Joseph McMullen Dargaville (1837? – 1896) was a 19th century Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 from Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

Early life

Dargaville was born in Cork

Cork (city)

Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 and was of Hugenot ancestry. He was baptised on 27 June 1837 and it is thought that he was born in the same year.

Political career

He represented Auckland East on the Auckland Provincial Council

Auckland Province

The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876.-Anniversary Day:...

 from 1873 to 1876.

He represented the Auckland West

Auckland West

The former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate on the western outskirts of Auckland, was known as West Auckland from 1984 to 1993. The earlier electorates were known as City of Auckland West from 1861 to 1890, and then Auckland West from 1905 to 1946.-History:The "City of Auckland West" electorate...

 electorate from 1881

New Zealand general election, 1881

The New Zealand general election of 1881 was held 9 December to elect a total of 95 MPs to the 8th session of the New Zealand Parliament. The Māori vote was held on 8 December...

 to 1887, when he retired. He then stood unsuccessfully for Parliament three times.

He founded the Northland town of Dargaville

Dargaville

Dargaville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the bank of the Northern Wairoa River in the Northland region. The town is located 55 kilometres southwest of Whangarei....

, which is named after him. He was a prominent businessman and timber merchant there.

Death

Dargaville was on a return visit from England when he died on board the ship Mariposa on 27 October 1896. He was buried at sea.