Henry Dodson | |
---|---|
2nd Mayor of Blenheim | |
In office 1870–1871 | |
Preceded by | Frederick John Litchfield |
Succeeded by | George Henderson |
In office 1883–1884 | |
Preceded by | Frederick Thomas Farmar |
Succeeded by | George Henderson |
Personal details | |
Born | near Malmesbury, Wiltshire, England | 21 April 1828
Died | 8 May 1892 Blenheim, New Zealand | (aged 64)
Resting place | Omaka Cemetery |
Relations | Joseph Dodson (brother) |
Henry Dodson (21 April 1828 – 8 May 1892) was a brewer and a 19th-century Member of Parliament from Marlborough, New Zealand.
Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1881–1884 | 8th | Wairau | Independent | ||
1884–1887 | 9th | Wairau | Independent | ||
1887–1890 | 10th | Wairau | Independent |
Dodson was born in 1828 near Malmesbury in Wiltshire, England.[1] His father, Joseph Dodson, was an officer in the British Army. His mother was Isabella Dodson (née Reid).[2] Joseph Dodson was an older brother.[3]
As a youth, he emigrated to Halifax in Nova Scotia, Canada, to join a brother. Together, they went to Victoria, Australia and joined the Victorian gold rush. After that, he came to Nelson, New Zealand and joined his brother Joseph Dodson in his brewery business.[1] He married Emma Snow (born 6 January 1830) on 10 December 1857 at Nelson.[4] He came to Blenheim in the late 1850s and set up a brewery in that town.[1]
Dodson was a member of the Marlborough Provincial Council for three different electorates from 1860–1863, 1866–1870, and 1874–1875.[2] In the provincial council, he was the head of the Blenheim party for many years, and they quarrelled against the Picton party.[2] He was Mayor of Blenheim for four one-year terms (1870–1871 and 1883–1884). He represented the Wairau electorate from 1881 to 1890, when he retired.[5] In 1881, he beat the incumbent, Arthur Seymour.[6] He was challenged by Joseph Ward in 1884.[7] In the 1887 election, he was challenged by a former Mayor of Blenheim, George Henderson, and Sutherland John Macalister.[8][9]
His wife died in June 1883.[10] He died on 8 May 1892 at his home in Blenheim, New Zealand after a sudden illness and was survived by seven children.[1] He was buried at the Omaka Cemetery in his brother George's family plot in the Old Cemetery section.[11][12]