Scobie Mackenzie Explained

Mackay John Scobie Mackenzie (23 January 1845 – 15 September 1901), known as Scobie, was an independent conservative Member of Parliament in New Zealand.

Biography

Mackenzie was born in Tain in Scotland in 1845. He moved from Victoria to the Otago region in 1870 to manage the Deepdell sheep station on an invitation by Donald McLean and Matthew Holmes. He married Jessy Adela Bell in 1876, the only daughter of Dillon Bell.

He first stood for the House of Representatives in the in the Mount Ida electorate and was only narrowly beaten by the incumbent, Cecil de Lautour. He represented the Mount Ida electorate from 1884 to 1893, when he was defeated for Waihemo.[1] In 1884 he supported the Stout–Vogel Ministry and became the government's Whip.[2] However Mackenzie would later leave the Stout-Vogelites in protest of new tariffs and the notion of female enfranchisement, joining the opposition conservative MPs. In 1894 he came second in the for .

He then represented the multi-member City of Dunedin electorate from 1896 to 1899 when he was defeated.

Mackenzie died at his home in Dunedin on 15 December 1901, and was buried at Andersons Bay Cemetery.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Scholefield, Guy . Guy Scholefield . 1950 . New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 . 3rd . First ed. published 1913 . Govt. Printer . Wellington . 123.
  2. News: Late Cablegrams . Mount Ida Chronicle . XIV . 778 . 3 . 14 April 2017 . 28 August 1884.
  3. Web site: Cemetery details . Dunedin City Council . 23 August 2016.