Henry Thomson JP (1828 – 13 September 1903) was a 19th-century Mayor of Christchurch and Member of Parliament for the electorate in Canterbury, New Zealand. Early life Thomson was born in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in 1828. He was the fifth son of William Thomson, a shipbuilder. He received his education at Wigtown, Galloway, Scotland. At age 18, he started work for the Liverpool and Manchester Railway. In 1852, he left after six years to emigrate to Victoria, Australia. Thomson was clerk-in-charge of the office of the Melbourne and Hobson's Bay railway during its construction. He was afterwards superintendent of the wharf and railway station at Sandridge (now called Port Melbourne). In 1856, Thomson came to Wellington, and a year later moved to Nelson. On 28 April 1859, he married Mary Ann Thomson (née Coates), daughter of Giles Coates, at Christ Church in Nelson. After two years in Nelson, he had a short experience on the Otago gold fields, and in 1865 settled in Christchurch, where he was employed by the jewellers Coates and Co., the company of his father in law. He later became a partner in the firm. On the death of Giles Coates, he became the sole proprietor until 1891, when he retired from business. In 1868, Thomson was manager of the Canterbury section of the New Zealand railways, which then extended from Lyttelton to Selwyn as the Canterbury Great South Railway. Political career Before 1916, elections for Christchurch City Council were held annually. Thomson was elected onto the town and later city council five times: in 1867, 1868, 1875, 1878 and 1880. The town council held a meeting on 10 June 1868 to elect its first mayor. In those days, the councillors elected one of their group as mayor, i.e. the position was not elected at large (by the voting public) as is the case today. The following councillors attended the meeting: William Wilson, James Purvis Jameson, T. Tombs, George Ruddenklau, Henry Thomson, W. A. Sheppard, W. Calvert and John Anderson, who chaired the meeting. Thomson moved that Wilson be elected as the first mayor of Christchurch, and Tombs seconded the motion. The chairman put the motion to the meeting and it was carried unanimously. With the meeting, the council had brought itself under the Municipal Corporations Act 1867. At the end of 1877, Thomson stood for Mayor of Christchurch against the incumbent, James Gapes. Gapes declared that