Robert Gillies (31 July 1835 – 15 June 1886) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in Otago, New Zealand. He was born in Rothesay on the Isle of Bute, Scotland.[1]
Robert Gillies | |
|---|---|
 Robert Gillies in 1876 | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Bruce | |
| In office 1884–1885 | |
| Majority | 217 (18.38%) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 31 Jul 1835 Rothesay |
| Died | 15 June 1886 Dunedin |
| Resting place | Dunedin Northern Cemetery |
| Spouse | Emily Street |
| Profession | Surveyor |
He failed to win the Bruce electorate at the 1883 by-election, and won the seat at the general 1884 election by a majority of 217.[2] He resigned in 1885 for failing health, which caused the 1885 Bruce by-election.[3]
He died on 15 June 1886 from an aneurysm of the heart. He was the brother of Thomas Gillies and John Lillie Gillies, and the father of plastic surgeon Harold Gillies.[4][1] Robert was buried in the Northern Cemetery.[5]
Family
editHe was one of the eight children (5 sons and 3 daughters) of Isabella (née Lillie) and John Gillies (born Rothesay on 22 April 1802). His father was a lawyer and a member of Otago Provincial Council.[6] Robert spent a year at Glasgow University in 1851, but his father then decided to emigrate. They reached Otago on the barque, Slains Castle,[7] on 6 November 1852[6] and bought 10 acres (4.0 ha) at Halfway Bush as a family home, and 100 acres (40 ha) at Riversdale, Milton.[8]
In 1866 Robert married Emily Street, the daughter of his business partner.[9] Charles Henry Street[7] (1824[10]-1887[11] Emily was a niece of Edward Lear, the nonsense writer and landscape painter. Emily, who had moved to Dunedin with her parents and grandparents when aged 5, was a founder of the first kindergarten in Dunedin, and took a keen interest in charitable works. After Robert's death in 1886, Emily moved her family from Dunedin to Auckland.
By 1902, the children had grown up and she bought part of her mother's Birtley estate. In 1905, the wedding of Emily Sophia Gillies (their eldest daughter) and Robert Williams Michell was held at her new Parnell house, Kohanga.
In November 1911, Emily Gillies sold Kohanga, following the death of her mother, Mrs Street, earlier that year. She moved into Birtley, the home she had inherited from her parents,[12] where she remained until her death on 7 September 1913,[13] aged 65.[14]
Emily and Robert had eight children:
- Charles Stuart Gillies helped found the Auckland Golf Club in 1894,[12] was a lawyer and golf champion and died of meningitis[15]
- George John Gillies[16]
- Robert Craig Gillies[17] was a sheep farmer at Hakataramea[18]
- Arthur William Gillies was elected mayor of Hāwera in 1912,[19] started the development of Kawaha Point at Rotorua and became a stockbroker in Auckland[20]
- Harry Thomas Gillies was Crown Prosecutor at Hamilton[14] for 36 years[21] from 1910[22]
- Emily Sophia Michell was at Cambridge[14] and a golf champion,[12] who died in France[23]
- Eleanor Lillie Bowen was at Parnell,[14] a golf champion[12] and worked with charities for the blind in Cape Town[24]
- Dr Harold Gillies[12] was an otolaryngologist and surgeon now considered to be the father of plastic surgery
Business
editRobert worked on the family's Milton farm and helped form the Bruce Agricultural Society. Later he farmed at Awamoko, near Duntroon, where he bred Leicester sheep. From 1857 to 1860 he worked for Otago Provincial Surveying Department, being one of the first to discover gold on the banks of several streams. In 1861 he joined Charles Henry Street[7] (1824[10]-1887[11]) as an estate agent. Walter Hislop replaced Charles Street in the partnership, the firm becoming 'Gillies, Street & Hislop'. In 1884 they amalgamated with Connell & Moodie, to form the Perpetual Trustees and Agency Company, which Robert chaired.[7] The Perpetual Trustees Estate and Agency Co Ltd continues,[25] after further mergers,[26] as Perpetual Guardian.[27] Robert was a director of Dunedin Waterworks Company[28] and chairman of Westport Coal Company.[29] He was a founder of the Presbyterian Knox Church, president of its Young Men's Association, started its library, local Treasurer of the London Missionary Society and a founder of the Otago Institute. Robert took part in observations of the Transit of Venus, naming his house, Transit House.[7]
References
edit- ^ a b "The Late Robert Gillies". Bruce Herald. Vol. XVII, no. 1759. 18 June 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "OFFICIAL DECLARATION OF THE POLLS. OTAGO DAILY TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 26 July 1884. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 199. OCLC 154283103.
- ^ "In Memoriam. Robert Gillies". The Evening Post. Vol. XXXII, no. 24. 15 June 1886. p. 3. Retrieved 19 February 2011.
- ^ "OTAGO DAILY TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 19 June 1886. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ a b "THE LATE MR JOHN GILLIES. BRUCE HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 26 July 1871. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "THE LATE MR ROBERT GILLIES. OTAGO DAILY TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 18 June 1886. Retrieved 12 August 2021.
- ^ "Dunedin Northern Cemetery" (PDF). Historic Cemeteries Conservation Trust. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ "MARRIED. OTAGO DAILY TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 21 September 1866. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
- ^ a b "Painting; Dunedin, by Mrs S. Street, 1859". Toitū Otago Settlers Museum, Dunedin, New Zealand. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ a b "ROUND THE CORNERS. NEW ZEALAND TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 3 September 1887. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d e "Kohanga (Former), 85-87 Gladstone Road, Parnell" (PDF). Heritage Unit, Auckland Council. August 2016.
- ^ "DEATHS. OAMARU MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 8 September 1913. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d "OBITUARY. NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 8 September 1913. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "MAIL SUMMARY: AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 23 August 1905. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "DEATHS: OTAGO DAILY TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 27 January 1892. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "London Portrait Rooms (Dunedin) fl 1864-1875 :Portrait of Robert Craig Gillies". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "SUPREME COURT. AUCKLAND STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 30 January 1915. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "The man behind Hawera's tower". Stuff.co.nz. 23 March 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "OBITUARY". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 27 August 1940. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "PERSONAL: WAIKATO INDEPENDENT". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 15 May 1946. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "WAIKATO ARGUS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 7 February 1910. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "OBITUARY: NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 2 March 1929. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "LIFE OF SERVICE. NEW ZEALAND HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 19 April 1939. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "The Perpetual Trustees Estate And Agency Company Of New Zealand, Ltd". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "AMP Perpetual Trustee Company Act 1988 No 1 (as at 01 March 2002), Private Act Contents – New Zealand Legislation". www.legislation.govt.nz. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "About Us". Perpetual Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "THE DUNEDIN WATER WORKS. THE INAUGURATION. OTAGO WITNESS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 13 December 1867. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- ^ "WESTPORT COAL COMPANY. WESTPORT TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 November 1883. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
| Years | Term | Electorate | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1884–1885 | 9th | Bruce | Independent | ||