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James Crowe Richmond
James Crowe Richmond
	James Crowe Richmond in his later years
Member of the New Zealand Parliament; for Omata
	In office; 1860–1865
Member of the New Zealand Parliament; for Grey and Bell
	In office; 1866–1870
Personal details
Born	22 September 1822; London, England
Died	19 January 1898 (aged 75); Ōtaki, New Zealand
Spouse	Mary Smith (m. 1856; died 1865)
Children	5, including Dolla Richmond
Relatives	Henry Richmond (brother); William Richmond (brother); Maria Atkinson (sister)
Occupation	engineer, artist, politician, journalist, administrator
Profession	engineer

James Crowe Richmond (22 September 1822 – 19 January 1898) was a New Zealand politician, engineer, and an early painter in watercolours of the New Zealand landscape.

Early life

Richmond was born in London, England, the son of Christopher Richmond, barrister and his wife, Maria Wilson. He was educated at Hackney Grammar School, at Hove House, Brighton and at the school attached to University College London. He was apprenticed to the engineer Samuel Clegg and from 1845 served on the staff of Isambard Kingdom Brunel for three years working on the Great Western Railway in southern England.^[1]

Richmond emigrated to New Zealand with his younger brother Henry Richmond on the Victory on 3 October 1850. The ship arrived in Auckland in February 1851 and the two walked south to Taranaki where they purchased a few acres near the home of their aunt Helen, who had married John Hursthouse and had also settled in Taranaki. Eventually members of the Richmond, Hursthouse, Atkinson and Ronald families, who were related by marriage, all settled near one another in the area.^[2]

Richmond returned to England in 1854 and married Mary Smith on 21 August 1856 before returning to New Zealand on the Kenilworth, which arrived in New Plymouth on 8 July 1857.

Political career

New Zealand Parliament
Years	Term	Electorate
1860	2nd	Omata	Independent
1860–1865	3rd	Omata	Independent

1866–1870	4th	Grey and Bell	Independent

Richmond was elected unopposed as Member of Parliament for Omata at a 16 April 1860 by-election.^[3] He remained in Parliament until he resigned in 1865, as he was called to the Legislative Council, where he remained for only four months.^[1] He then represented Grey and Bell from 1866 to 1870, when he was defeated.^[4]

Mary had left for Nelson with other Taranaki refugees from the New Zealand Wars in 1860. In 1862 he joined her and became the editor of the Nelson Examiner while continuing his political career. After the fall of the Fox Ministry, he also became the Commissioner of Crown Lands. He served on the Nelson Provincial Council and was appointed provincial secretary from 2 March 1863 to March 1865. He was elected in the Amuri electorate and was a provincial councillor from 31 August 1864 to 14 September 1865.^[5]

Art

He formed a close and lifelong friendship with John Gully and continued to paint and sketch in what little spare time he had.

Later life

Mary died in Nelson on 29 October 1865 having never fully recovered from the birth of her fifth child, and this event left Richmond 'harassed & broken'. However, by 1866 he was back in politics and moved his family to Taranaki. By 1869 the family had moved back to Nelson. Other family connections were also living there, including his brother William's family and his sister Maria and her husband, Arthur Atkinson.

Richmond travelled with his three eldest children to England and Europe in 1873 but returned to Nelson by January 1881. He continued to travel frequently. His daughter Dolla Richmond was an artist and art teacher.^[6]

Death

Richmond died at the house of his daughter, Ann Elizabeth, in Ōtaki, which he was visiting, on 19 January 1898.

References

^ ^a ^b Oliver, W. H. & Porter, Frances. "Richmond, James Crowe". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 25 November 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Winder, Virginia (11 June 2004). "Richmond Cottage: Piecing Together the Story". Puke Ariki. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
^ "Election". Taranaki Herald. Vol. VIII, no. 403. 21 April 1860. p. 2. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
^ Scholefield, Guy Hardy (1925) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record. Wellington: Govt. Printer. p. 130.
^ Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. pp. 211, 214.
^ Paul, Janet. "Richmond, Dorothy Kate 1861–1935". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 18 February 2013.

External links

New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Alfred William East	Member of Parliament for Omata 1860–1865	Succeeded by Francis Gledhill
Preceded by Harry Atkinson	Member of Parliament for Grey and Bell 1866–1870	Succeeded by Frederic Carrington