Frederick Moss
Encyclopedia
Frederick Joseph Moss was a 19th century Member of Parliament from Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Early life

He was born in Longwood, Saint Helena
Longwood, Saint Helena
Longwood is a settlement and a district of the British island of Saint Helena, where Napoleon was exiled from 1815 until his death on 5 May 1821. France owns the land around Napoleon's original grave, but the United Kingdom retains full sovereignty....

 in 1827 or 1828, and moved to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. He returned to Saint Helena
Saint Helena
Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...

 in 1847. There, he married Emily Ann Carew in 1853 or 1854. In 1857, he went back to South Africa, intending to settle in Natal
Natal, South Africa
Natal is a region in South Africa. It stretches between the Indian Ocean in the south and east, the Drakensberg in the west, and the Lebombo Mountains in the north. The main cities are Pietermaritzburg and Durban...

, but locust
Locust
Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...

s had destroyed agricultural prospects. He decided to emigrate to New Zealand instead and the couple and their three children arrived in Lyttelton
Lyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....

 on the Zealandia on 12 November 1859.

Life in New Zealand

In Lyttelton, Moss supported the rail tunnel
Lyttelton rail tunnel
The Lyttelton Rail Tunnel, initially called the Moorhouse Tunnel, links the city of Christchurch with the port of Lyttelton in the Canterbury region of New Zealand’s South Island. It is the country’s oldest operational rail tunnel, and is on one of the first railway lines in the district...

 project and established himself as a trader. He was instrumental in forming a volunteer company and became captain. With the discovery of gold in Otago
Central Otago Gold Rush
The Central Otago Gold Rush was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand...

, he moved to Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

 in 1862. He entered various business partnerships, including with Thomas Dick
Thomas Dick (New Zealand)
Thomas Dick was a 19th century New Zealand politician. He was Superintendent of Otago Province in 1865, then Minister of Justice from 1881 to 1882, and Minister of Education from 1881 to 1884.-Early life:...

. He became captain of the local rifle volunteers and founded a newspaper, the Otago Daily Mail, which he sold after only a few months.

Political career

In Dunedin, he was elected to the Otago Provincial Council
Otago Province
The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876.-Area:The capital of the province was Dunedin...

 in 1863. He was secretary for public works and served as provincial treasurer. He and Dick, who had been elected onto the Provincial Council in 1859, were opponents of Julius Vogel
Julius Vogel
Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...

, who also entered the Provincial Council in 1863. When Vogel became leader of the provincial executive in 1866 and then treasurer, Moss resigned the following year.

He represented the Parnell
Parnell (New Zealand electorate)
Parnell was a parliamentary electorate in the city of Auckland, New Zealand, from 1861 to 1954.The electorate was represented by ten Members of Parliament:* Reader Wood 1861–65 & 1870–78* Robert James Creighton 1865–66* Frederick Whitaker 1866–67...

 electorate from 1878 to 1890, when he retired. He was a liberal and a supporter of Sir George Grey
George Grey
George Grey may refer to:*Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet , British politician*George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent *Sir George Grey , Governor of Cape Colony, South Australia and New Zealand...

 and provincialism.

His son Edward George Britton Moss
Edward George Britton Moss
Edward George Britton Moss was an Independent Member of Parliament for Ohinemuri in New Zealand.-Member of Parliament:Edward Moss represented the Ohinemuri electorate in the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1902 to 1905....

 was the Member of Parliament for Ohinemuri from 1902
New Zealand general election, 1902
The New Zealand general election of 1902 was held on Tuesday, 25 November in the general electorates, and on Monday, 22 December in the Māori electorates to elect a total of 80 MPs to the 15th session of the New Zealand Parliament...

to 1905.

Death

Moss died in Auckland on 8 July 1904. He was survived by his wife (by two years) and six of his eight children.
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