James Balfour (engineer)
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James Melville Balfour (2 June 1831 – 19 December 1869) was a Scottish-born New Zealand marine engineer. He is best remembered for the network of lighthouses that he designed. Balfour was a highly energetic man, who despite drowning after only six years in the country, has left a list of projects either designed or constructed by him. He was initially employed by the
Otago Provincial Council The Otago Province was a Provinces of New Zealand, province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the provin ...
before his appointment by the
Government of New Zealand The New Zealand Government () is the central government through which political authority is exercised in New Zealand. As in most other parliamentary democracies, the term "Government" refers chiefly to the executive branch, and more specifi ...
as the colonial marine engineer.


Early life and family

Balfour was born in the
manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...
of
Colinton Parish Church Colinton Parish Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The church building is located in Dell Road, Colinton, Edinburgh, Scotland next to the Water of Leith. History St Cuthbert's Church, originally called the parish of Hailes, was ...
south-west of
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland on 2 June 1831. He was the youngest son of Rev.
Lewis Balfour Lewis Balfour (1777–1860) was a Scottish Church of Scotland minister and grandfather to the author Robert Louis Stevenson. Life Balfour was born on 30 August 1777 at Pilrig, Pilrig House between Edinburgh and Leith, the son of Jean Whytt ...
(1777–1860), D.D., who for 37 years was minister for the Colinton parish. The philosopher James Balfour was his father's paternal grandfather, and the physician
Robert Whytt Robert Whytt (1714–1766) was a Scottish physician. His work, on unconscious reflexes, tubercular meningitis, urinary bladder stones, and hysteria, is remembered now most for his book on diseases of the nervous system. He served as President of ...
was his father's maternal grandfather. His father had married Anne Mackintosh on 24 February 1806. Among his siblings were the physician and heart specialist George William Balfour (1823–1903), and Margaret Isabella "Maggie" Balfour (1829–1897) who in 1848 married the lighthouse builder
Thomas Stevenson Thomas Stevenson President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, PRSE MInstCE FRSSA FSAScot (22 July 1818 – 8 May 1887) was a pioneering Scottish civil engineer, lighthouse designer and meteorologist, who designed over thirty lighthouses in and ...
. They were the parents of the author
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
. He received his education at
Edinburgh High School The Royal High School (RHS) of Edinburgh is a co-educational school administered by the City of Edinburgh Council. The school was founded in 1128 and is one of the oldest schools in Scotland. It serves around 1,400 pupils drawn from four feeder pr ...
and the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
. He studied civil engineering and for his training, he attended workshops in Scotland and, to study optics, in Germany. He did an apprenticeship with famous lighthouse builders, the brothers
Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...
and
David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...
Stevenson, Thomas being his sister's husband, and he worked in the lighthouse department of the firm. Balfour married Christina Simson and their only child, Marie Clothilde Balfour, was born in 1862. She married her first cousin James Craig Balfour, the son of Balfour's brother George.


Career in New Zealand

The Balfour family arrived in
Port Chalmers Port Chalmers () is a town serving as the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast of Dunedin's city centre. History Early Māori settlement The or ...
on board the ''Sir Ralph Abercromby'' on 14 September 1863. Both Balfour and his friend and colleague, Thomas Paterson, had accepted appointments by the
Otago Provincial Council The Otago Province was a Provinces of New Zealand, province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. The capital of the province was Dunedin. Southland Province split from Otago in 1861, but became part of the provin ...
for engineering positions. Balfour came as a marine engineer, while Paterson was a bridge, railway and road engineer. Paterson was half a year older than Balfour, and they had attended the same school in Edinburgh. Balfour brought with him from Scotland the lamp equipment he had designed for the proposed lighthouses at
Cape Saunders Kaimata, or Cape Saunders, is the prominent headland on the Pacific Ocean coast of Muaupoko, the Otago Peninsula, in the far south-east of New Zealand's South Island. It is home to the Cape Saunders Lighthouse. Captain James Cook sighted the la ...
and
Taiaroa Head Taiaroa Head is a headland at the end of the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand, overlooking the mouth of the Otago Harbour. It lies within the city limits of Dunedin. The nearest settlement, Otakou, lies three kilometres to the south. The cape is ...
. Balfour is described as having had "enormous energy", and within half a year, he had commenced a large number of projects. His contract with the provincial council was terminated at the end of 1866 (it is not clear whether this was Balfour's choice), and he then became colonial marine engineer on appointment by the government in
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 ...
.


Death

Balfour's friend Paterson drowned in mid-December 1869 when his coach overturned while crossing the
Kakanui River The Kakanui River is a river of North Otago, New Zealand, bridged by Highway 1 at Maheno and flowing into the Pacific Ocean at Kakanui. See also *List of rivers of New Zealand This is a list of all waterways named as rivers in New Zealand. ...
. Upon hearing of his friend's death, Balfour made immediate arrangements to travel to his funeral. On 19 December 1869, eight passengers transferred by whale boat from Timaru Harbour during heavy sea to the SS ''Maori'', which was anchored some distance offshore. The whale boat got into trouble, but the passengers could be transferred into a life boat sent by the SS ''Maori''. A wave washed the lifeboat against the SS ''Maori'', and caused it to overturn. Two of the passengers drowned, including Balfour. Balfour's name is listed on the wall of the family vault in
Colinton Colinton is a suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland situated southwest of the city centre. Up until the late 18th century it appears on maps as Collington. It is bordered by Dreghorn to the south and Craiglockhart to the north-east. To the north-w ...
. Balfour was a leading engineer, and it was expected that he would eventually have succeeded John Blackett as Engineer-in-Chief of the
Public Works Department This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...
.


List of projects

Below is a list of lighthouses either designed by Balfour, or designed and supervised. Some of these are registered by
Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust; in ) is a Crown entity that advocates for the protection of Archaeology of New Zealand, ancest ...
(formerly known as the New Zealand Historic Places Trust).


Commemoration

The name of a small town in Southland originally known as Longridge was changed to Balfour to avoid confusion other New Zealand localities of that name. It is uncertain whether the new name refers to an employee of the Waimea Company who lived locally, or the provincial engineer. When
Eleanor Catton Eleanor Catton (born 1985) is a New Zealand novelist and screenwriter. Born in Canada, Catton moved to New Zealand as a child and grew up in Christchurch. She completed a master's degree in creative writing at the International Institute of M ...
started working on her novel ''
The Luminaries ''The Luminaries'' is a 2013 novel by Eleanor Catton. Set in New Zealand's South Island in 1866, the novel follows Walter Moody, a prospector who travels to the West Coast settlement of Hokitika to make his fortune on the goldfields. Instead ...
'', she used the
Papers Past The National Library of New Zealand () is charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga) Act 2003). Under the ...
website of the
National Library of New Zealand The National Library of New Zealand () is charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga) Act 2003). Under the ...
to find suitable names for her characters, set during the time of the
West Coast gold rush The West Coast gold rush, on the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast of New Zealand's South Island, lasted from 1864 to 1867. Description The gold rush populated the area, which up until then had been visited by few Europeans. Gold was found ...
(1864–1867). Balfour was active on the West Coast during that time, and it is assumed that Catton adopted his surname for the character of the shipping agent Thomas Balfour, who represents Sagittarius in the
Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...
-winning novel.


Notes and references


Notes


References

Books * * * Newspapers * * * * * Websites * * * * * * :* :* :* :* :* :* :* :* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Balfour, James Melville 1831 births 1869 deaths New Zealand civil engineers New Zealand marine engineers Engineers from Edinburgh Scottish emigrants to New Zealand People educated at the Royal High School, Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh College of Science and Engineering