Edmund Barff

Edmund Barff
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Westland South
In office 6 April 1868 – 30 December 1870
Member of the New Zealand Parliament for Hokitika
In office 14 January 1876 – 15 August 1879
Preceded by	John White
Succeeded by	Robert Reid<>Richard Seddon
Personal details
Born	5 March 1833 Kent, England
Died	29 June 1882 Kumara, New Zealand

Edmund Barff (5 March 1833 – 29 June 1882) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament from the West Coast, New Zealand.

Barff was born in the English county of Kent^[1] on 5 March 1833, probably at Lee (now part of Greater London), where he was baptised five months later.^[2] He first came to New Zealand to join the West Coast Gold Rush in the mid-1860s.^[3] The West Coast was initially part of the Canterbury Province and following a requisition in October 1865,^[4] he was first elected as the member of the West Coast Goldfields electorate in the following month.^[5] Barff and Evan Prosser, who was elected at the same time, were the first members from the West Coast on the Canterbury Provincial Council.^[1][6] In July 1866, Barff became a member for the Westland electorate. He remained a member of the Canterbury Provincial Council until December 1867.^[5] The Westland district separated from the Canterbury Province on 1 January 1868,^[7] and Barff joined the Westland County, which was the predecessor to Westland Province. During the existence of Westland County (January 1868 – November 1873), Barff represented the ridings of Westland, Ōkārito, and Arahura.^[8] He did not join the Westland Provincial Council,^[9] but stood for the first election in January 1874 as one of three candidates in the two-member Arahura electorate (incorrectly referred to as 'Waimea' in some sources). Much to his surprise, he was defeated with 120 votes by Richard Seddon and Houlahan, who were equal at 145 votes.^[1][10][11]

Parliament of New Zealand
Years	Term	Electorate		Party
1868–1870	4th	Westland South		Independent
1876–1879	6th	Hokitika		Independent

He represented the Westland South electorate in the House of Representatives from 1868 to 1870,^[12] when he was defeated for Hokitika by John White.^[13] He then represented the Hokitika electorate from 1876 to 1879, when he was again defeated.^[12]

Barff died in Kumara in 1882; he had never married.^[1]

Notes

1. "Death of Mr Edmund Barff". West Coast Times (4122). 1 July 1882. p. 2. Retrieved 25 February 2013.
2. "England, select births and christenings, 1538–1975". Ancestry.com Operations Inc. 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
3. Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : A–L (PDF) I. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. p. 39. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
4. "To Edmund Barff, Esq.". West Coast Times (64). 31 October 1865. p. 2. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
5. Scholefield 1950, p. 192.
6. Scholefield 1950, p. 195.
7. Scholefield 1950, p. 241.
8. Scholefield 1950, p. 242.
9. Scholefield 1950, pp. 243f.
10. "Provincial Council Elections". Grey River Argus XIV (1699). 14 January 1874. p. 2. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
11. Scholefield 1950, p. 244.
12. Wilson 1985, p. 182.
13. "Hokitika". The Evening Post VI (293). 26 January 1871. p. 2. Retrieved 23 December 2010.

References

• Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
• Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1984 (4th ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.