- Thomas Burns (New Zealand)
Thomas Burns (ca. 1796–1871) was a prominent early European settler and religious leader of the province of
Otago ,New Zealand .Burns was baptised at
Mauchline ,Ayrshire ,Scotland in April 1796, the son of estate manager Gilbert Burns, who was the brother of the poetRobert Burns . In his childhood Thomas attended Haddington Grammar School and then theUniversity of Edinburgh , where he studied theology. In 1826, he was ordained as minister of the parish ofBallantrae , and in 1830 married Clementina Grant, the daughter of an episcopal minister in Edinburgh. The couple lived inMonkton , where Clementina's uncle had been Presbyterian minister. [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1B52 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography] ]At the age of 47, Burns joined the
Free Church secession from theChurch of Scotland . The proposal for a Free Church settlement inNew Zealand gained Burns's interest, and he was offered the position of minister of the New Edinburgh scheme (later the Otago scheme) in June 1843. Burns andWilliam Cargill established a lay association to promote the settlement in May 1845.On
27 November 1847 , Burns and 239 settlers sailed on the "Philip Laing " fromGreenock , among them his wife, five daughters, and one son,Arthur John Burns . The arrived at the new settlement ofDunedin on15 April 1848 . A firm and devout churchman, he also possessed farming skills from his childhood upbringing, and as such, he was a strict but practical man in the early days of the new settlement.Burns created a strong Presbyterian church as a cornerstone of the new settlement. He presided over the setting up of the
Synod of Otago and Southland in 1866, and established the presbyteries of Dunedin, Clutha and Southland. A strong supporter of education, he helped establish bothOtago Boys' High School andOtago Girls' High School during the 1870s, and was on the founding committee of theUniversity of Otago , [cite book|title=Penguin History of New Zealand|last=King|first=Michael|page=page 209|isbn=0143018671|date=2003] [Morrell, W.P. (1969) "The University of Otago: A centennial history." Dunedin: University of Otago Press, pp 6-10.] of which he was first Chancellor from 1869 until his death onJanuary 23 ,1871 . His wife Clementina survived him by seven years.A memorial to him was erected in the Octagon - the central space of the inner city of Dunedin.
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External links
* [http://collections.tepapa.govt.nz/objectdetails.aspx?oid=195225&coltype=photography®no=o.000998 "The Doctor Burns Memorial, Octogan, Dunedin" Burton Bros, 1890s ]
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