Editing Harry Atkinson (section)

==Early life==
Atkinson, born in 1831 in the English village of [[Broxton, Cheshire]], received his education in England, but chose at the age of 22 to follow his elder brother William to New Zealand.{{sfn|Reeves|1901}} He was accompanied by his brother [[Arthur Atkinson (politician, born 1833)|Arthur]] together with members of the Richmond family. On arriving in New Zealand, Harry and Arthur bought farmland in [[Taranaki]], as did the Richmonds, and also the Ronalds family – five brothers and sisters of Dr [[Edmund Ronalds]]. [[James Crowe Richmond|James]] and [[William Richmond (politician)|William Richmond]] also later entered politics and the Ronalds sisters married Atkinson's brothers.<ref>{{Cite book|title=My Hand Will Write what My Heart Dictates: The Unsettled Lives of Women in Nineteenth-century New Zealand|last1=Porter|first1=F.|last2=Macdonald|first2=C.|last3=MacDonald|first3=T.|publisher=Bridget Williams Books|year=1996}}</ref> Atkinson's correspondence shows that he was highly satisfied with his decision to move to New Zealand, seeing it as an opportunity to prosper. He named his small farmhouse [[Hurworth, New Zealand|Hurworth]] after a village in England where he had lived as a boy, although—as his father worked as an itinerant builder and architect—the family did not settle anywhere.