Henry Augustus Field (1852 – 8 December 1899) was a Liberal Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. By profession a surveyor, he retired in his late 20s due to rheumatism and became a farmer. He died in office just two days after having won his second parliamentary election.

Henry Augustus Field
Henry Augustus Field in 1897
Member of the New Zealand Parliament
for Otaki
In office
4 December 1896 – 8 December 1899
Preceded byJames Wilson
Succeeded byWilliam Hughes Field
Personal details
Born1852
Wanganui, New Zealand
Died8 December 1899 (aged 48)
Political partyLiberal Party
Spouse
Hannah Field
(m. 1879)
OccupationSurveyor, farmer, politician

Biography

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New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1896–1899 13th Otaki Liberal
1899 14th Otaki Liberal

Field was born in Wanganui in 1852, the son of Henry Claylands Field (1825–1912)[1] and his wife Margaret Symes Puslow.[2] His father was a civil engineer from Holybourne, Hampshire, England, who had come to Wanganui in the early 1850s.[3] H. A. Field received a private education at Wanganui. He became a survey cadet in 1868 and qualified in 1872.[4][5] Together with his Christchurch cousin, D. H. Monro, he surveyed the Upper Whanganui River and the Taupo District immediately following the New Zealand Wars.[6] He retired from surveying in 1878 as he suffered from rheumatism and moved to Waikanae, where he was farming.[4][7]

On 28 October 1879 at Waikanae, Field married Hannah Erskine, the daughter of Thomas Wilson.[8]

He won the Otaki electorate in the Horowhenua District in the 1896 general election. He was ill during the 1899 session and could not attend the parliamentary sittings on many occasions. Against medical advice, he contested the 1899 general election on 6 December, visibly ill at many of the meetings.[6] He died two days after his re-election at his home in Waikanae.[6][7] His brother, William Hughes Field, won the resulting by-election on 6 January 1900.[7] Hannah Field died in September 1904.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : A–L (PDF). Vol. I. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. pp. 248f. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  2. ^ married 1st quarter 1851, Beaminster, Dorset FreeBMD accessed 20 Feb 2016
  3. ^ "The Late Mr. H. C. Field, C E". Wanganui Herald. Vol. XXXXVII, no. 13622. 1 March 1912. p. 5. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  4. ^ a b "New Members". The Press. Vol. LIII, no. 9592. 5 December 1896. p. 8. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  5. ^ Hamer, David (1988). The New Zealand Liberals: The Years of Power, 1891–1912. Auckland University Press. p. 362. ISBN 1-86940-014-3.
  6. ^ a b c "Obituary". The Evening Post. Vol. LVIII, no. 140. 11 December 1899. p. 5. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  7. ^ a b c Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
  8. ^ "Marriage". Manawatu Herald. Vol. II, no. 20. 31 October 1879. p. 2. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Deaths". The Evening Post. Vol. LXVIII, no. 64. 13 September 1904. p. 1. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Otaki
1896–1899
Succeeded by