John Bathgate

John Bathgate (10 August 1809 – 21 September 1886) was a New Zealand politician, and Minister of Justice and Commissioner of Stamps from 1872 to 1874.

Life

Bathgate was born in Edinburgh in 1809. While a boy, the family moved to Peebles where his father had a teaching position. After school, he went to West Scotland to act as a private secretary and then to Edinburgh for an apprenticeship. At age 33, he married Miss Anderson. After her death, he married Miss McLaren. He had three sons, nine daughters, and (at the time of his death) 27 grandchildren.

In his early 30s, Bathgate became town clerk in Peebles. Bathgate was the principal promoter of the Peebles Railway.

From June 1871 to November 1872, he served on the Executive Council of the Otago Province.

He represented two Dunedin electorates in the House of Representatives, first the City of Dunedin electorate from to 1874, when he resigned to take up the offer by Premier Julius Vogel of resident magistrate in Dunedin and district judge for Otago,

He was the father of Alexander Bathgate. John Denniston was his son-in-law.