Presbyterian Research Centre
The Archive and Library for the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand
Menu
Henry, James
Full NameHENRY, Rev James, M.A.
Date of Birth26 March 1846 Date of Death14 December 1919Biography
and at Aberdeen Free Church Divinity Hall from 1866 to 1870.
Arrived in Otago 29 Jan 1873 from Scotland as probationer. Appointed to Waihola for 6 weeks.
Sent to Mataura district 17 February 1874.
Then resided at Waikawa for seven years where he built a small cottage anticipating, along with others, a great growth and future prosperity which never came. After that he lived at Invercargill from 1898-1917 where he became a professional tutor, teaching ancient and modern languages and mathematics.
Founder of the Henry Scholarships at Theological College.
In his will, he paid for the erection of three monuments to honour himself and his achievements, one at Waikawa, one in Sydney, and one in Scotland. For someone who desperately wanted to be remembered, the story of his life is now in almost total obscurity. His achievements in New Zealand were in fact few and he appears to have died a disillusioned man. He was a highly educated man who would have enjoyed a considerable prestige in Scotland had he stayed. He came out to New Zealand to find himself placed in the “southern wilderness” among people who had little interest in higher education, languages or culture.
(From “Around the Southern Coast” by Rev Roy Belmer, 1973)
Date of Birth26 March 1846 Date of Death14 December 1919Biography- born 26 March 1846 Newburgh, Scotland
- son of James HENRY and Isabella
- died 14.12.1919 Sydney
and at Aberdeen Free Church Divinity Hall from 1866 to 1870.
Arrived in Otago 29 Jan 1873 from Scotland as probationer. Appointed to Waihola for 6 weeks.
Sent to Mataura district 17 February 1874.
- Ordained at Tuturau May 1874 – first Minister of Lower Mataura Parish, later at Wyndham — resigned 11 May 1884
- Lauder, Central Otago 16 December 1884 — resigned 31 December 1891
Then resided at Waikawa for seven years where he built a small cottage anticipating, along with others, a great growth and future prosperity which never came. After that he lived at Invercargill from 1898-1917 where he became a professional tutor, teaching ancient and modern languages and mathematics.
Founder of the Henry Scholarships at Theological College.
In his will, he paid for the erection of three monuments to honour himself and his achievements, one at Waikawa, one in Sydney, and one in Scotland. For someone who desperately wanted to be remembered, the story of his life is now in almost total obscurity. His achievements in New Zealand were in fact few and he appears to have died a disillusioned man. He was a highly educated man who would have enjoyed a considerable prestige in Scotland had he stayed. He came out to New Zealand to find himself placed in the “southern wilderness” among people who had little interest in higher education, languages or culture.
(From “Around the Southern Coast” by Rev Roy Belmer, 1973)
P-A252.13-20
Relates to
Recollect CollectionPeople
loading google map....
Henry, James. Presbyterian Research Centre, accessed 31/07/2026, https://pcanzarchives.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/112606
