James Fulton (New Zealand politician)

Summary

New Zealand Parliament
Years Term Electorate Party
1879–1881 7th Taieri Independent
1881–1884 8th Taieri Independent
1884–1887 9th Taieri Independent
1887–1890 10th Taieri Independent

James Fulton (27 June 1830 – 20 November 1891) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Otago, New Zealand and a cricketer.

Biography edit

James Fulton was born in Bengal,[1] and went to New Zealand in the late 1840s.[2] On 22 September 1852, he married Catherine Valpy, a daughter of one of Dunedin's most prominent and prosperous families. His wife was to become a notable suffragette.[3] They had three sons and three daughters.[2] His two eldest sons, Arthur Fulton (1853-1889) and James Edward Fulton (1854-1928) were prominent civil engineers.

He played five first-class cricket matches for Otago between 1863 and 1868.[4] These were the first five first-class matches played in New Zealand, and scores were very low. He made the top score of the match in the first two matches: 25 not out in the first match, which Otago won, and 22 in the second, which Canterbury won.[5] He captained Otago in three of his matches.

For many years he was resident magistrate at Outram, a small town west of Dunedin, before taking up farming.[2] He represented the Taieri electorate from 1879 to 1890 when he retired.[6] He was one of the commissioners on the Royal Commission into sweated labour in 1890.[2]

He was a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council in 1891, from 22 January to 20 November when he died.[7] He was appointed as one of seven new members (including Harry Atkinson himself) appointed to the Council by the outgoing fourth Atkinson Ministry; a move regarded by Liberals as a stacking of the upper house against the new government.

Notes edit

  1. ^ "James Fulton". CricketArchive. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d "Death of the Hon. James Fulton, M.L.C." Otago Daily Times: 2. 21 November 1891. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  3. ^ Entwisle, Rosemary. "Fulton, Catherine Henrietta Elliot - Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
  4. ^ "James Fulton". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
  5. ^ "Otago v Canterbury, 1863/64". Cricinfo. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  6. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 198.
  7. ^ Wilson 1985, p. 153.

References edit

  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
New Zealand Parliament
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Taieri
1879–1890
Succeeded by