George Hunter, JP (1788 – 19 July 1843) was the first

mayor of Wellington The mayor of Wellington is the head of the municipal government of Wellington, the city of Wellington. The mayor presides over the Wellington City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the Single Transferable Vote method of proportional ...

, New Zealand, in 1842–43. He was also the first mayor in New Zealand.

Family

Born in McDuff Parish,

Banffshire Banffshire (; ; ) is a historic county in Scotland. The county town is Banff, although the largest settlement is Buckie to the west. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 the area has been spli ...

, Scotland he came to

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in the ship ''

Duke of Roxburgh The Duke of Roxburghe () is a title in the peerage of Scotland created in 1707 along with the titles ''Marquess of Bowmont and Cessford'', ''Earl of Kelso'' and ''Viscount Broxmouth''. John Ker, 5th Earl of Roxburghe became the first holder ...

'' in 1840, with his wife Helen, six daughters and four sons. Hunter's wife was the daughter of David Souter, Chief Factor to the Right Honorable

James Duff, 4th Earl Fife James Duff, 4th Earl Fife, KT, GCH (6 October 1776 – 9 March 1857), was a Scottish nobleman who became a Spanish general. Biography James was the elder son of the Hon. Alexander Duff, who succeeded his brother as third Earl Fife in 1809. H ...

. He was described by

Mary Swainson Mary Swainson (born Beatrice Mary Swainson, 23 March 1908 – 23 March 2008), was a pioneer of student counselling. Early life Mary was born in Weston-super-Mare on 23 March 1908 to a curate father, Samuel James Swainson, and Beatrice Kelway. ...

as having a bald head, circular spectacles and beaming eyes, and as exactly resembling Mr Pickwick of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

The Pickwick Papers ''The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club'' (also known as ''The Pickwick Papers'') was the Debut novel, first novel serialised from March 1836 to November 1837 by English author Charles Dickens. Because of his success with ''Sketches by Bo ...

''. He was one of the founders of the Pickwick Club in Wellington. Shortly after his arrival, Hunter asked Samuel Parnell, a carpenter he had met on the ship, to build him a store on

Lambton Quay Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach) is the heart of the Wellington Central, Wellington, central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Geography Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the f ...

, to which Parnell agreed, provided he only worked eight hours a day, the beginning of the

Eight Hour Day The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a working day, preventing excesses and abuses of working time. The modern movement originated i ...

in New Zealand. As there were only three carpenters in Wellington, Hunter reluctantly agreed to this condition. Hunter's eldest son, George Hunter and his grandson Sir George Hunter were both Members of Parliament. His great-great-great granddaughter Irvine Yardley was a Wellington City Councillor from 1974 to 1979.

Business interests

Prior to coming to New Zealand, Hunter had worked for a major mercantile establishment in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

. He moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, where he worked as a merchant until leaving in 1839 for New Zealand with the New Zealand Company. He was in business on

Willis Street Willis Street is a prominent street in the central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Along with Courtenay Place, Manners Street and Lambton Quay, the lower reaches of Willis Street form part of the "Golden Mile ...

with Kenneth Bethune as general and shipping merchants, and lived in Tinakori Road, where

Premier House Premier House () is the official residence of the prime minister of New Zealand, located at 260 Tinakori Road, Thorndon, New Zealand, Thorndon, Wellington, New Zealand. A private house purchased for the prime minister's official residence when ...

was later built. Hunter was the Storemaster-General of the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model that was focused on the systematic colonisation of New Ze ...

In April 1840 he was appointed as a director of the Wellington Branch of the

Union Bank of Australia The Union Bank of Australia was a bank that operated in Australia and New Zealand from 1837 to 1951. The Union Bank was established in London in October 1837 with a subscribed capital of £500,000. The foundation of the bank followed a visit t ...

. In 1841 Hunter was appointed to the Committee of the New Zealand Flax Association.

Civic duty

Hunter's first appointment to public office in Wellington was as a member of the Management Committee of the

Port Nicholson A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manche ...

Exchange Room and Public Library. He was one of the first Justices of the Court in Wellington, which was founded in October 1841, having been appointed a Justice of the Peace some time earlier. Hunter was also involved in creating regulations for managing

Wellington Harbour Wellington Harbour ( ), officially called Wellington Harbour / Port Nicholson, is a large natural harbour on the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. The harbour entrance is from Cook Strait. Central Wellington is located on parts of ...

. With the passing of the Municipal Corporation Bill in 1842, Wellington was able to elect its own mayor and aldermen. On 3 October 1842, Hunter, with the most votes of the 12 aldermen elected to the new Wellington Borough, was declared elected. Initial business of the Council was the appointment of officers and organising its finances. In 1843, while attending a meeting to express sympathy for the victims of the

Wairau Affray The Wairau Affray of 17 June 1843, also called the Wairau Massacre and the Wairau Incident, was the first serious clash of arms between British settlers and Māori people, Māori in New Zealand after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and t ...

he caught a chill and died a few days later. His funeral was a significant one, attended by both local

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

and

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

alike. He was buried at Bolton Street Cemetery. He was succeeded as mayor by

William Guyton William Guyton (1816–30 June 1884) was the second Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand in 1843. He obtained this position upon the death of George Hunter (mayor), George Hunter and held until the Borough was abolished by the Government of the Uni ...

References

* ''Wellington: Biography of a City'' by Redmer Yska (2006, Reed, Auckland) pages 27–28. * ''No Mean City'' by Stuart Perry (1969, Wellington City Council) includes a paragraph and a portrait or photo for each mayor. * ''The Birth of a City: Wellington 1840–1843'' by A. H. Carman (1970, Wright & Carman, Wellington) pages 108 & 171.

External links

''Early Mayors of Wellington'' (with photos, from WCC Archives)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter, George New Zealand businesspeople 1788 births 1843 deaths Burials at Bolton Street Cemetery Wellington City Councillors Mayors of Wellington People from Banffshire Scottish emigrants to New Zealand 1840s in Wellington