Isaac Cookson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1817 (1817) England |
| Died | 10 December 1870(1870-12-10) (aged 52–53) Newcastle upon Tyne, England |
| Relations | Sir Matthew White Ridley (father-in-law) |
Isaac Thomas Cookson (1817 – 10 December 1870) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament inCanterbury, New Zealand. He was a prominent merchant in early Canterbury.
Cookson was born in England in 1817 and he lived inNewcastle upon Tyne.[1] His father, Thomas Cookson (1779–1863), was from Hermitage inCounty Durham.[2][3][4] His mother was Elizabeth,née Earle.[3] On 23 February 1843, he married Janetta Maria Ridley, a daughter ofSir Matthew White Ridley, 3rd Baronet.[5]Isaac Cookson was his entrepreneurial great-great-grandfather who came to prominence in Newcastle upon Tyne.[3]
When they arrived in New Zealand, the Cooksons had two children, a boy aged seven and a daughter aged five.[6] Sources differ whether a further child and a newborn both died on the journey[7] or whether one of them died just before they left England.[8]
The Cookson family arrived in Canterbury's port townLyttelton on 28 August 1851 on theDominion fromGravesend.[9] They first lived in London Street in Lyttelton, and sketches of their house and his office prepared by his wife are held by theNational Library of New Zealand. They then moved to theChristchurch side of thePort Hills and the valley where they lived was known as Hammerton based on the name of their 40 hectares (0.40 km2) property. When the Cooksons moved away after a decade, the area became known asHeathcote Valley, named afterSir William Heathcote, 5th Baronet who had been the secretary of theCanterbury Association.[10] Cookson was ajustice of the peace by 1852.[11]
Within a month of arrival, he went into business with William Bowler in Lyttelton; his business partner would later become prominent inWellington.[4][12] In early 1852, Cookson and S. Fisher were the first to bring bees to Christchurch; they brought a hive down each fromNelson.[4][13] Cookson and Bowler took up two runs in North Canterbury in mid-1852 but sold both of them a year later.[4] The Warren was located on the south bank of theEyre River and covered just under 12,000 acres (4,900 ha).[14] Their other run, Carleton, was located between the Eyre andCust Rivers and covered 8,000 acres (3,200 ha).[15]
In 1859, Cookson was the first president of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce.[5]
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860 | 2nd | Christchurch Country | Independent | ||
| 1861–1863 | 3rd | Kaiapoi | Independent | ||
Cookson represented theChristchurch Country electorate in1860 following the resignation ofJohn Ollivier,[16][17] and then theKaiapoi electorate from1861 to 1863, when he resigned.[18]
He was a member of theCanterbury Provincial Council and represented the Town of Lyttelton electorate (1853–1861)[19] and then the City of Christchurch electorate (1861–1862).[20] Cookson resigned from his political roles in October 1862 as he had received news of his only daughter Louisa having fallen seriously ill in Europe. TheSuperintendent of theCanterbury Province,James FitzGerald, presided over a private dinner on 13 October attended by some 60 people.[21][22] The Cooksons did not get to see their daughter again as she died on 22 November 1862 inPau in southern France.[23]
Janetta Cookson died on a journey to South America in late 1866. After leavingSaint Thomas, one of theVirgin Islands in theCaribbean Sea, she fell ill and died within a couple of days.[24] Isaac Cookson died on 10 December 1870 at Newcastle upon Tyne.[nb 1][27] His will concerning his New Zealand affairs was presided over by JusticeHenry Barnes Gresson in March 1873.[26]
| New Zealand Parliament | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament for Christchurch Country 1860 Served alongside:John Hall,Charles Hunter Brown | Constituency abolished |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament for Kaiapoi 1861–1863 | Succeeded by |