Thomas Henry Potts (23 December 1824 – 27 July 1888) was a British-born New Zealand naturalist,

ornithologist Ornithology is a branch of zoology that concerns the "methodological study and consequent knowledge of birds with all that relates to them." Several aspects of ornithology differ from related disciplines, due partly to the high visibility and th ...

entomologist Entomology () is the scientific study of insects, a branch of zoology. In the past the term "insect" was less specific, and historically the definition of entomology would also include the study of animals in other arthropod groups, such as arach ...

, and botanist. He also served in 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 ...

from 1866 to 1870.

Biography

The son of a

small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...

manufacturer, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1854, and recorded many natural observations as well as species that were then new to science, such as the

black-billed gull The black-billed gull (''Chroicocephalus bulleri''), Buller's gull, or tarāpuka ( Māori) is a Near Threatened species of gull in the family Laridae. This gull is found only in New Zealand, its ancestors having arrived from Australia around 2 ...

and the great spotted kiwi. In he was elected to the Mount Herbert

electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a Prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district or con ...

after

William Sefton Moorhouse William Sefton Moorhouse ( 1825 – 15 September 1881) was a British-born New Zealand politician. He was the second Superintendent of Canterbury Province. Early life Moorhouse was born in Yorkshire, England, and baptised on 18 December 1825; th ...

who had won the seat in the 1866 general election declined the seat. Potts retired from Parliament in 1870. In the 1860s and 1870s, Thomas Potts was an early campaigner for areas of New Zealand to be set aside as nature reserves to save many bird species from extinction, after the deforestation of large areas of mainland New Zealand. Potts owned Ohinetahi for several years.

References

External links

Digitized works by Thomas Henry Potts
at

Biodiversity Heritage Library The Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) is the world’s largest open access digital library for biodiversity literature and archives. BHL operates as worldwide consortiumof natural history, botanical, research, and national libraries working toge ...

Thomas Henry Potts in New Zealand birds websitePotts, Thomas Henry in ''1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''
1824 births 1888 deaths New Zealand entomologists New Zealand ornithologists Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Canterbury Provincial Council New Zealand MPs for South Island electorates 19th-century New Zealand politicians Botanists with author abbreviations New Zealand naturalists {{NewZealand-politician-stub