William Larnach

William James Mudie Larnach (27 January 1833 - 12 October 1898) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He is known for building Larnach Castle and for his suicide.

Early career

Larnach was born in the Hunter Valley, north of Sydney, Australia. His early work was in farming and gold-digging, but he later gained employment with the Bank of New South Wales, and eventually became a branch manager. He married Eliza Jane Guise in 1859.

In 1866, he took a position as general manager of the Bank of Otago, based in Dunedin, New Zealand. He soon became quite prosperous, gathering large amounts of money through land speculation, farming investments, and a timber business. Between 1873 and 1887, Larnach constructed a large mansion on the ridge of Otago Peninsula, now known as "Larnach Castle". Larnach himself took up residence in 1874.

Although Larnach's property investments performed well, he was less successful in his banking career. The Bank of Otago's decline, which Larnach had been employed to reverse, continued unabated, and the Bank was eventually bought by the National Bank of New Zealand. The new owners were critical of Larnach's management, and accused him of dishonourable dealings — in 1884, this broke out into a public feud.

Politics

Not long afterwards, Larnach decided to enter politics, standing in a by-election in the seat of Caversham. However, he was defeated by his opponent, Robert Stout. Several months later, however, he was elected in the City of Dunedin seat. In 1877, at the behest of his South Island colleagues, he introduced a successful no-confidence motion against Harry Atkinson, the Premier of the day. Under the new Premier, George Grey, Larnach was appointed Treasurer (now Minister of Finance). He later undertook a long trip to England to arrange a government loan, although he also took advantage of the opportunity to launch a new business venture, the New Zealand Agricultural Company. Larnach's farming investments were turning sour due to the rabbit problems, and Larnach sought to sell his lands to British investors — this prompted considerable condemnation in New Zealand, as Larnach was seen as trying to deceive the British as to the quality of the investments. The New Zealand Agricultural Company was not a success, and the affair cost Larnach many friends and allies in New Zealand.

With land prices falling and his timber company also suffering, Larnach's financial position was declining. Larnach became depressed, and withdrew from society. He is reported to have begun drinking heavily. He eventually became insolvent, although Larnach Castle and various other assets had been transferred to the ownership of his wife, Eliza, and were therefore spared. In 1880, his wife died, and Larnach married Mary Cockburn Alleyne, her half-sister, in 1882. She died in 1887, and in 1891, he married his third wife, Constance de Bathe Brandon. In 1888, he briefly attempted to restart his career in Melbourne, but returned to Dunedin within a year.

In 1882, Larnach returned to politics, winning the seat of Peninsula in 1882. He devoted considerable effort to seeking government assistance for the New Zealand Agricultural Company. In 1885, he became Minister of Mines. In 1890, Larnach lost his seat, but regained it in 1894. He affiliated himself with the Liberal Party — a somewhat surprising decision, given his associations with the business elite that the Liberals opposed.

uicide

Larnach's own business dealings, however, were in dire straits. In 1894, he became a director of the Colonial Bank of New Zealand, having previously become a shareholder, but the Bank collapsed the following year. Larnach was on the brink of financial ruin. In addition, he had presumably heard the rumour that his young wife was involved in a love affair with his favorite son, Douglas. In 1898, Larnach locked himself in a committee room at Parliament and shot himself with a revolver. His surviving family fought a battle over his will.

ee also

*Larnach Castle

Further reading

Works by Larnach

:*citation |first = William J. M. |last = Larnach |title = Report on the mining industry of New Zealand: being papers laid before Parliament during the session of 1886 |place = Wellington, [N.Z.] |publisher = Government Printer |year = 1886:*citation |first = William J. M. |last = Larnach |title = Privilege: Mr. Larnach, M.H.R. and the "New Zealand herald": debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday 14th August 1888 |place = Wellington, [N.Z.] |publisher = n.p. |year = 1888:*citation |first = William J. M. |last = Larnach |title = The Colonial Bank of New Zealand in liquidation |place = Dunedin, [N.Z.] |publisher = Coulls, Culling & Co. |year = 1896

Works about Larnach

:*citation |title = Larnach: the man and his castle: [f] rom a display prepared by the Otago Early Settlers Museum, Dunedin. Curators: Text, Sean G. Brosnahan ; design, John Timmins |place = Dunedin, [N.Z.] |publisher = Otago Early Settlers Museum |year = 1991:*citation |first = John |last = Dunmore |title = Wild cards: eccentric characters from New Zealand’s past |place = Auckland, [N.Z.] |publisher = New Holland |year = 2006 |isbn = 1-869-66132-X:*citation |first = Bernard J. |last = Foster |title = 'LARNACH, William James Mudie, C.M.G.', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 18-Sep-2007 |url = http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/1966/L/LarnachWilliamJamesMudieCmg/en |accessdate = 2008-06-01:*citation |first = Hardwicke |last = Knight |title = The ordeal of William Larnach |place = n.p. |publisher = n.p. |year = n.d.:*citation |first = A. H. |last = Reed |title = Larnach and his castle |place = Wellington, [N.Z.] |publisher = A.H. & A.W. Reed |year = 1950:*citation |first = F. R. J. |last = Sinclair |title = 'Larnach, William James Mudie 1833-1898'. Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 22 June 2007 |url = http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/ |accessdate = 2008-06-01:*citation |first = Fleur |last = Snedden |title = King of the castle: a biography of William Larnach |place = Auckland, [N.Z.] |publisher = David Bateman |year = 1997 |isbn = 1-869-53353-4

External links

:*citation |title = Larnach Castle Timeline |url = http://www.larnachcastle.co.nz/category.pasp?categoryid=19