James Benn Bradshaigh Bradshaw (22 September 1832 – 1 September 1886) was a 19th-century member of parliament in the

Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...

region of New Zealand. He also played cricket.

Private life

He was born in Barton Blount,

South Derbyshire South Derbyshire is a Non-metropolitan district, local government district in Derbyshire, England. The district covers the towns of Melbourne, Derbyshire, Melbourne and Swadlincote as well as numerous villages and hamlets such as Hilton, Derbys ...

, England, the son of a clergyman. He was a gold prospector and miner in Australia before becoming a bank assayer. In Otago he was also an assayer, before becoming the editor of the ''Lake Wakatip Mail'' newspaper in 1863. During his political career he worked for reform of the laws relating to gold mining and for labour law reform and small landholders. He lived in

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

in the late 1860s and in April 1870, he married Harriette Clementina Bolton at

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. By the following year, they were back in Dunedin. He played cricket for

and competed in the 1864 game against the English team led by George Parr touring in New Zealand in 1863/64.

Political career

He first stood for 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 ...

in 1864, but was unsuccessful. He was elected to the provincial government in the Mount Benger electorate on 23 March 1871 and served until the dissolution of the council's sixth session on 22 May 1873. He was a member of the Otago Executive Council from 2 June 1871 to 19 November 1872. Bradshaw stood in the 1865 Gold Fields by-election as one of three candidates, but was beaten by Charles Edward Haughton. He represented the Gold Field Towns electorate from to 1870; then from

1871 Events January–March * January 3 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Bapaume – Prussians win a strategic victory. * January 18 – Proclamation of the German Empire: The member states of the North German Confederation and the sout ...

the Waikaia electorate, until he retired in 1875. He then represented the Dunedin Central electorate from

1884 Events January * January 4 – The Fabian Society is founded in London to promote gradualist social progress. * January 5 – Gilbert and Sullivan's comic opera '' Princess Ida'', a satire on feminism, premières at the Savoy The ...

until he died in 1886.

Death

Bradshaw died of a stroke in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

on 1 September 1886. He was survived by his wife and five children, and they returned to live in England. Several people including a group of factory operatives decided to raise money for a memorial to him, and it was said that he had not left his family well provided for.

Sources

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradshaw, James Benn 1832 births 1886 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Australian gold prospectors New Zealand journalists People from South Derbyshire District New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates Members of the Otago Provincial Council New Zealand cricketers Burials at Dunedin Northern Cemetery 19th-century New Zealand journalists New Zealand male non-fiction writers Members of Otago provincial executive councils 19th-century New Zealand male writers People of the Otago gold rush