William Larnach

William James Mudie Larnach (27 January 1833 – 12 October 1898) was a New Zealand businessman and politician. He is known for his extravagant incomplete house near Dunedin called Larnach's castle by his opponents and now known as Larnach Castle. He is also remembered for his suicide within parliament buildings when faced with bankruptcy and consequent loss of his seat in parliament.

Early career Larnach was born in the Hunter Region, north of Sydney, Australia, the son of John Larnach, a station owner and Emily daughter of James Mudie. He was well-connected. For example his uncle Donald Larnach became a director of the Australian board of the Bank of New South Wales in 1846 and after his retirement to England became one of the leading financial authorities in the City of London. Larnach was also a family friend of William John Turner Clarke, said at that time to be the richest man in Australasia. In his late twenties, after his 1859 marriage to Eliza Jane Guise, daughter of Richard Guise, Larnach joined the Bank of New South Wales. By 1867, he was their Geelong branch manager and after an extended holiday in Europe with his family he was picked by the London board of the Bank of Otago to replace their New Zealand manager. Larnach arrived in Dunedin in September 1867 and took up his new post.

He soon became quite prosperous, gathering large amounts of money through land speculation, farming investments, and a timber business. Between 1873 and 1887, Larnach constructed a large mansion, on the ridge of Otago Peninsula. Originally named "The Camp" by Larnach, it is now known as "Larnach Castle". Larnach himself took up residence in 1874.

Politics

Larnach entered politics in , standing in a by-election in the electorate of Caversham. On this occasion, he was defeated by his opponent, Robert Stout. Several months later, however, he was elected to the City of Dunedin electorate. In 1877, at the behest of his South Island colleagues, he introduced a successful no-confidence motion against Harry Atkinson, the Premier of the day. Under the new Premier, George Grey, Larnach was appointed Colonial Treasurer (now Minister of Finance). He later undertook a long trip to England to arrange a government loan, although he also took advantage of the opportunity to launch a new business venture, the New Zealand Agricultural Company. Larnach's farming investments were turning sour due to the rabbit problems, and Larnach sought to sell his lands to British investors—this prompted considerable condemnation in New Zealand, as Larnach was seen as trying to deceive the British as to the quality of the investments. The New Zealand Agricultural Company was not a success, and the affair cost Larnach many friends and allies in New Zealand.

In 1898, Larnach locked himself in a committee room at Parliament and shot himself with a revolver. He died intestate and his surviving family fought a battle over his will.

Owen Marshall wrote a novel The Larnachs (2011), based on the possibility that the tragedy resulted from an affair between Larnach's third wife Constance and his youngest son Douglas.

Larnach is buried in the Dunedin Northern Cemetery. The family mausoleum is the cemetery's most imposing structure, and is a miniature replica of Robert Lawson's First Church. Some time after his death, Larnach's skull was stolen and was recovered in 1972 from a college student’s bedroom.