Archibald Garriock

Born 22 November 1828, Reawick
Died 28 February 1899, Lerwick
Elections 8 (5 won)
Bayanne Genealogy page

Archibald John Garriock was an accountant, Lerwick Town Councillor and a County Councillor.

Biography

Archibald attended a parochial school in Sandsting as a boy, and completed his education in Lerwick. He returned to Reawick, but struggled to find joy in country living and subsequently left Shetland, moving to Glasgow where he took up working in a mercantile office as a clerk. He then moved to London for some time, where he found himself drawn to the prospects in Australia, which was experiencing something of a boom period.

Archibald travelled to Melbourne and began prospecting, and would visit many parts of the country in search for gold, but his digging was unsuccessful and he returned to Melbourne. He then moved to Sydney where he became a financial editor to a local daily newspaper. In 1874, he moved back to Shetland and Reawick.

In 1876, he returned to Lerwick and worked for the Caledonian and North Western Railway, arranging for Shetland fish to be distributed on their lines after it was landed in Aberdeen. He would later add auctioneering to his repertoire and had much success in this field. In the fish business, he was a pioneer of the "days" price for herring, and popular among local fishermen.

He was the honorary secretary of the Shetland Agricultural Society. He taught young boys to swim and successfully convinced the County Council to fund a teacher to visit different parts of Shetland to teach swimming.

In politics, he was a staunch Liberal.

Archibald unsuccessfully contested the Sandsting seat in the 1898 County Council election and the 1889 Lerwick Town Council election.

His nephew, Lewis, was a Zetland County Councillor for Tingwall while his uncle James Greig and cousin Archibald Greig were Lerwick Town Councillors.

Political Career

Political career of Archibald Garriock
Year Election Council Votes Result
1889 Lerwick Town Council Election November 1889 Lerwick Town Council 90 Not elected
1890 County Council Election February 1890 (Sandsting) Zetland County Council 2 Not elected
1890 Sandsting County Council By-Election April 1890 (Sandsting) Zetland County Council Unopposed Elected
1892 County Council Election December 1892 (Sandsting) Zetland County Council Unopposed Elected
1894 Lerwick Town Council Election November 1894 Lerwick Town Council 274 Elected
1895 County Council Election December 1895 (Sandsting) Zetland County Council Unopposed Elected
1897 Lerwick Town Council Election November 1897 Lerwick Town Council Unopposed Elected
1898 County Council Election December 1898 (Sandsting) Zetland County Council 2 Not elected

Offices Held

Zetland County Council
Constituency created
Member for
Sandsting

1890–1898