John Anderson (mayor)
| John Anderson | |
|---|---|
John Anderson
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| 2nd Mayor of Christchurch | |
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In office 16 Dec 1868 – 15 Dec 1869 |
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| Preceded by | William Wilson |
| Succeeded by | Andrew Duncan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 November 1820 Inveresk |
| Died | 30 April 1897 (aged 76) Christchurch Central City |
| Spouse(s) | Jane Anderson (née Gibson) |
| Children | four sons, two daughters |
| Profession | blacksmith, engineer, businessman, local politician |
| Religion | Presbyterian |
John Anderson (7 November 1820 – 30 April 1897) was the second Mayor of Christchurch in New Zealand 1868–1869, and a successful businessman. He had a close connection with three buildings (his office building, later known as the Guthrey Centre; St Andrew's Church, which is these days located at Rangi Ruru; St Paul's Church) that have later received Category I heritage registrations by the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. Two of these buildings were demolished following the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
His company became even more successful under the leadership of two of his sons, and it existed until 1986.
Anderson was born on 7 November 1820 in Inveresk, near Edinburgh in Scotland. He was the son of Alexander Anderson (a ploughman) and his wife Jean Harper.
He was married to Jane Gibson on 3 June 1845. Before her marriage, his wife was employed by the Dalmahoy family, who later helped their desire of emigrating to New Zealand by advancing £300 for the move. Their first two children, Marion and Alexander, died as infants, and this is believed to have been a stimulus for them to emigrate.
Their third child John was born in 1849 and the family of three came out to New Zealand on one of the First Four Ships, the Sir George Seymour, arriving in Lyttelton at 10 am on Tuesday, 17 December 1850.
A fourth child, Andrew, was born in 1851. Jean, Alexander, Elizabeth and Frederick were born between 1853 and 1861.
In Scotland, Anderson learned the trade of a blacksmith. Following this, he was employed by railway companies.
In New Zealand, he settled at The Bricks 43°31′31″S 172°38′42″E / 43.52540°S 172.64510°E, a locality on the Avon River in central Christchurch, representing the most upstream location that could be reached by boat in those days. He was influenced by John Deans to settle in Christchurch rather than in Lyttelton, where most of the other settlers established themselves. Anderson was a neighbour with the surveyor Edward Jollie, who lived in the leftmost hut shown in the Drury painting.
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