James Crowe Richmond

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James Crowe Richmond (22 September 1822 – 19 January 1898) was a New Zealand politician, engineer, and an early painter in watercolours of the New Zealand landscape.

He was born in London, England the son of Christopher Richmond, barrister and his wife, Maria Wilson. He was educated at Hackney Grammar School, at Hove House, Brighton and at the school attached to University College, London. He was apprenticed to the engineer Samuel Clegg and from 1845 served on the staff of I. K. Brunel for three years working on the Great Western railway in southern England.

Richmond emigrated to New Zealand with his younger brother Henry Richmond on Victory on 3 October 1850. The ship arrived in Auckland in February 1851 and the two walked south to Taranaki where they purchased a few acres near their aunt Helen who had married John Hursthouse and also settled in Taranaki prior to their arrival. Eventually members of the Richmond, Hursthouse, Atkinson and Ronald families, who were related by marriage, all settled near one another in the area.

Richardson returned to England in 1854 and married Mary Smith on 21 August 1856 before returning to New Zealand on the Kenilworth which arrived in New Plymouth on 8 July 1857.

He was the Member of Parliament for Omata from 1860 to 1865, and then for Grey and Bell from 1866 to 1870, when he was defeated. Mary had left for Nelson with other Taranaki refugees from the Land Wars in 1860. In 1862 he joined her and became the editor of the Nelson Examiner while continuing his political career. After the fall of the Fox ministry, he also became the commissioner of Crown lands. He served on the Nelson Provincial Council in 1894 and was also appointed as provincial secretary from 1863-1865.

He formed a close and lifelong friendship with John Gully and continued to paint and sketch in what little spare time he had.

Mary died in Nelson on 29 October 1865 having never fully recovered from the birth of her fifth child and this event left Richmand harassed & broken. However by 1866 he was back into politics and moved his family to the Taranaki. By 1869 the family had moved back to Nelson. Other family connections were also living there including his brother William and his family and his sister Maria and her husband, Arthur Atkinson.

Richmond travelled with his three eldest children to England and Europe in 1873 but returned to Nelson by January 1881. He continued to travel frequently.

He died at his daughter, Ann Elizabeth's house in Otaki where he was visiting on 19 January 1898.

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