Richard Harman

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Original information:
Richard James Strachan Harman (1826-1902), a civil engineer, emigrated from Ireland, aged 24, apparently alone. He was elected to the council of the Society of Land Purchasers in early 1851 and set up a land agency in Christchurch. In 1853, with Cyrus Davie, Harman selected a run in the Ellesmere district.

In 1854, he advocated the extension of the Sumner Road with a tunnel through Evans Pass. From 1854 to 1856, Harman was the Canterbury Provincial Government emigration agent in England, where he established provincial migration.

Harman, along with John Stevens, collaborated as land and commission agents and started a long-standing business, Harman and Stevens. It was in this partnership that the two became the financial managers of The Press. Harman was later elected to the Provincial Council, therefore playing a significant part in Canterbury political life. In 1900, Harman was living in Christchurch.