Richard Packer (1794 – 27 July 1872) was a New Zealand politician and Member of Parliament from 1856–1859 representing the Town of Christchurch electorate. He was also a member of the

Canterbury Provincial Council The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch. History Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential En ...

, including its treasurer.

Early life

Packer lived in Claverton near

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in the

County of Somerset Somerset ( , ), archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to t ...

, England, when he decided to emigrate to New Zealand, which he did in 1851. He took up employment as church steward. His family arrived in Lyttelton on 31 May 1851 on the ship ''Travancore''.

Political career

Packer was elected to the first Canterbury Provincial Council in 1853, together with

Samuel Bealey Samuel Bealey (1821 – 8 May 1909) was a 19th-century politician in Canterbury, New Zealand. Bealey came out to Canterbury in 1851, a pastoralist with capital to invest in farming. He married Rose Ann, daughter of Archdeacon Paul in 1852. Hav ...

and Thomas Cass. He was a member of the 1st and 2nd council, from 1853 until 1860. During a day of low attendance in October 1854, he secured a suspension of the standing orders, which allowed him to pass the first two readings of a bill to enlarge the council's membership by 12 additional members. Whilst there was justification for such a measure due to the long session lengths, the Executive Council consisting of Henry Tancred, Henry Godfrey Gouland,

Charles Simeon Charles Simeon (24 September 1759 – 13 November 1836) was an English Evangelical Anglicanism, evangelical Anglican cleric and biblical commentator who led the evangelical 'Low Church' movement, in reaction to the liturgically and episcopally ...

, and

William John Warburton Hamilton William John Warburton Hamilton (April 1825 – 6 December 1883), who generally signed as J. W. Hamilton, was an administrator, explorer, and politician in New Zealand. Early life Hamilton was born in 1825 at Little Chart, Kent, England. His f ...

regarded the matter as a vote of no confidence and resigned. Packer was part of the Executive Council in 1855 and again in 1857. For a time, he was Provincial Treasurer and Provincial Secretary.

Henry Sewell Henry Sewell (; 7 September 1807 – 14 May 1879) was a New Zealand politician. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-government, and is generally regarded as having been the country's first premier (a post that would later be offici ...

vacated his seat for the Town of Christchurch electorate on 21 October 1856 to commence overseas travel. Packer was elected on 18 November in the

1856 Town of Christchurch by-election The Town of Christchurch by-election of 1856 was a by-election held in the electorate during the 2nd New Zealand Parliament, on 18 November 1856. The by-election was caused by the resignation of incumbent MP Henry Sewell and was won by Richar ...

to fill this vacancy. On 28 December 1859, Packer resigned his seat at parliament. The 18 January 1860 by-election was won by Sewell, who had returned from overseas. He served on the Waste Lands Board until his death.

Later life

Packer had an early shop in

Cashel Street City Mall is the main pedestrian mall in the Christchurch Central City, central city of Christchurch, New Zealand, comprising two sections of Cashel Street plus the Bridge of Remembrance and one section of High Street. It is also known colloquia ...

on the site that was later occupied by the

Bank of Australasia The Bank of Australasia was an Australian bank in operation from 1835 to 1951. Headquartered in London, the bank was incorporated by royal charter in March 1834. It had initially been planned to additionally include first South Africa and then ...

. Packer owned of land at the southern end of

Colombo Street Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial Capital city, capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limit ...

. The property was previously owned by the brothers

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

and Frederick Augustus Bishop, and they had called it Somerfield based on their birthplace (Somerfield House in

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

). Packer's son, Henry William Packer (1831–1890), increased the family's land holding to .

Somerfield Somerfield ( ) was a chain of small to medium-sized supermarkets operating in the United Kingdom. The business started life in the 19th century as grocers J. H. Mills, and after a series of buyouts and mergers, the company became known as Gatew ...

has since been adopted for the name of the suburb in that part of Christchurch. Packer was active in the

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholicism, Catholic heritage (especially pre-English Reformation, Reformation roots) and identity of the Church of England and various churches within Anglicanism. Anglo-Ca ...

movement in the Anglican church. He was on the building committee for the Saint Michael and All Angels Church, which these days forms part of the St Michael's Church School in the

Christchurch Central City Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Aven ...

. His name is written on

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared Tanning (leather), untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves and goats. It has been used as a writing medium in West Asia and Europe for more than two millennia. By AD 400 ...

stored in a glass cylinder underneath the cornerstone in the foundation. Packer died in Christchurch on 27 July 1872. Packer's wife Hannah died on 7 December 1879 in the Christchurch suburb of Somerfield, aged 85.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Packer, Richard 1794 births 1872 deaths Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Canterbury Provincial Council Politicians from Christchurch New Zealand MPs for Christchurch electorates Members of Canterbury provincial executive councils New Zealand Anglo-Catholics