Also known as the 1st Baron Northcote, it appears from all my research that Henry had no direct contact with New Zealand at all, let alone Christchurch.
He never set foot on our shores and was only a child when the Canterbury Association – which a few members are now acknowledged in the naming of some Christchurch suburbs and townships – was established.
Maybe through his political career in England and Australia, he may have rubbed shoulders with some of New Zealand’s politicians who frequented London or Australia.
He must have made quite an impression on somebody to have received the honour of being remembered in the naming of one of our suburbs.
Henry had a political career that would make anyone’s head spin. Here’s a list of some of his achievements:
* Member of the House of Commons – 1880 – 1899
* Companion of the Order of Bath – 1880
* Financial Secretary of the War Office – 1885 – 1886
* Surveyor-General of the Ordnance – 1886 – 1888
* Governor of Bombay
* Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire.
* Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George.
* 3rd Governor-General of Australia.
Henry married Alice Stephen in 1873. They had no children.
I’m sure one of the proudest moments in Henry’s life was when in early 1900 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Northcote, of the City and County of the City of Exeter.
Unfortunately, because Henry had no children, his title became extinct after his death in 1911. There was to be only one Baron Northcote!
*image of Baron Northcote courtesy of http://www.britannica.com*
