Henry Baigent

Henry Baigent (1844 – 31 August 1929) was a timber miller, and served as a city councillor and mayor of Nelson, New Zealand.

He embarked for Glasgow on 15 August 1917 the New Zealand Shipping Company liner the SS Ruahine and then to France.

In February 1843 he settled in Wakefield where he set up the gristmill, a small affair two feet in diameter driven by a water wheel.

[10] Owing to a meagre supply of iron his father was compelled to use such hard woods as manuka, akiaki, or black mairi for cog wheels.

The principal timber milled was white, red, and black pine, totara, rimu, and birch.

The factory produced sashes, doors, blinds, and building timber for the Nelson district and employed, on an average, between forty and fifty men.

In 1893 he was elected by a substantial majority to a seat in the council having defeated, among others, John Graham who went on to represent Nelson in Parliament.

Among the pall bearers was Harry Atmore, a noted local politician and his brother in law.