Arthur Atkinson | |
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Member of the New Zealand Parliament for City of Wellington |
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In office 1899 – 1902 alongside George Fisher & John Hutcheson |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Arthur Richmond Atkinson 5 August 1863 New Plymouth, New Zealand |
Died | 26 March 1935 Wadestown, New Zealand |
(aged 71)
Spouse(s) | Lily Mary Kirk (m. 1900; d. 1921) |
Relations |
Arthur Samuel Atkinson (father) Jane Maria Richmond (mother) Harry Atkinson (uncle) Henry Robert Richmond (uncle) James Crowe Richmond (uncle) William Richmond (uncle) Charles Fell (brother-in-law) Mary Richmond (cousin) Dolla Richmond (cousin) |
Alma mater | Corpus Christi College, Oxford |
Profession | Barrister and solicitor |
Arthur Richmond Atkinson (5 August 1863 – 26 March 1935) was a New Zealand barrister and solicitor, Member of Parliament and Wellington City Councillor.
Atkinson was born in New Plymouth, New Zealand in 1872, the son of Arthur Samuel Atkinson and Jane Maria Richmond. On his father's side he was the nephew of Harry Atkinson. On his mother's side he was the nephew of (Christopher) William Richmond, James Crowe Richmond and Henry Robert Richmond. In 1900, he married temperance and women's suffrage campaigner Lily May Kirk in Wellington. After the death of his wife in 1921, Atkinson remarried Emma Maud Banfield, a nursing educator awarded the Royal Red Cross in 1917, in London in 1923.
He was educated at Nelson College in New Zealand and Clifton College in England. After studying at Corpus Christi College, Oxford, Atkinson was called to the Bar by Lincoln's Inn in 1887, before returning to New Zealand the same year.
After a period working in law offices in Nelson and Dunedin, Atkinson served as secretary to his uncle, William (Mr Justice) Richmond, between 1889 and 1890. In 1892 he began legal practice in Wellington, joining Charles Morison to form the firm of barristers and solicitors Morison and Atkinson. He later became a partner in Atkinson, Dale and Mather.
Atkinson represented the City of Wellington electorate from 1899 to 1902 when he was defeated; of nine candidates, he came fifth in the three-member electorate. He stood unsuccessfully for Wellington East in 1908, being defeated in the second ballot.