Background
Pharazyn was born in London in 1802.
Pharazyn was born in London in 1802.
His obituary in the Wellington newspaper described him as a man of much wealth. He arrived in Wellington on the Jane on 24 May 1841 and established himself as a merchant. Tiring of this he became a runholder leasing a run in Palliser Bay with William Fitzherbert.
He retired from business in 1871.
He was eccentric; when he lost his spectacles in 1872, he walked through Wellington with a sign around his neck: "Lost, a pair of spectacles". He claimed that the Wellington newspapers were so dull that nobody read them, so advertising in them was pointless.
He took a cold bath every morning, by which he explained his good health until old age. Pharazyn was appointed by the governor to the Legislative Council on 17 June 1869 called by premier Edward Stafford.
These appointments were made for life.
This is said to be the closest the Legislative Council ever came to the hereditary principle. Pharazyn married three times. There were no surviving children.
Pharazyn"s third son, Charles (1839-1903), was a runholder in the Wairarapa at Longwood, Featherston.