William Larnach

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William Larnach (1833–1898)
The photo was taken in San Francisco in 1878 on the way to Europe.

William James Mudie Larnach (born January 27, 1833 in Castle Forbes, Patrick Plains, Hunter River, New South Wales , Australia ; † October 12, 1898 in Wellington , New Zealand ) was an Australian banker, New Zealand politician and builder of Larnach Castle in Dunedin .

Life

William Larnach was born the fourth of nine children to a Scottish family. He had three brothers and five sisters. His father was John Larnach (1805-1869), who came to Australia in 1822 and was a sheep farmer. His mother was Emily Mudie (1807-1882), daughter of a major , sheep farmer and partner of his father. William's greatest childhood role model was his uncle Donald Larnach , a fine-looking gentleman and banker. William got his first education from Reverend Irvine Hetherington , who as pastor of the parish in Singleton tried to give the children some education. For his academic education, William later went to Sydney College in Darlinghurst , Sydney .

Australia

In 1850 he followed the advice of his uncle Donald and started a banking career as an employee of the Bank of New South Wales in Melbourne , at a time when gold was being found in Australia . In the general euphoria and the chance to get rich, Melbourne was soon almost deserted. Following the call of gold, at the age of 18 William finally went to the gold fields of Victoria to prospect for gold. A little later he worked for the bank again, but now in the gold fields in a tented accommodation. A risky job that demanded a lot from him, but in which he was also able to prove his reliability and trustworthiness. In October 1857 he was sent to Ararat to open a branch of the bank, again in the tent. In February 1858 he returned to Melbourne as a bank manager.

On June 15, 1859, he married Eliza Jane Guise (1842-1880), daughter of a wealthy landowner of French descent. With a dowry of £ 85,000 , his social advancement was complete. After Larnach had worked again for two years as a bank manager in the gold fields, he went to Geelong , Victoria, as manager for his Bank of New South Wales in 1861 .

England

In 1866 he and his family accepted an invitation from his uncle Donald to London , who brought him into contact with important bankers of the time. His uncle, who was always a role model for him from childhood, inspired him not only in business matters, but also in the way of life. Larnach's time in England made him want to do greater things.

William Larnach with family
The photo was taken in San Francisco in 1878 on the way to Europe.

New Zealand

Less than a year after his return to Melbourne, he was offered the position of Colonial Bank Manager at Bank of Otago in Dunedin . Although the bank was very small and in difficulty, Larnach accepted the offer, promised to be successful, and came to Dunedin in September 1867.

It was well known and often criticized that bank managers in the colonies often made private investments through their banks, but this was not prevented. So it was also possible for Larnach to finance his private investments through his bank. On January 19, 1870, he bought a good 460 hectares of land on the Otago Peninsula . This is where his “castle” should be built. Larnach won the renowned architect Robert Lawson and began building Larnach Castle in 1871 , which should go down in history as the only castle in New Zealand and which is now the tourist attraction of Dunedin. In 1874 the family moved into the property.

When, in 1871, the income from the declining gold business decreased, Larnach got into trouble. Further capital increases were denied from London. The bank was no longer viable. In November 1873, after the Bank of Otago was taken over by the National Bank of New Zealand , Larnach quit his job, invested in land to make speculative profits , and with Walter Guthrie founded the trading company Guthrie & Larnach (hardware, household items and Woodworking), of which he was the main shareholder . The company founded was quite successful at first, until the economic depression in Europe (1873-1896) also had an effect in New Zealand. Guthrie & Larnach was finally liquidated in 1891 .

Despite Larnach's bad credit , the Bank of New Zealand backed him in the hope of some benefit. This benefit must have prompted Larnach to also become a politician. On December 20, 1875, he was elected to the House of Representatives to represent Dunedin City .

In 1877 Larnach founded the New Zealand Agricultural Company with the aim of making money by selling land. He traveled to England to acquire capital for land purchases. But the popularity was less than moderate. When Larnach returned to Dunedin in 1881, his dreams of speculation were shattered. Falling land prices, an unprofitable New Zealand Agricultural Company and the recession in the country brought Larnach to the brink of insolvency. In addition, his wife, Eliza, had died while he was away. Larnach became depressed and public shy. He speculated in stocks and drank.

On January 7, 1882, William Larnach married Mary Cockburn Alleyne , half-sister of his late wife. Larnach's financial situation remained tense. He thought of emigrating to South America , but eventually went back to Australia. In 1887 an attempt by Larnach to improve his financial situation and to establish a business with a partner in Melbourne failed. In the same year, Mary, his second wife, died.

On January 27, 1891, in Wellington , he married his third wife, Constance de Bathe Brandon , daughter of a lawyer. Despite tight funds, Larnach acquired 1,800 shares in Colonial Bank in Dunedin in 1894 , becoming its largest shareholder and ultimately director of the bank. The following year, 1895, this bank ran into trouble and was eventually taken over by the Bank of New Zealand. Larnach lost his capital and was on the verge of bankruptcy again . On October 12, 1898, William Larnach committed suicide with his pistol in the parliament building.

Parliamentarians

On December 20, 1875, William Larnach was elected to the House of Representatives to represent Dunedin City . In 1882 he was only able to secure his re-election through the Otago Peninsula district . In 1890 he lost his seat in parliament by being voted out of office. In 1894 he succeeded in re-entering parliament via the Tuapeka district, today ( Lawrence ).

William Larnach was never really interested in politics. Little remarkable is documented about his time as a parliamentarian. He was always interested in his business activities. His popularity with the working class of his constituency in South Dunedin may well be attributed to his straightforward, simple, and sometimes harsh manner of speaking. In the influential Dunedin class, for example, he was not popular as a politician. Larnach knew how to convince and win over people, but also how to offend them. Critics accused him of having a changeable character. Ultimately, Larnach failed because of his arrogance and misjudgment of reality.

See also

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Larnach, William
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Larnach, William James Mudie (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Australian banker, New Zealand politician and builder of Larnach Castle in Dunedin
DATE OF BIRTH January 27, 1833
PLACE OF BIRTH Castle Forbes, Patrick Plains, Hunter River, New South Wales , Australia
DATE OF DEATH October 12, 1898
Place of death Wellington , New Zealand