Alfred Cox | |
|---|---|
&sq=Qlik&lang=&file=File:Alfred_Cox_NZETC.jpg) Portrait of Alfred Cox | |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Heathcote | |
| In office 28 October 1863 – 27 January 1866 | |
| Preceded by | William Sefton Moorhouse |
| Succeeded by | John Hall |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Timaru | |
| In office 20 February 1866 – 14 October 1868 | |
| Preceded by | Francis Jollie |
| Succeeded by | Edward Stafford |
| Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Waipa | |
| In office 11 January 1876 – 13 June 1878 | |
| Preceded by | new constituency |
| Succeeded by | Edward Graham McMinn |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 June 1825 Clarendon, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 23 May 1911 (aged 85) St Albans, Christchurch, New Zealand |
| Spouse |
Mary Macpherson
(m. 1849; died 1899) |
| Relations | William Cox (father) Ernest Gray (brother-in-law) Frederick Alexander Whitaker (son-in-law) |
| Residence(s) | Raukapuka (1857–1870) Lake House (1873–1879) |
| Occupation | runholder, politician |
Alfred Cox (3 June 1825 – 23 May 1911) was a 19th-century runholder and Member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. Born in New South Wales into an upper middle class military family, he was sent home to England to learn about farming. Upon returning to New South Wales, he heard about the large profits that were possible in South Canterbury and bought licences for land that he had not seen. He stocked the land, put a manager in charge and made another trip to England with his wife and their, at that time, small family. He moved to New Zealand permanently in 1857 and lived on his large farm, Raukapuka, which stretched from the sea to the foothills, and of which the homestead was located in present-day Geraldine. He sold his South Canterbury interests and moved to the Waikato, where he bought large land holdings in Hamilton and Thames. He tried to drain his swamp land and lost a lot of money with those ventures. He sold up in 1882 and moved to Christchurch, where he retired.
He became politically active in South Canterbury and represented the area first in the Canterbury Provincial Council and then in the House of Representatives. He was the driving force behind the establishment of some of the South Canterbury local bodies. During his time in the Waikato, he represented a local electorate in the House of Representatives. He resigned due to ill health and later tried to re-establish his parliamentary career in a South Canterbury electorate, but was beaten by William Rolleston.