John McKenzie (1839 - 1901)

Born 6 Oct 1839 in Tolly, Ardross, Ross-shire, Scotland

Husband of Ann Munro — married 23 May 1860 in Dingwall, Ross-shire, Scotland

Descendants

Died 6 Aug 1901 at age 61 in Heathfield, Palmerston, Otago, New Zealand

Preceded by 1st Minister George Richardson

John McKenzie 2nd Minister of Agriculture of New Zealand 24 Jan 1891 - 27 Jun 1900

Succeeded by 3rd Minister Thomas Young Duncan

Biography

John McKenzie is Notable.

A farmer, politician and political reformer in the shaping of New Zealand.

As a youth he fathered a daughter (Johan McKenzie) while unmarried. He didn't marry the mother as she refused to accompany him to New Zealand. However, when he and Ann returned to Scotland in 1899 he met Johan for the first time.

His mother died from a famine in the late 1840's which removed a tie to the Highlands of Scotland. After marrying Ann in 1860 they departed for New Zealand and were to have six children.

John McKenzie migrated from Scotland to New_Zealand.

They sailed from Glasgow on the Henrietta arriving at Port Chalmers on 24 September 1860.

In his early days in Otago he was successful as a high-country shepherd and stockman. In 1863 he was managing a large run at Puketapu and within two years he owned a 76-acre property north of Palmerston.

In 1871 he was elected to the local council. In 1874 he moved to a 1000-acre farm near Dunback which he named 'Oykell'. In 1881 he became a Member of Parliament. In 1888 he moved to a better farm near Shag Point named 'Heathfield'. He held the post of Minister of Lands in the Liberal cabinet from 1891 to 1900.

His policies allowed 7,000 farmers and their families to move onto 1.3 million acres of land. One of his major achievements being to develop family farming.

By 1897 it was evident that his health was failing so he and Ann made a visit to London, England to undergo surgery. The surgery was successful and he recuperated in his old family home, Baldoon in Scotland.

They returned to New Zealand on the Gothic in November 1899.^[1]

On 25 June 1901 he was appointed a KCMG and died from cancer of the bladder six weeks later.

A large cairn (climbable tower) has recently been restored on Puketapu Hill near Palmerston.

His biography can be found on 'The Encyclopedia of New Zealand' (refer link below).

Sources

• An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand 1966
• Wikipedia, Sir John McKenzie (NZ)
• Tom Brooking. 'McKenzie, John', Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, first published in 1993. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2m17/mckenzie-john (accessed 24 March 2020)

References

1. ↑ S.S. Gothic (Nov 1899)