Charles Mackay (mayor)

Charles Mackay (29 June 1875 – 3 May 1929) was a New Zealand lawyer, local politician, and Mayor of Wanganui between 1906 and 1920.

Born Charles Ewing Mackay (later known as Charles Evan Mackay) in Nelson in 1875, Mackay achieved a BA and LLB in law. He started a law firm in Wanganui in 1902. Gaining election to the Wanganui Borough Council in November 1905, he successfully contested the mayoralty in 1906.[1]

He was famously blackmailed by writer Walter D'Arcy Cresswell[2] and in 1920, Mackay was convicted of Cresswell's attempted murder.[1] Mackay served time in Mount Eden prison and was released in 1926. Mackay was shot dead by a policeman in Berlin in 1929.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Broughton, W. S. "Charles Ewing Mackay". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved December 2011.
  2. ↑ Newton, John. "D’Arcy Cresswell, 1896–1960". Victoria University of Wellington. Retrieved 10 November 2014.