William Turnbull Swan (27 August 1827 – 15 March 1875) was a 19th-century politician in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand.

Life

Swan was born in

Serampore Serampore (also called Serampur, Srirampur, Srirampore, Shreerampur, Shreerampore, Shrirampur or Shrirampore) is a city in Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the headquarters of the Srirampore subdivision. It is a part ...

, West Bengal, India in 1827. At the time, the area was part of

Danish India Danish India () was the name given to the forts and Factory (trading post), factories of Denmark (Denmark–Norway before 1814) in the Indian subcontinent, forming part of the Danish overseas colonies. Denmark–Norway held colonial possessions ...

. His elder brother Thomas was also born in Serampore but all younger siblings were born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, England. His father, Rev. Thomas Swan, was a leading abolitionist minister for a dissenting congregation in Birmingham. His mother was Elizabeth Swan (). In England, Swan had produced a popular book used in

National schools In Ireland, a national school () is a type of primary school that is financed directly by the state, but typically administered jointly by the state, a patron body, and local representatives. In national schools, most major policies, such as the ...

. In about 1862, he moved from Birmingham to New Zealand after his publisher had gone bankrupt. In Auckland, he was a clerk at W. J. Young & Co in Queen Street. When the

gold rush A gold rush or gold fever is a discovery of gold—sometimes accompanied by other precious metals and rare-earth minerals—that brings an onrush of miners seeking their fortune. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, ...

Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula () on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west from the Pacific Ocean ...

started in 1867, he relocated to what became

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after th ...

and was one of the leading citizens who took control of the development of the town. Swan represented the Franklin electorate in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from to 1870, when he was defeated standing for the newly formed Thames electorate. Swan then represented the Thames electorate in the

Auckland Provincial Council The Auckland Province was a Provinces of New Zealand, province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the ...

from 17 October 1872 until his death. He died in his lodgings at Symonds Street, Auckland on 15 March 1875 aged 47 years. He held strong political views that were often unpopular. As a consequence, none of the fellow provincial councillors attended his funeral at

Symonds Street Cemetery Symonds Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery and park in central Auckland, New Zealand. It is in 5.8 hectares of deciduous forest on the western slope of Grafton Gully, by the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road, and is crossed by t ...

. Swan was succeeded on the Provincial Council by William Davies, the mayor of Thames, who beat former Newton councillor William Rowe in a by-election on 5 April 1875.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, William T 1827 births 1875 deaths People from Danish India Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Members of the Auckland Provincial Council Burials at Symonds Street Cemetery