Marmaduke Nixon

Marmaduke George Nixon (1813 or 1814 – 27 May 1864) was a soldier in the New Zealand Wars. Born in Malta, he joined the British Army in 1831, spending most of his career as an officer in British India with the 39th Regiment of Foot. He left the British Army in 1851 and shortly afterwards emigrated to New Zealand to take up farming in South Auckland. In 1860, during one of the main phases of the New Zealand Wars, he formed and led a cavalry unit in defence of South Auckland. He later participated in the Invasion of the Waikato as commander of Nixon's Horse, another cavalry unit. He was one of the highest ranking casualties of the New Zealand Wars when he died on 27 May 1864 from wounds received in an attack earlier in the year on a village at Rangiaowhia. He was also a Member of Parliament, representing the largely rural electorate of Franklin from 1861 up until his death.

Early life Marmaduke George Nixon was born in Valletta on the island of Malta in either 1813 or 1814. He was one of at least three children of Henry Nixon, an officer in the British Army, and his wife Elizabeth . Marmaduke attended the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, from which he graduated in 1831 before he was posted to the 39th (Dorsetshire) Regiment of Foot as an ensign. At this stage of his career, he was the brigade major of the 5th Brigade. In 1851 Nixon resigned from the British Army, having reached the rank of major. He was finding it difficult to support his two sisters on his income while serving as an officer in India. He was one of the highest-ranking soldiers to have been a casualty of the New Zealand Wars. Buried at Symonds Street Cemetery, he was survived by his two sisters. It was suggested that some of the funds raised for the monument go towards the care of his sisters. The following year, the New Zealand Government granted the sisters an annual pension of £150.