John Anstey JP (1856 – 28 August 1940) was a farmer from South Canterbury in New Zealand. He was first a member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

and then a Member of Parliament, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

Early life

Anstey was born in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

shire, England in 1856, and was raised on his father's farm in Tiverton. He was the brother of Rev. Martin Anstey. He came to New Zealand in 1878 via Lyttelton. For the first three years, he worked as a shearer and engine-driver. On 20 September 1881, he married Bessie Chamberlain of Hadstock Estate in the Ellesmere district near

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 ...

. His wife was born in Cheriton Fitzpaine in Devon, which is about from where he grew up. In the same year, he bought land in

Pareora Pareora is a small town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is located close to State Highway 1, which bypasses the western edge of the town, and close to the Pacific Ocean coast, five kilometres north of Saint Andrews and 10 kilometres sou ...

, some south of

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

. In 1889, he leased land in Otipua and moved to that locality a few kilometres inland from Pareora. Anstey was active with the Canterbury Farmers' Cooperative Association and eventually became its director, and was for several years on the board of the Pareora School Committee, including three years as chairperson. He became a Justice of the Peace in 1897. He was on the Timaru Borough Council, belonged to the South Canterbury Power Board from its beginning, and was a member of the Chamber of Commerce for two decades.

Political career

Anstey was a member of the Royal Land Commission from 1905 and as a result of this work, he was appointed to the

on 22 January 1907 by the

Liberal Government Liberal government may refer to: Australia In Australian politics, a Liberal government may refer to the following governments administered by the Liberal Party of Australia: * Menzies Government (1949–66), several Australian ministries under S ...

. At the end of his term on 21 January 1914, the Reform Government was in power and he was not reappointed. He won the

Waitaki Waitaki District is a territorial authority district that is located in the Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island of New Zealand. It straddles the traditional border between the two regions, the Waitaki River, and its seat is Oamaru. ...

electorate in , when he defeated Norton Francis of the Reform Party by 3070 votes to 2914. At the next general election in , he was defeated by Reform's

John Bitchener John Bitchener (1864 – 10 March 1952) was a Reform Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. He was a cabinet minister from 1933 to 1935 in the Reform Government of New Zealand. Early life Bitchener was born in 1864 in Stagsden, Bedfordshi ...

Death

Anstey died on 28 August 1940, aged 84. He was survived by three sons and one daughter.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Anstey, John 1856 births 1940 deaths New Zealand Liberal Party MPs Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council Unsuccessful candidates in the 1919 New Zealand general election Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates British emigrants to New Zealand