Online. NZ Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 10 August 2023. Reg. No. 1898/3181
13. "Deaths". Auckland Star. 3 July 1916. p. 12 – via PapersPast.
14. "Obituary: Hon. Henry Scotland". Marlborough Express. 29 July 1910. p. 7 – via PapersPast.
15. "Death of Hon. H. Scotland". Evening Post. Wellington, NZ. 27 July 1910. p. 8 – via PapersPast.
16. "Henry Scotland". Auckland, NZ: Purewa Cemetery. Retrieved 3 August 2023.