Henry Sawtell (1832 – 19 June 1913) was

Mayor of Christchurch The mayor of Christchurch is the elected head of local government in Christchurch, New Zealand; one of 67 Mayors in New Zealand, mayors in the country. The mayor presides over the Christchurch City Council and is directly elected using the First ...

1871–1872.

Early life

Sawtell was born near

Langport Langport is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Somerset, England, west of Somerton, Somerset, Somerton. The parish, which covers only part of the town, has a population of 3,578. Langport is contiguous with Huish Episcopi, ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, England in 1832. His parents were Mary and Thomas Sawtell. He came to

Nelson, New Zealand Nelson () is a List of cities in New Zealand, city and Districts of New Zealand, unitary authority on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay at the top of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the oldest city in the South Island and the second-old ...

on the ''John Masterman'' in February 1857. In August 1858, Sawtell came to Lyttelton. In 1861, he lived on town section 200 in Lyttelton. On 14 June 1862 at the Trinity Church in Lyttelton, he married Mary Ann, the daughter of Thomas Abrahams of Lyttelton. Their first son, Leonard Sefton Sawtell, was born on 11 March 1863 when they were living in Lyttelton's Oxford Street. By 1864, they were living in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

's Hereford Street. His wife died in 1879, and on 20 January 1880 at St John's Church, Christchurch, he married Maria Parnham.

Professional life

Initially, Sawtell was a grocer in Christchurch, working for Dalgety. For some time he was in partnership with Alexander Cracroft Wilson, son of

John Cracroft Wilson Sir John Cracroft Wilson (21 May 1808 – 2 March 1881), also known as Nabob Wilson, was a British-educated civil servant in India, farmer and politician in New Zealand. Early life John Cracroft Wilson was born in Onamore, India, the son of Al ...

, and the firm carried on business as general merchants in High Street under the name of Wilson, Sawtell and Co.

Political career

Christchurch City Council

Before 1916, elections for

Christchurch City Council The Christchurch City Council (CCC) is the local government authority for Christchurch in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority elected to represent the people of Christchurch. Since October 2022, the Mayor of Christchurch is Phil Ma ...

were held annually. Sawtell was elected onto the town and later city council three times: in 1868, 1871 and 1872. In those days, the councillors elected one of their group as mayor, i.e. the position was not elected at large (by the voting public) as is the case today. On 20 December 1871, Sawtell was elected to be the next mayor of Christchurch, succeeding

James Jameson James Purvis Jameson Justice of the Peace, JP (5 April 1824 – 6 September 1896) was Mayor of Christchurch in 1870–1871. Originally a linen draper from the Manchester area, he emigrated with his family to Christchurch in 1863. He was involv ...

. Towards the end of his term as mayor, Sawtell fell ill and could not fulfil his functions. Councillor Edward Bishop filled his place during that time. The election of the next mayor was held on 18 December 1872, but ''

The Press ''The Press'' () is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand, owned by media business Stuff (company), Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday t ...

'', the local Christchurch newspaper, already reported on 14 December of Councillor Bishop as mayor-elect. The election took place on the agreed date, and Bishop was elected unanimously. Sawtell resigned as a city councillor during February 1873 due to ill health. Whilst

Christchurch City Libraries Christchurch City Libraries is a network of 21 libraries and a mobile book bus. operated by the Christchurch City Council and Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake the previous Christchurch Central Library building was demolished, and ...

lists the 7th mayor, Michael Hart, as the one who gave the first link to the Christchurch mayoral chain, this tradition was in fact started by Sawtell, who gave the first link on the day his successor was chosen. Edward Bishop gave the second link in April 1874, some months after he was succeeded by Hart, who was thus the third person to add a link to the mayoral chain.

Canterbury Provincial Council

Sawtell was a member of the 6th

Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...

for the City of Christchurch electorate from 6 May 1870 until the end of the term on 28 February 1874, when he did not stand for re-election.

Family

His son Claude Sawtell married the artist Rosa Budden. Henry Sawtell was buried at

Barbadoes Street Cemetery The Barbadoes Street Cemetery is the oldest cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was set up with three discrete areas for different denominations. Description The cemetery was included in the original survey of Christchurch that was carri ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawtell, Henry 1832 births 1913 deaths 19th-century mayors of places in New Zealand Mayors of Christchurch Members of the Canterbury Provincial Council Burials at Barbadoes Street Cemetery New Zealand merchants Lyttelton Harbour Board members