James Sandilands
Douglas
James Sandilands Douglas JP (16 April 1872 – 2 August 1957) was a
New Zealand plumber and politician. He served as mayor of Dunedin
from 1921 to 1923.
Douglas was born in Dunedin on 16 April 1872. His father, also
called James Sandilands Douglas, who came from Midcalder, outside
Edinburgh, Scotland and settled in Dunedin, New Zealand, was the
publican of Wain's Hotel in Dunedin, and his mother was Agnes
Fortune Douglas (née McFadyen), whose father Hugh McFadyen was the
first town clerk of North East Valley Borough.
Douglas' brother, Robert Rutherford Douglas, unsuccessfully
contested the Dunedin South electorate for the Independent Political
Labour League at the 1908 general election, finishing second behind
the Liberal candidate, Thomas Sidey. At the 1911 general election,
he stood as an independent candidate for Dunedin North, but again
placed second, being defeated by George Thomson.
After leaving school, Douglas was apprenticed to the plumbing trade
in 1888, and in 1895 he became a partner in a plumbing firm with
James Wilson when the pair acquired the business from their retiring
boss. In 1902, Douglas took over the plumbing business of Messrs
Croxford and Sons, and ran it as J. S. Douglas and Company until his
retirement from the trade in 1932.
Douglas was a founding member of the Otago Master Plumbers'
Association serving as secretary from 1895 to 1898, and then as
president from 1899, retiring in 1933. He served as president of the
Federation of New Zealand Master Plumbers on three occasions, and
was a member of the Plumbers' Registration Board from 1914 until
1946, having advocated for the registration of plumbers in New
Zealand.[9][10]
Douglas was active in local politics in Dunedin over a long period.
He was first elected to the Dunedin Drainage Board in 1912, and
served for 19 years, including as chairman on three occasions. In
1914, he was elected as a member of the Dunedin City Council in
1914, and remained a city councillor until 1930. In 1921, Douglas
was elected unopposed as mayor of Dunedin, and did not seek
re-election in 1923.
It is possible it was he who formed a committee in response to the
disastrous floods which struck Dunedin on 23 April 1923.
At the 1935 local-body elections, Douglas withdrew from the election
for the Dunedin City Council before polling day, and in 1938, he
finished 25th out of 28 candidates and was not elected to council.
Douglas served as a member of the Otago Harbour Board for 12 years,
and was, for 14 years, a member of the Ocean Beach Domain Board. He
also served on the University of Otago Council, the boards governors
of King Edward Technical College and the Otago High Schools, and the
Dunedin Licensing Committee. He chaired the provisional committee
that launched the New Zealand and South Seas International
Exhibition, which was held in Dunedin in 1925–1926.
In 1891, Douglas joined the Dunedin City Guards as a private; he
rose through the ranks, being commissioned as a lieutenant in 1899,
and was promoted to captain in 1906. Following the establishment of
the territorial system, he was appointed major and second-in-command
of the Otago Infantry, 4th Regiment. After 30 years of continuous
volunteer service, he was posted to the reserve and retired list.
Lieutenant Douglas was the winner of several prizes in shooting
competitions, and was secretary of the shooting committee in
connection with the City Guards, and also acted as range officer at
the Otago Rifle Association's matches, and won the [gap — reason:
illegible] badge in 1898. He was at one time a member of the
Alhambra Football Club.
Douglas was active as a Freemason; he was connected with Lodge Maori
No. 105, New Zealand Constitution, serving a term as worshipful
master from 1908. He was also a member of the Ancient Order of
Foresters from 1897.
Douglas was a deacon of the United Congregational Church, served as
treasurer of the Leith Street and United Congregational Churches for
over 40 years, and was appointed a justice of the peace in 1916.
Douglas died in Dunedin on 2 August 1957, and was buried at
Andersons Bay Cemetery.[16] His wife, Katie, died in 1959.[17]
Since 1948, the New Zealand Master Plumbers' Federation has awarded
the James Douglas Medallion to the leading newly qualified
apprentice in New Zealand.
On 18 April 1900, Douglas married Catherine Mackie, daughter of
James Mackie, at the Leith Street Congregational Church in Dunedin.
The couple went on to have seven children.
He may have had a sister, Helen Hunter (Nellie), who married 1 Jan
1907 Henry Carr, son of Arthur Carr, of Camperdown, Australia.
In the notice, she is the daughter of James S. Douglas was described
as of Castle Street, Dunedin.
On 1st January 1907, Helen Hunter (Nellie), younger daughter of
James Sandilands Douglas married Arthur Carr, of Camperdown, New
South Wales, in PM Church, Dundas St, Dunedin. James was resident in
Castle St, Dunedin, at the time.
Evening
Star, 18 April 1821
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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