James Macandrew (1819(?) – 25 February 1887) was a New Zealand ship-owner and politician. He served as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

from 1853 to 1887 and as the last Superintendent of

Otago Province The Otago Province was a 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 province again in 1870. Area a ...

Early life

Macandrew was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

, probably in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), ...

, where he was baptised on 18 May 1819. He became active in the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

, and from there, in the proposed colonisation of

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

(which was being advocated by the Lay Association of the Free Church of Scotland, later the Otago Association). In partnership with his brother-in-law William Reynolds, Macandrew bought a

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

, loaded it with cargo, and set sail for Otago with his family. He arrived in January 1851. Still working in partnership with his brother-in-law, Macandrew immediately became a major figure in the business community of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. Reynolds, his brother-in-law, began to build up a shipping business, while Macandrew himself established a trading firm in the city. The partners later established a steamer service between Dunedin and

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, Australia. The two soon became very wealthy.

Political career

Macandrew was one of six representatives for the Dunedin Country electorate in the first Otago Provincial Council (1853–1855). He represented the Central electorate in the second provincial council (1855–1859), and the Port Chalmers electorate in the fourth provincial council (1863–1867). Macandrew was Superintendent of Otago Province from 1860 to 1861, and again from 1867 until abolition in 1876. He was Speaker of Otago Province twice (1853–1854, and 1856–1859). From January to November 1854, he was on the council's executive. When it was formed, Macandrew was elected to the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the Monarchy of New Zealand, King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is u ...

, representing the Town of Dunedin electorate. In Parliament, he fought what he saw as a bias towards the northern provinces (

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) 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 second-largest city in New Zealand by m ...

) at the expense of his own Otago. He also defended the practice of opening Parliament with prayers (describing them as a necessary "acknowledgement of dependence on the Divine Being"), and lobbied that all Parliamentary debates be published. He remained in Parliament until his death on 24 February 1887, having served in nine separate terms for the electorates. He first served for Town of Dunedin 1853–1858 (he resigned on 2 November 1858). He successfully contested a 14 January

1859 by-election Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza ( Romania since 1866 ...

in the same electorate and served until the end of the parliamentary term in 1860. Next, he served in the Bruce electorate 1865–1866, followed by Clutha 1866–1870,

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 orig ...

1871–1875 and

City of Dunedin City of Dunedin, during the first two parliaments called Town of Dunedin, was a parliamentary electorate in Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand. It was one of the original electorates created in 1853 and existed, with two breaks, until 1905. The firs ...

1875–1879. His last term was in Port Chalmers again from 1879 to 1887, when he died. He was Minister of Works from 5 March 1878 to 8 October 1879. For his last six and a half years in Parliament, he held the title of

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously- ...

, as the longest continuously serving MP.

Personal life

Macandrew and his wife had four daughters and four sons. One son, Dr Herbert Macandrew, became medical superintendent of the

Seaview Asylum The Seaview Asylum (also known as Seaview Hospital) was a psychiatric hospital located to the north of Hokitika, in the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island, adjacent to the former Westland Hospital. Open from 1872 to 2009, Seaview ...

Hokitika Hokitika is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, south of Greymouth, and close to the mouth of the Hokitika River. It is the seat and largest town in the Westland District. The town's estimated population is as of ...

. He died as a result of an accident in Dunedin.

Commemoration

The town of Macandrew Bay on the Otago Peninsula is named after James Macandrew, and Dunedin's former main sporting venue,

Carisbrook Carisbrook (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Carisbrook Stadium) was a major sporting venue in Dunedin, New Zealand. The city's main domestic and international rugby union venue, it was also used for other sports such as cricket, football, ...

is named after his former home in the city. Macandrew Road in Port Chalmers is named after him. Macandrew is buried at Macandrew Bay Cemetery.

Notes

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Macandrew, James 1819 births 1887 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Superintendents of New Zealand provincial councils Businesspeople from Dunedin People from Aberdeen Scottish emigrants to New Zealand History of Dunedin Otago Peninsula New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates Settlers of Otago New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates Burials at Macandrew Bay Cemetery 19th-century New Zealand politicians Members of the Otago Provincial Council