Francis James Garrick

Francis James Garrick MP
Francis James Garrick
Canterbury Provincial Council
In office 11 June 1866 – 1869
Succeeded by	J. Inglis
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for St Albans
In office 1884 – 1887
Preceded by	John Evans Brown
Succeeded by	William Pember Reeves
Majority	317
Personal details
Born	1833 Sydney or at sea
Died	June 1890 (aged 56–57) Christchurch
Spouse(s)	Elizabeth Garrick (nee Peacock)
Relations	James Francis Garrick - brother Joseph Hector Garrick - brother John Thomas Peacock - brother in law
Children	6 sons, 3 daughters
Profession	lawyer
Religion	Wesleyan Church

Francis James Garrick (1833 – 7 June 1890), was a barrister and politician from Christchurch, New Zealand.

Garrick was the oldest of ten children of James Francis Garrick (b. 1803 in Deptford, Kent, England; d. 1874 in Sydney) and Catherine Eliza Garrick (née Branson, b. 1811 in Gibraltar; d. 1900 in Woollahra, Australia). His parents were married on 10 June 1832 in St Martin-in-the-Fields, Surrey, England. They subsequently emigrated to Sydney to manage a flour milling business.

Garrick was born in 1833. There are conflicting reports whether this was at sea or when his parents had already arrived in Sydney. He was educated at Sydney College.

Both Garrick and his younger brother James Francis (born 10 January 1836) were sent to Sydney solicitors to learn the legal trade. The older brother spent time at Andrew McCulloch's office, and after that he worked for Robert Nicholls. After being admitted to the New South Wales' bar, he became a partner with Rowley and Holdsworth.

James Francis moved to Brisbane in 1861 where only four attorneys were in practice at that time, whilst Francis James emigrated to New Zealand in February 1864. He found a partner and set up the firm of Garrick and Cowlishaw, with their initial office fronting Cathedral Square, Christchurch. In 1883, they took on another partner and the practice was then known as Garrick, Cowlishaw and Fisher.

Garrick was highly respected in the New Zealand bar for his speaking talent.

Garrick was a member of the Canterbury Provincial Council for three years. He was elected onto the council on 11 June 1866 for the City of Christchurch electorate. Immediately following his election, he was appointed Provincial Solicitor and thus became a member of the Executive Council; he remained on the Executive Council until 27 November of that year. On 3 June 1869, a by-election was held, as Garrick had resigned his seat the previous month. The election was won by J. Inglis unopposed.