BIRCH, JOSIAH (1833-81) was an early resident of Canterbury. He represented Kaiapoi in the Provincial Council (1861), Rangiora (1862-66) and Kaiapoi (1868-71). As a young man Birch saw service in the Austrian army. Coming to New Zealand in the Westminster (1856), he took up bush land at Rangiora, where he soon had a successful sawmill. After farming at Ashley Bank for a few years, he became a merchant in Kaiapoi, afterwards moving to Christchurch.

Canterbury P.C. Proc. 1881.

Reference: Volume 1, page 51

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