Thomas Russell

Thomas Russell ( – 2 September 1904) was a lawyer, politician, businessman and entrepreneur in 19th-century New Zealand. Russell was one of the first two New Zealand-trained lawyers admitted to the bar. He was the founder of a number of major New Zealand-based companies including the Bank of New Zealand and the New Zealand Insurance Co. He served as Minister of Colonial Defence during the New Zealand Wars. Early life Russell was born in County Cork, Ireland, probably in 1830. His parents were Thomas Flower Russell (c. 1808-1873) and Mary Roberts (c. 1811-1847). The family emigrated to Australia as steerage passengers in 1833, and settled in Maitland, New South Wales, where his father farmed. In 1840 the family moved on to New Zealand, living in Kororakea at first, then Auckland where his father worked as a builder. From 1844 Thomas Russell was articled to the lawyer Thomas Outhwaite and on 4 November 1851 was admitted as a solicitor on the roll of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. He became Outhwaite's partner and later took over his practice. On 18 July 1854, Russell married Emeline Vercoe, third daughter of Henry Vercoe , at Tautauroa, near Otahuhu. Politics