Sir Patrick Alphonsus Buckley ( – 18 May 1896) was a New Zealand soldier, lawyer, statesman, and judge who held several high government posts 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 ...

in the early 1890s.

Early life

Buckley was probably born in 1840 or 1841, near Castletownshend, County Cork, Ireland. He was educated at the Mansion House School, Cork; St. Colman's College,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

; the

Irish College in Paris The Irish College in Paris (, , ) was for three centuries a major Roman Catholic educational establishment for Irish students. It was founded in the late 16th century, and closed down by the French government in the early 20th century. From 1945 t ...

; and the

Catholic University Catholic higher education includes universities, colleges, and other institutions of higher education privately run by the Catholic Church, typically by religious institutes. Those tied to the Holy See are specifically called pontifical univers ...

Leuven Leuven (, , ), also called Louvain (, , ), is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipalit ...

. Buckley was in Leuven when the

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ese invaded the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; ; ), officially the State of the Church, were a conglomeration of territories on the Italian peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope from 756 to 1870. They were among the major states of Italy from the 8th c ...

in 1860, and at the request of Count Carlo MacDonnell, Private Chamberlain to

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

, he brought the recruits of the Irish Papal Brigade from

Ostend Ostend ( ; ; ; ) is a coastal city and municipality in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke, Raversijde, Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the la ...

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where they were placed under representatives of the Holy See. He served under General Lamoricière, and after the war returned to Ireland.

Australia

He emigrated to Queensland in 1862, where he completed his legal studies and was admitted to the bar.

New Zealand

After a short residence in Queensland he settled in New Zealand in 1865, and began his law practice in Wellington. Soon after his arrival, he became a member of the Wellington Provincial Council. He first represented the Karori and Mākara electorate (1872–1873), and then the City of Wellington electorate (1873–1876). He was called to 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 ...

on 23 July 1878, where he served to 20 December 1895 when he resigned. He was Colonial Secretary (1884–1887) and leader of the Upper House in the second Stout-Vogel Ministry, and

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

(1891-1895) and Colonial Secretary (1891-1895) in the Ballance and Seddon ministries. Under

John Ballance John Ballance (27 March 1839 – 27 April 1893) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 14th premier of New Zealand from January 1891 until his death in April 1893. He governed as the leader of New Zealand's first organised List of pol ...

, he was also briefly Postmaster-General and Electric Telegraph Commissioner in 1891, but he was soon succeeded by

Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the New Zealand Liber ...

. Under

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-ser ...

, he was also

Minister of Marine One of France's Secretaries of State under the Ancien Régime was entrusted with control of the French Navy ( Secretary of State of the Navy (France).) In 1791, this title was changed to Minister of the Navy. Before January 1893, this position als ...

in 1893. He was leader of an overwhelmingly opposition Upper House under 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 ...

from 1891 until 1895, when he accepted the position of Judge of the Supreme Court. He was created Knight Commander of St. Michael and St. George in the 1892 Birthday Honours. On 3 April 1869 he married Alice Jane, the only daughter of Sir William FitzHerbert. He had land in the Wellington suburb of Melrose. Buckley Road, Melrose is named after him. Fort Buckley, a defensive fort built on the slopes above

Kaiwharawhara Kaiwharawhara is an urban seaside suburb of Wellington in New Zealand's North Island. It is located north of the centre of the city on the western shore of Wellington Harbour, where the Kaiwharawhara Stream reaches the sea from its headwaters ...

overlooking the port of Wellington was also named after him. He died at

Lower Hutt Lower Hutt () is a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropoli ...

, New Zealand.

Notes

References

* * * * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Buckley, Patrick Alphonsus 1840s births 1896 deaths Irish College, Paris alumni Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Politicians from County Cork Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council Members of the Wellington Provincial Council High Court of New Zealand judges Attorneys-general of New Zealand Irish emigrants to colonial Australia Irish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand Liberal Party MLCs New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Colony of New Zealand judges Colonial secretaries of New Zealand Wellington City Councillors 19th-century New Zealand lawyers 19th-century New Zealand judges Attorneys-general of the Colony of New Zealand Irish expatriates in France People from Castletownshend Military personnel from County Cork