| Brief Description |
This sepia toned carte de visite photograph of John Ballance was taken in 1866. The photograph is mounted on a deteriorating backing card. It is a studio portrait of Ballance wearing a dark jacket over light trousers, seated in profile with one leg crossed over the other, and holding a newspaper in his hands while looking to the left of the viewer. He has slicked down hair and a moustache, and a fob chain is visible on his waistcoat.
This sepia-washed carte de visite photograph is of the Honourable John Ballance, a Member of the New Zealand House of representatives for Whanganui, and later the Premier of New Zealand. The studio portrait is of his head and torso cropped into an oval frame. He wears a suit jacket over a waistcoat and a pin fastens his upturned white collar. He has a full moustache and his hair is styled with off-centre parting.
John Ballance was born on 27 March 1839 in Ballypitmave in Ireland, and migrated to New Zealand in 1866 via a short stay in Melbourne, Australia. He established the Evening Herald newspaper in Whanganui with A D Willis, the first edition being published in 1867. He was also heavily involved in local and national politics.
John Ballance married Fanny Taylor in Aston, UK, on 17 June 1863. Fanny passed away in March 1868 aged 24. Ballance then married Ellen Anderson on 19 May 1870. No children resulted from either marriage, but in 1886 Ellen and John adopted Ellen's four year old niece, Florence Anderson, and re-christened her Kathleen.
John Ballance died in 1893 aged 54, and Ellen passed away in 1935 aged 88.
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