Name John Gray | ||
John Gray (11 November 1801 – 7 April 1859) was a soldier and a New Zealand politician. He came to New Zealand in 1847 in charge of a section of the Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps. He successfully stood for election to the 1st New Zealand Parliament in one of the electorates where most of the population was made up by military staff, the Southern Division. He retired after one term due to ill health in 1855, and died four years later.
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Early life and family
Gray was born on 11 November 1801. He was the son of Owen Wynne Gray, who was commissioned as a cornet in the 6th Dragoon Guards in 1791, and his second wife, Elizabeth Philpott. His half-brother, Lieutenant-Colonel George Gray, of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot, who was killed at the Battle of Badajoz in Spain, was the father of Sir George Grey.
Military career
Gray was commissioned as a captain in the 40th Regiment of Foot on 6 March 1836. He arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, on 26 November 1847 on the Sir George Seymour in charge of a section of the Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps. He eventually attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel. The Lieutenant-governor of New Ulster Province, Major-General George Dean Pitt, appointed Gray as resident magistrate on 1 August 1848.
Member of Parliament
He served in the 1st New Zealand Parliament, representing the Southern Division, a large electorate encompassing Waikato, the Coromandel, the Bay of Plenty, and East Cape. He retired due to ill health and did not serve in any subsequent parliaments.
Death
Gray died at his home, Wynnestead, East Tamaki, on 7 April 1859, aged 57. He was buried at Otahuhu Anglican Cemetery. His wife, Barbara, died on 30 July 1882 and is buried next to him.