Background
He was born on 16 January 1834. His mother was Margaret Birch.
He was born on 16 January 1834. His mother was Margaret Birch.
He was the fifth child of John Halcomb (who was later known as Halcombe), Member of Parliament for Dover (1833–1835). He came to New Zealand about 1855 as an immigration agent under the patronage of William Fox. Fox had in 1842 married Sarah Halcomb, a first cousin of Arthur Halcombe.
Her father William Halcomb was his father"s brother.
He represented the Rangitikei electorate on the Wellington Provincial Council from May 1865 to March 1872. He lived in Feilding from the 1870s, and the nearby township of Halcombe is named for him.
The Halcombes later moved to Urenui in Taranaki, where he died on 3 March 1900.
Between May 1865 and July 1871, he was a member of four Executive Councils, where he held the roles of provincial secretary and treasurer.