William Fitzherbert (mayor) explained

William Fitzherbert
Office:1st Mayor of Lower Hutt
Term Start:1 February 1891
Term End:18 November 1898
Successor:Walter George Foster
Birth Name:William Alfred Fitzherbert
Birth Date:21 January 1842
Birth Place:London, England
Death Date:2 February 1906
Death Place:Lower Hutt, New Zealand
Children:9
Profession:Engineer
Relations:William Fitzherbert (father)
George Waterhouse (father-in-law)

William Alfred Fitzherbert (21 January 1842 – 2 February 1906) was the first Mayor of Lower Hutt, New Zealand, from when Lower Hutt became a borough in 1891 to 1898. He was an engineer and farmer in New Zealand.

Biography

William Fitzherbert was born in London in 1842, a son of William Fitzherbert.[1] The family followed his father to Wellington about 1846.[2] Fitzherbert was educated in Wellington, at Sydney Grammar School, and at Canterbury University College. He was an engineer with the Wellington Provincial Council and with the Hutt County Council. He farmed in the Wanganui district, and then in the Hutt Valley and in Hawke's Bay.

On 17 November 1875,[3] he married Fanny, the adopted daughter of George Waterhouse. They had five daughters and four sons.

In 1904 he built Norbury,[4] now Minoh Friendship House, to house his daughter Alice and her husband George William von Zedlitz, Victoria University's first professor of modern languages.[5] Alice married Professor von Zedlitz in 1905, and Alicetown in Lower Hutt was named after her.[6]

Fitzherbert died suddenly in Lower Hutt on 2 February 1906 of heart failure.[7]

In 2011, plaques were installed on 13 boulders at the Hutt Recreation Ground commemorating the first 13 mayors.[8]

Notes and References

  1. Book: The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Wellington Provincial District . 1897 . . Cyclopedia Company Limited . 24 June 2013 . . His Worship the Mayor, Mr. William Alfred Fitzherbert.
  2. Book: Platts, Una . Nineteenth Century New Zealand Artists: A Guide & Handbook . William Fitzherbert, artist . 13 October 2013 . Avon Fine Prints . 1980 . Christchurch.
  3. News: Fitzherbert-Waterhouse Marriage . . 18 November 1875 .
  4. News: Families flock to handy Normandale . . 10 May 2012 . 26 November 2017.
  5. Web site: About: Venue . Hutt Minoh Friendship House Trust . 26 November 2017.
  6. Book: Kaye, George . Bygone Days in Lower Hutt . 1987 . Lower Hutt City Council . Lower Hutt . 0-473-00523-9 . 116, 117 .
  7. News: Death of an old Hutt Resident . 24 June 2013 . . 3 February 1906 . XXXIX . 29 . 2.
  8. Web site: Boulders mark King George VI coronation . . 13 October 2013 . 14 November 2011.