Henry Cotterill (16 March 1855 – 2 December 1943) was a New Zealand cricketer who played three matches of first-class cricket for Canterbury between 1875 and 1885, and worked as a lawyer in Christchurch for more than 60 years. His law firm, Duncan Cotterill, is the largest in the South Island as of 2020.
![]() Cotterill in c. 1920s | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | (1855-03-16)16 March 1855 Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 2 December 1943(1943-12-02) (aged 88) Christchurch, New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Relations | Arthur Cotterill (brother) Edward Cotterill (brother) William Cotterill (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Domestic team information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1873–75 to 1884–85 | Canterbury | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career statistics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Cricinfo, 6 March 2019 |
Born in Lyttelton in 1855,[1] Cotterill was one of the 17 children of the Rev. George Cotterill, who became Canon of Christchurch.[2] He and his seven brothers were educated at Christ's College, Christchurch, and five of them played first-class cricket in New Zealand.[3]
Like his brothers, Cotterill was a batsman, but he did not have the success at cricket that his brothers Arthur, Edward and William enjoyed. He captained Christ's College at cricket and rugby,[4] and was the top New Zealand school student of his year, excelling widely, especially in languages.[5]
After studying at Canterbury College, Christchurch, he was admitted as a solicitor and barrister in 1878.[6] In 1879 he joined Thomas Smith Duncan, who had set up his law firm in Lyttelton in 1857. Cotterill was a senior partner of the law firm of Duncan, Cotterill and Company until his death.[4][7] As of 2020, Duncan Cotterill has offices in Auckland, Wellington, Nelson and Christchurch, and is the largest law firm in the South Island.[8]
Cotterill served on the board of governors of Christ's College from 1896 to 1943,[4] and was also president of the Canterbury Law Society.[7]
His first wife, Nancy, died at the age of 37 in October 1891.[9] In 1893 he married Adela Ronalds.[7] From 1936, the couple lived at Victoria Mansions in central Christchurch.[10] He died in 1943. Adela survived him, along with two sons and a daughter.[4]