James Copland

James Copland was a New Zealand presbyterian minister, doctor and writer.

Early life and education

Copland was born in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland on 3 February 1834. He studied theology and arts graduating with an MA from the University of Edinburgh in 1854 and a PhD from Heidelberg University in 1858. In 1864 he qualified in medicine from the University of Aberdeen with an MD.

Career

Copland emigrated to New Zealand in 1864 as surgeon on the ship EP Bouverie. Although his aim was to be a medical missionary he was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1865 and became a minister in Lawrence and then in North Dunedin. On resigning from the ministry in 1881, after a conflict between the North Dunedin congregation and the church hierarchy, he then practised as a doctor. He moved to Gore in 1888, where he died on 9 November 1902.
Copland was editor of the church magazine Evangelist from 1869 to 1879. He refuted Darwin's theories in his book ''The origin and spiritual nature of man.''

Personal life

Copland married twice and had six children. One son George Anderson Copland was also a doctor who practised with his father in Gore.

Legacy

It is believed that the surveyor George John Roberts named the Copland River on the West Coast of New Zealand for Copland, with the name later adopted for an alpine pass and a glacier.

Publications

Copland, J.. The origin and spiritual nature of man. James Horsburgh.