Charles Edward de la Barca Macmillan (December 1872 – 9 January 1941) was a New Zealand politician. He was

Mayor of Tauranga The mayor of Tauranga is the head of local government in Tauranga, New Zealand's fifth-largest city. The mayor presides over the Tauranga City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the single transferable vote method. The current mayor i ...

(1915–1917) and a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

(1923–1935).

Early life

Macmillan was born in

Saint Croix Saint Croix ( ; ; ; ; Danish language, Danish and ; ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands, district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an Unin ...

in the

Danish West Indies The Danish West Indies () or Danish Virgin Islands () or Danish Antilles were a Danish colony in the Caribbean, consisting of the islands of Saint Thomas with , Saint John () with , Saint Croix with , and Water Island. The islands of St ...

in December 1872. His father, Donald Macmillan, had been a paymaster with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

and was later a sugar planter. His mother, Maria Elise Barca, was the Baroness de la Barca, the daughter of Baron de la Barca. Following an uprising by workers in 1879, the Macmillans left Saint Croix. Macmillan came to New Zealand with his parents and two siblings on the ''May Queen'' in 1881. They were part of the

George Vesey Stewart George Vesey Stewart (1832–1920) was a New Zealand farmer, coloniser and local politician. He was born in Brighton, Sussex, England in about 1832. He was a member of the Orange Order, and recruited settlers for his colonial project in Kat ...

Special Settlement to

Te Puke Te Puke ( ) is a town located southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for the cultivation of kiwifruit. Te Puke is close to Tauranga and Maketu, which are both coastal towns/cities, a ...

, however his father wanted to be closer to the sea and thus bought land at

Katikati Katikati is a town in New Zealand's North Island, located on the Uretara Stream near a tidal inlet towards the northern end of Tauranga Harbour, 28 kilometres south of Waihi and 40 kilometres northwest of Tauranga. State Highway 2 passes throug ...

. In 1900, he married Ethel Latham. They moved to

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

in 1908.

Political career

Macmillan was the 15th

and served from 1915 to 1917. In the 1915 mayoral election, he defeated John Cuthbert Adams. In the 1917 mayoral election, Adams narrowly defeated Macmillan (by 292 to 276 votes). Standing for the Reform Party, he won the

electorate in the 1923 by-election after the death of

William Herries Sir William Herbert Herries (19 April 1859 – 22 February 1923) was an English-born New Zealand politician who served as a member of the Piako County Council and later as MP for Bay of Plenty and Tauranga. Biography Herries was born in Lo ...

, and held it to

1935 Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart ...

when he was defeated by the Labour candidate, Charles Burnett. He was a cabinet minister in the United–Reform Coalition government (

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister f ...

and Minister of Mines from 13 February 1932 to 6 December 1935). He was subsequently granted the right to retain the title of "Honourable", having served more than three years as a member of the Executive Council. In 1935, he was awarded the

King George V Silver Jubilee Medal The King George V Silver Jubilee Medal is a commemorative medal, instituted to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the accession of King George V. Issue This medal was awarded as a personal souvenir by King George V to commemorate his Silver Ju ...

Death

Macmillan died in Tauranga on 9 January 1941. He was survived by his wife, his son, two daughters, and two sisters.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macmillan, Charles 1872 births 1941 deaths People from Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Mayors of Tauranga Reform Party (New Zealand) MPs Unsuccessful candidates in the 1935 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates People from the Danish West Indies Immigrants to New Zealand Ministers of agriculture of New Zealand