James Craigie
| James Craigie | |
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| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Timaru |
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In office 1908 – 1922 |
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| Preceded by | William Hall-Jones |
| Succeeded by | Frank Rolleston |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
7 September 1851 Coupar Angus, Perthshire, Scotland |
| Died | 17 August 1935 (aged 83) Kingsdown, South Canterbury, New Zealand |
| Political party | Liberal |
James Craigie (7 September 1851 – 17 August 1935) was Member of Parliament for the Timaru electorate in the South Island of New Zealand and a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council. He was also Chairman of the South Canterbury Health Board, Chairman of the Timaru Harbour Board, a Timaru Borough Councillor and Mayor of Timaru.
Craigie was born in Coupar Angus, Perthshire, Scotland on 7 September 1851.
He came to New Zealand in 1867 with his parents, James and Agnes Craigie.
Craigie and his family landed in Dunedin, where he remained for several years after completing an apprenticeship as a painter and decorator.
Craigie moved to Timaru in 1873 where he started a glass and house decoration business. He also opened a large home decoration shop in Cains Terrace, Timaru. He subsequently merged his business with a Dunedin firm and it became known as Smith & Craigie. The merged business would ultimately become Smith & Smith, a company which continues to operate throughout New Zealand.
As his business success grew, Craigie purchased a large farm in Kingsdown, about 5 km south of Timaru, where he built a substantial house, Craigielea. Craigielea was subsequently destroyed by fire.
Craigie served on the South Canterbury Health Board for nine years, serving the last several years as Chairman.
He also served as Chairman of the Timaru Harbour Board for four years during which time significant progress was made in the development of the Port of Timaru.
Craigie served on the Timaru Borough Council
Craigie was Mayor of Timaru for ten years from 1902 to 1912.
James Craigie represented the Timaru electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives for 14 years from 1908 to 1922.
In the 1919 election, Craigie broke from the Liberal Party and stood as an Independent Liberal or Progressive Liberal.
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