Alfred Brandon

Who was Alfred Brandon?

Alfred de Bathe Brandon was the Mayor of Wellington, New Zealand from 1893 to 1894.

Brandon was the son of Member of Parliament Alfred Brandon. He married Louisa Kebbell, the second daughter of Thomas Kebbell, an early Wellington pioneer, in 1879. They had three sons and three daughters.

Brandon was one of the first eight boys who enrolled at Wellington College when it first opened. In 1872 he was granted one of the first scholarships to the University of New Zealand. In 1875 he attended Trinity Hall, Cambridge, England and obtained a Bachelor of Arts in 1878. Brandon was admitted to the Bar at Middle Temple. On his return to New Zealand he was admitted as a barristor and solicitor to the Supreme Court.

Brandon joined his father's law firm eventually becoming a senior partner in the law firm Brandon, Ward, Hislop, and Powles. He also became President of the Wellington District Law Society. In August 1888 Brandon was appointed a Director of the Australian Mutual Provident Society. He became its Deputy Chairman in May 1903 and Chairman in 1918. A position he held until he retired on 31 May 1934. His father had been a Director of the Society from 1871 to 1886.