John Thomas Peacock
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The Hon John Thomas Peacock MLC |
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John Thomas Peacock
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| Canterbury Provincial Council | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Lyttelton |
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In office 1868 – 1873 |
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| Preceded by | George Macfarlan |
| Succeeded by | Henry Richard Webb |
| Majority | unopposed |
| New Zealand Legislative Council | |
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In office 1873–1905 |
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| 1st Mayor of St Albans | |
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In office 14 December 1881 – 20 November 1883 |
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| Succeeded by | J. L. Wilson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1827 Hawkesbury district |
| Died | 20 October 1905 Papanui |
| Resting place | Linwood Cemetery 43°32′19″S 172°41′11″E / 43.53850°S 172.68630°E |
| Spouse(s) | Kate Hickman Peacock (née Mansfield) Janey McRae (his adoptive daughter) |
| Relations | father John Jenkins Peacock brother in law John Evans Brown brother in law Francis James Garrick brother in law Henry Richard Webb nephew Robert Ewing McDougall |
| Children | adoptive daughter Janey, two stepsons from his second marriage |
| Residence | Hawkesbury |
| Occupation | merchant, businessman, politician |
| Religion | Wesleyan Church |
John Thomas Peacock MLC JP (1827 – 20 October 1905) was a New Zealand businessman, philanthropist and politician. He came to Canterbury in 1844, several years before organised settlement started.
Peacock was born in 1827 in the Hawkesbury district, New South Wales, Australia. He is the eldest son of John Jenkins Peacock (d. 1866) and his wife Maria Peacock (1804/05-1884). He attended Sydney College. The family arrived in Lyttelton in 1844. Settlement organised by the Canterbury Association started in December 1850, so the Peacocks were in the colony at an early stage.
His father was a hard worker. It is said about him that "he could be seen at Lyttelton ... at 6 am on a frosty morning, knee deep in the water loading a boat with sacks of potatoes for shipment by his brig which lay at anchor some distance away."
In August 1854, Peacock married Kate Hickman Peacock (née Mansfield, born ca 1835). They did not have any children, but adopted Janey, the ex-nuptial daughter of a family servant. On 14 June 1877, Janey married Alexander McRae. The Peacocks were generous to their adopted daughter and her children. Janey's husband was unfaithful and violent and their marriage was dissolved exactly ten years later.
Peacock was a merchant and later owned several ships. He had Peacock’s Wharf built, the first substantial place for landing a boat in Lyttelton. He traded as J.T. Peacock and Co., had a large trade and was successful enough that he could retire from trading in 1863, aged 37. He sold his business to Charles Wesley Turner (1834–1906) and Beverley Buchanan.
In the same year, he built his residence 'Hawkesbury' in Merivale (43°30′45″S 172°37′22″E / 43.51240°S 172.62280°E). The residence was named after the district he was born in and was designed by Samuel Farr (1827–1918). Its driveway was located at what is now 184 Papanui Road, and ran for about 140 m before reaching the house. The property was surrounded by Papanui Road, Mansfield Avenue and St Albans Street and four gardeners were employed for the upkeep of the gardens. An archery ground, a bowling green, a tennis court and a swimming pool were on the grounds. The house was demolished in 1920 and the land subdivided.
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Wikipedia