by DOUG COLLIE
He was a young man of extremely modest means who would make his vast fortune in later life more than 11,000 miles from his home town of Jedburgh.
But 200 years after his birth in 1821 John Tinline's name is still remembered and respected in the Scottish royal burgh where he spent his childhood, and in Nelson, New Zealand where he left his indelible mark on local society.
His was a remarkable life story. At the tender age of 18 Tinline swapped his lowly post as an apprentice in a Jedburgh solicitor's office for the excitement and uncertainty of a largely unexplored territory on the other side of the world.
But there would be many ups and downs before John established himself as the 19th Century equivalent of a multi-millionaire. A real life rags to riches adventure after he decided to follow his brother George to Australasia.
The Cyclopedia of New Zealand's Old Colonists describes how John Tinline ended up in New Zealand rather than Australia where his brother worked as an accountant in a leading bank.
John left Scotland in September 1839 aboard the ship “Bengal,” bound for Sydney., Australia.
The Cyclopedia records: "On his arrival there, in January, 1840, Mr. Tinline found that his brother had been moved to a branch of the bank in Adelaide, so he lost no time in taking a passage for that town. After spending a few months on the survey staff, in Adelaide, he emigrated to Wellington, New Zealand, where he arrived in September, 1840. and where his cousin. Mr. Robert Waitt, was in business as a merchant."
In October, of the same year, Mr. Tinline joined a Major Durie, and the partners opened up a business as storekeeper on Lambton Quay in Wellington.
"Early in 1842, when the settlement of Nelson was under way, Mr. Tinline, at the instance of his partner and Mr. Waitt. went to Nelson with a cargo of goods, to be in time for the arrival of the first settlers. He established a general merchant's business in Nelson, under the name of Waitt and Company.
"But unfortunately, in November, 1842, the warehouse belonging to himself and Major Durie in Wellington, was totally destroyed by fire, by which the partners lost all that they possessed. Mr. Tinline then remained in Nelson for some time to wind up the business of Waitt and Co."
However, John's fortunes were to change dramatically in early 1844 when Governor Robert Fitzroy arrived in Nelson to establish a system of local administration. In making his appointments the governor selected the 23-year-old Tinline for the position of Clerk of the Magistrate's Court, and Native Interpreter.
After his arrival in New Zealand John had shared accommodation with a young Maori and soon became a fluent speaker of the native language. He was able to negotiate land deals with the Maoris, and also carried out valuable surveys of the uncharted lands around Nelson. John remained in the Government service until the end of 1852.
According to the Cyclopedia: "He filled several important offices, and did his share in the arduous work of building up the prosperity of the province."
In 1853 John turned his attention to sheep farming, an activity he succeeded at on an unbelievable scale over the next 30 years. He owned a string of massive sheep stations including Weld's Hill, Green Hills, and Ferniehurst, in Marlborough, and Lyndon in Amuri.
To illustrate the sheer scale of his business Lyndon alone comprised more than 80,000 acres, about 50,000 acres of which were freehold. The entire property, including 40,000 sheep, was eventually sold by Mr. Tinline for a vast sum while the disposal of tens of thousands of acres also in his ownership added to his great wealth.
The lifelong bachelor switched his focus to philanthropy on a grand scale, both in New Zealand and back home in Jedburgh. He also found time to promote the extension of railways and telegraph services 'up country'.
John made several generous financial gifts for the benefit of education in his adopted country. For example in 1886 Tinline donated the sum of £1,000 (the equivalent of more than £130,000 nowadays) to provide scholarships for students advancing to MA in English. And the John Tinline Prize in English was established at the University of Otago in 1965.
The University of Auckland also offers an annual John Tinline Prize in English with a value of 800 NZ dollars while a similar award is made by the University of Wellington (500 NZ dollars).
At the age of 70 he made the long journey back to Jedburgh where, in 1891, he gifted Allerley Well Park to the town and was honoured with the freedom of the burgh.
John Tinline died at Warwick House, his New Zealand residence, in February 1907.
*His nickname 'Old Fizzlebilly' stemmed from his flowing white beard.
No comments:
Post a Comment