Charles Ernest Randolph Mackesy
| Charles Ernest Randolph Mackesy | |
|---|---|
| Born |
9 January 1861 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | 20 November 1925 (aged 64) Whangarei, New Zealand |
| Allegiance |
 New Zealand
|
| Service/branch | New Zealand Military Forces |
| Years of service | 1900–1919 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Commands held |
Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment (1914–17) 11th (North Auckland) Mounted Rifles (1911–14) |
| Battles/wars | |
| Awards |
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George Commander of the Order of the British Empire Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches (3) |
Colonel Charles Ernest Randolph Mackesy CMG, CBE, DSO (9 January 1861 – 20 November 1925) was a New Zealand military leader and farmer.
Born in 1861 in Ireland, Mackesy moved to New Zealand in the 1890s and took up farming in Whangarei. A soldier in the Volunteer Force, he volunteered for service with the New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) on the outbreak of the First World War. He was commander of Auckland Mounted Rifles Regiment, serving briefly at Gallipoli, and more substantially during the campaign in the Sinai and Palestine. From April 1917 he carried out administrative roles for the remainder of the war, apart from periods of leave. Discharged from the NZEF in late 1919 he returned to his farm in New Zealand. He died of heart failure in 1925.
Charles Ernest Randolph Mackesy was born in Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland on 9 January 1861 to Ernest Randolph Mackesy and his wife. His father, a former officer in the 97th Regiment of Foot, had recently purchased a farm near Whangarei, in New Zealand, but died there a few months prior to the birth of his son. As a child, his family contributed to Mackesy's education which he received while living in several European countries. As a young man, he moved to the United States where he met Jessie Adam. The couple was married in the town of Dalis Peak, Kansas, in November 1880.
In the 1890s, Mackesy moved to Whangarei to take up farming on his father's land which had been close to being repossessed due to non-payment of rates. His wife, and their three children, followed shortly afterwards. He soon turned the farm into a profitable enterprise and later set up a land agency. He became active in politics, unsuccessfully contesting the 1899 election in the Marsden electorate.
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