John Cargill (1821 – 2 January 1898) was a New Zealand politician and runholder.

Early life

Cargill was born in 1821; he was the son of William Cargill, one of

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 ...

's most prominent settlers. Edward Cargill was a younger brother. John Cargill served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, and he served in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

on ''Ringdove'' and . He retired from the navy in 1840 and by 1841, he came to

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

and then

Port Phillip Port Phillip (Kulin languages, Kulin: ''Narm-Narm'') or Port Phillip Bay is a horsehead-shaped bay#Types, enclosed bay on the central coast of southern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. The bay opens into the Bass Strait via a short, ...

. He visited the

Pacific Islands The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Depending on the context, the term ''Pacific Islands'' may refer to one of several ...

and settled in

Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

where he had a coffee plantation. He was asked by his father to help with preparations for the Otago emigration scheme and returned to England in 1846. On 24 November 1847, the Cargill family sailed for New Zealand on the ship , arriving at what is now

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 ...

, Otago on 23 March 1848.

New Zealand

John Cargill took up a sheep run at the Coast where the

Tokomairaro River The Tokomairaro River is located in Otago, New Zealand. It flows southeast for some 50 kilometres (30 mi), reaching the Pacific Ocean at Toko Mouth 50 kilometres (30 mi) south of Dunedin. The town of Milton is located on the Tokomai ...

flows into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

Toko Mouth Toko Mouth is a settlement close to the south bank of the mouth of the Tokomairaro River, some south of Dunedin and southeast of Milton in Otago, New Zealand. The settlement comprises some 70 holiday homes, of which a small percentage are ...

. He then had sheep runs at

Mount Stuart Mount Stuart is a mountain in the Cascade Range, in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It is the second highest non-volcanic peak in the state, after Bonanza Peak (Washington), Bonanza Peak and seventh-highest overall. Mount Stua ...

, a locality inland from Milton. He later owned the Teviot run with his son-in-law where they had 55,000

merino The Merino is a list of sheep breeds, breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monop ...

, and a further run at Gladfield in South Otago. He was elected to the

1st New Zealand Parliament The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 24 May 1854, following New Zealand's first general election (held the previous year). It was dissolved on 15 September 1855 in preparation for that year's ...

as a representative of the

Dunedin Country Dunedin Country was a parliamentary electorate in the rural area surrounding the city of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand, from 1853 to 1860. It was a two-member electorate and was represented by a total of five members of parliament. Population ce ...

electorate, which covered rural Otago, Southland, and

Fiordland Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...

. He was re-elected for the 2nd Parliament, serving alongside his father. The house had not been convened in 1857 and Cargill Jr. placed an advertisement in the ''

Otago Witness The ''Otago Witness'' was a prominent illustrated weekly newspaper in the early years of the European settlement of New Zealand, produced in Dunedin, the provincial capital of Otago. Published weekly, it existed from 1851 to 1932. The introduct ...

'' on 12 September 1857, announcing his intention of handing in his resignation. The resignation became effective when the house next met later in 1858. He later served in the 4th Parliament, representing the electorate of

Bruce The English language name Bruce arrived in Scotland with the Normans, from the place name Brix, Manche in Normandy, France, meaning "the willowlands". Initially promulgated via the descendants of king Robert the Bruce (1274−1329), it has been ...

(which had been formed out of Dunedin Country), until he resigned in 1870. He was one of five candidates in the 1871 Roslyn by-election and came third. He also participated in Otago Provincial politics.

British Columbia

After running into financial difficulties, Cargill left New Zealand for England in 1884, and went on to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

about three years later. He died in the

Okanagan The Okanagan ( ), also called the Okanagan Valley and sometimes the Okanagan Country, is a region in the Canadian province of British Columbia defined by the basin of Okanagan Lake and the Canadian portion of the Okanagan River. It is part of ...

district of

on 2 January 1898. He is buried in the Armstrong Pioneer Cemetery just north of

Vernon, British Columbia Vernon is a city in the Okanagan region of the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It is northeast of Vancouver. Named after Forbes George Vernon, a former Member of the Legislative Assembly, MLA of British ...

, Canada.

Family

Cargill married twice. Firstly in 1849, he married Sarah Charity Jones, the daughter of John Jones. They had four daughters and two sons. One daughter married John Harris, a son of

John Hyde Harris John Hyde Harris (24 November 1826 – 24 July 1886) was a 19th-century New Zealand politician. Born in England, he came to Dunedin as a young man and practised as a lawyer, and was then a judge. He entered provincial politics and was elected as ...

. His youngest daughter and his two sons also went to British Columbia. His first wife died on 27 January 1866 at their home in Green Island. On 1 September 1869, Cargill married Kate Featherston at St. Paul's cathedral 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 ...

. She was the third daughter of

Isaac Earl Featherston Isaac Earl Featherston (21 March 1813 – 19 June 1876), popularly known as the Little Doctor, was a New Zealand politician, known for his advocacy for the establishment of New Zealand self-government, and the importance of the provincial gover ...

, his fellow member of parliament and

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

Wellington Province Wellington Province, governed by the Wellington Provincial Council, was one of the provinces of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. It covered much of the southern half of the North Island until November 1 ...

. They had three children, of whom two sons survived their childhood.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cargill, John 1821 births 1898 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Otago Provincial Council New Zealand MPs for Dunedin electorates Members of Otago provincial executive councils

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...