Falconer Larkworthy

Falconer Larkworthy was born in Weymouth, England on 22 March 1833. He joined the Oriental Bank Corporation in London in 1852 and eventually found himself transferred to Melbourne. Gold had been discovered in Australia in the 1850’s and he gained considerable experience in gold buying.

In 1857 he became Branch Manager at Beechworth, Victoria and was later appointed to manage the bank’s branches in New Zealand.

When the Oriental Bank Corporation withdrew its New Zealand connection on 10^th May 1861, Larkworthy remained in Auckland to hand over to the newly arrived Bank of New South Wales. This occupied him for several months and by October he was free to take up his engagement with the newly formed BNZ.

The first six months of his employment were spent opening branches and agencies in the South Island. He returned to Auckland in the following winter and sailed for London on 5^th June, arriving on 20^th August, 1862 where he became Managing Director of the Bank in London until his retirement in 1888.

Larkworthy was amongst those who fell into strife during the long depression.

Despite regular correspondence, his position as an absentee landlord allowed for the influence of poor advice and mismanagement. As a result, land he had purchased in New Zealand fell below the value he had borrowed to purchase it. Larkworthy spent much of the rest of his life repaying his debt.

He died in May 1928, age 95.