WADDEL, WILLIAM RICHARD (1831-88) was born in Glasgow and arrived in Auckland with his parents in 1847. After working as a baker, he commenced business for himself in Hobson Street in 1854. In 1859 he joined the volunteers, and he was senior lieutenant of the Victoria Rifles in the Waikato war. He resigned in 1866, but was later captain of the Auckland City Guards. Waddel was a member of the City Council (1876-83), and of the harbour board (chairman 1866-68). He was elected mayor in 1883, and during the three years he held office he laid the foundation stone of the public library. He was also chairman of the hospital and charitable aid board. Waddel died on 8 Jun 1888.

N.Z. Herald, 22 Dec 1886, 9 Jun 1888. Portrait: Town Hall, Auckland.

Reference: Volume 2, page 219

🌳 Further sources

WADDELL, RUTHERFORD (1850-1932), the son of the Rev Hugh Waddell, was born at Glenarm, County Antrim, Ireland, and was educated at a National school in County Down, and the Royal Academical Institution, Belfast. After four years as a drapery apprentice in Banbridge, with long hours and little remuneration, he entered Queen's College, Belfast, where he gained his M.A. degree (1875). He spent three years in the Presbyterian Theological College in Belfast, came to New Zealand in 1877, was for 18 months minister of Lincoln and Prebbleton, and in 1879 was inducted into St Andrew's Church, Dunedin, where he remained for 40 years. In a sermon in 1888 Waddell first drew attention to the sweating of labour, which was then rife in Dunedin. He suggested establishing an independent tribunal to keep the balance between masters and men. The matter was gradually taken up by the newspapers and public bodies and a voluntary commission in 1888-89 investigated conditions. These disclosures led a few years later to the passing of the arbitration acts. Waddell was a member of the committee set up in 1888 to establish kindergartens, and a founder of the Prison Reform Association. In 1897 he received the degree of doctor of divinity from the General Assembly Theological College of Belfast. He was the founder and first editor of the Outlook, the official weekly paper of the Presbyterian Church in New Zealand. He had a graceful literary style, and for many years contributed to the press of New Zealand. He also published eight volumes of essays between 1907 and 1926. He died on 16 Apr 1932.

Who's Who N.Z., 1924; J Collie, Rutherford Waddell (1932); Otago Daily Times, 20 Oct, 8 9 Nov 1888, 18 Apr 1932; Otago Witness, 19 Apr 1932

Reference: Volume 2, page 219

🌳 Further sources

WADE, WILLIAM RICHARD (1802-91) came to New Zealand with Colenso in 1834 as superintendent of the mission press, but spent most of his time at missionary work until his views on baptism led to his retirement. He left for Hobart in 1842 and published in Melbourne A Journey in the Northern Island of New Zealand. He became a minister of the Independent church, and died in Melbourne on 25 Oct 1891.

Hocken, Bibliog.; Wade MS, journal in Hocken Library.

Reference: Volume 2, page 219

🌳 Further sources

WAECKERLE, CHRISTIAN JACOB (1816-1901) was born in the German-speaking part of France. He came to New Zealand in the Comte de Paris in 1840 as one of the French settlers at Akaroa. He farmed for a year or two at German Bay, and then for many years kept a hotel at Akaroa. He also owned a flourmill and sawpit. Waeckerle represented Akaroa in the Canterbury Provincial Council (1866-69), and was a member of the first Akaroa and Wainui road board and a mayor of Akaroa. He drove the first wheeled buggy from Akaroa to Pigeon Bay. He died on 12 Apr 1901.

Canterbury P.C. Proc.; Jacobson; Buick, French at Akaroa; J. Hay, 182; Lyttelton Times, 15 Apr 1901.

Reference: Volume 2, page 219

🌳 Further sources

WAHANUI, or REIHANA TE HUATARE (1827-97), one of the most celebrated of the King leaders, was a Ngati-Maniapoto chief of very high lineage, tracing his descent to Raka and Hotunui. His lands were on the upper Waipa river, in the mission territory of the Wesleyans, and he was sent as a boy to be educated at Three Kings College in Auckland. He assisted the Rev W. Gittos in building the College, and was an apt pupil of great natural ability. He was, in fact, intended for the ministry, but returned to live amongst his people at Te Kopua. At that time he was known as 'Te Reihana Whakahoehoe.' Already a distinguished orator, with a fine command of poetry and grace of language, he took a leading part in the debates of the fifties connected with the rise of the King movement. He was then actively interested in promoting the mail route from Waikato to the Mokau. Later he gradually turned against pakeha institutions, and conceived a growing bitterness and resentment on account of the social grievances of his people. When Hochstetter met him at Maungawhitikau in 1859 he was inclined to stoutness, highly intelligent and kindhearted. He was over 6 feet in height, slightly tattooed and his impression of high intelligence was combined with an air of command which was unquestionable. His father, Huatare, had recently died at Mania. On the outbreak of the Waikato war Wahanui accompanied his people in the field, and was present at most of the engagements up to and including Orakau. At the battle of Hairini (Feb 1864) he is said to have shot two soldiers, and he was wounded in the leg. After the war his influence in the councils of the Maori King grew. He encouraged Tawhiao to resist the advance of civilisation into his country and firmly opposed land selling. As nine-tenths of the land in the King Country was owned by the Ngati-Maniapoto, the Government felt it advisable to propitiate such an influential opponent. In the late sixties Wahanui relented somewhat, and once more opened the mail route between Rangiaowhia and Mokau. In 1870 he proposed inviting the Ngati-Tama, who had been ejected from Poutama for the murder of his ancestor Rangihapainga, to return to their lands. It was Wahanui who in the post-war days of isolation invented the device 'Tarahou' (cockcrow) for the Kingites, signifying the dawn of the day. In the early eighties the Native Minister (John Bryce) made overtures to him. At a meeting at Kihikihi in 1881 he persuaded Wahanui that it would benefit his people to have a railway constructed through their lands. Wahanui was the principal speaker at the meeting at Alexandra on 11 Jul 1881, when Tawhiao tendered his submission, and thereafter he threw the weight of his influence in favour of the Government. He led a party of his people to liberate Hursthouse, who had been seized and maltreated by Te Mahuki (1883). The route of the railway having been decided upon, Wahanui assisted the surveys, but he still firmly resisted landselling. In 1883 he paid a visit to Wellington to discuss land questions, and demanded that the four tribes of the King Country (Ngati-Maniapoto, Ngati-Raukawa, Ngati-Tuwharetoa and Whanganui) should have power to fix their own boundaries and suppress drink and immorality within them. On 1 Nov 1884 he appeared at the bar of the House of Representatives to plead the right of the King Maori to manage their own affairs and to keep liquor out of the King Country. In the following year he was present at the turning of the first sod of the main trunk railway by Sir Robert Stout. He intended contesting the Western Maori election in 1886, but withdrew.

When the Government erected him a house in Pirongia and gave him a free pass on the railways, Wahanui to some extent lost the confidence of his own people. In his latter days he lived at Whetaroa, near Otorohanga, in the enjoyment of a pension of £100 a year. He died there on 5 Dec 1897, leaving no issue. An elder brother, Te Wiwini Huatare, was a famous tohunga with a gift of matakite.

Wahanui was described by Nicholls as a nobleman of very pronounced Tory principles, courteous and dignified. Tall and massive, he was an imposing figure in any gathering and his wise counsel and powerful oratory swayed many audiences both on the marae and in Parliament.

App. H.R., 1883, J.1, 1A; N.Z.P.D., 1 Nov 1884 vol. 50, p. 427, 555; Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxii, 525; Polyn. Jour., i, 226, ix, 51, 60, xiii, 241, xiv, 59, 210, xv, 31, 46, xvi, 86, xvii, 197, xxi, 97-100, xxvi, 97, xxviii, 215; Ancient Hist. Maori, iv, 104; Cowan, Wars (p); Sketches (p); The Old Frontier; Gorst; Auckland Weekly News, 4 Mar 1882; N.Z. Herald, 4 Aug 1881, 23 Dec 1897; Auckland Star, 6 Dec 1897.

Reference: Volume 2, page 220

🌳 Further sources

ROPATA WAHAWAHA (1807-97) was a chief of the sub-tribe Te Aowera of Ngati-Porou. In a land dispute between the Ngati-Porou and Rongowhakaata, the Ngati-Porou were defeated, and Wahawaha became the slave of Rapata Whakapuhia. Hence his first name. It was always distasteful, and he afterwards took D. McLean's pronunciation, 'Ropata'. He was ransomed some years later by Tama-i-Whakanehuai-te-Rangi (of Whanau-a-Rua and Aowera, who signed the Treaty of Waitangi on behalf of the East Coast tribes). On his journey home Ropata saw at Whangara the preserved hands of a relative who had been killed and eaten. Arriving at Tokomaru, he reported the matter to his patron, and a taua proceeded to take vengeance. The offending chief was captured and killed, Ropata taking part in this expedition. His patron died in 1850.

Ropata was a native member of the first Waiapu diocesan synod (1861). He was already in middle age when he first distinguished himself in the field on the Queen's side against the Hauhau. While attending the opening of a church at Popoti, early in Jun 1865, the Ngati-Porou heard of the arrival of a body of Hauhau at Pukemaire. At once an armed party of 40, principally of Ropata's hapu, took the field under their chiefs. Ropata immediately made a name for himself as a resolute, skilful and ruthless leader. He distinguished himself in his first skirmish at Mangaone (10 Jun). In the fight at Tikitiki he killed a Hauhau chief in single combat with his stone mere. Early in Aug he was summoned to relieve the garrison at Tautini, and after the fall of Pukepapa pa he shot with his own revolver several of his people of Aowera who had joined the Hauhau. At the Pukemaire pa on 3 Oct he personally directed the pulling down of a section of the stockade, and in pouring rain secured the body of a dead Hauhau out of the pa. Proceeding against the forest pa of Hungahungatoroa, he scaled the precipice under heavy fire and engaged the enemy. Later he outflanked a body of Hauhau between Anaura and Tolaga Bay and defeated them after a stubborn fight, in which he killed two men (one with the tomahawk and the other with the rifle). In Nov 1865 he did good service at the siege of Waerenga-a-Hika, which resulted in the capture of 800 Hauhau prisoners. The campaign now developed an intense character. Ropata was co-operating with Major Fraser in the northern Hawkes Bay and Waikaremoana districts. On 13 Jan 1866 friendly troops fell into a trap in approaching the strongly fortified position at Te Kopane, near the lake. The Ngati-Porou numbered 150 and the Ngati-Kahungunu 200. Ropata, leading the advance guard, was caught by the Hauhau fire on both flanks. The Ngati-Kahungunu had many casualties, and a retreat seemed inevitable when Ropata suggested that advantage be taken of the direction of the wind to fire the fern and smoke the enemy from their position. Following close behind the smoke screen, the friendlies were able to enfilade the Hauhau rifle pits, and the enemy retired with the loss of 80 killed. That he retained some of the barbaric tendencies of the old Maori was evident from his shooting of the Ngati-Kahungunu chief Tuatine Tama-i-ongarangi and three other prisoners taken at Waikaremoana. His uncle Rawiri Hika-rukutai was killed on that day.

Ropata rendered valuable service in the operations after the Poverty Bay massacre. In Nov 1868 he personally reconnoitred Te Kooti's position at Makaretu, and on the following day led a party of Ngati-Porou and Ngati-Kahungunu down a bushy slope on the enemy's left. Emerging boldly from the bush, he advanced through the fern, keeping up a steady fire, and charged the works with his Ngati-Porou, driving the Hauhau into the river in their rear, and disposing of 63 of them, including the notorious chief Nama. The climax of his services was at the storming of Ngatapa, where Te Kooti was strongly fortified with a garrison of 300. In the first assault (5 Dec 1868) he and Preece climbed a cliff with a few followers and all day enfiladed the Hauhau trenches, capturing a portion of the outer works. Left with only 30 followers, Ropata established himself close in front of the formidable pa. After fighting at close quarters the whole night without reinforcements, he retreated at dawn, carrying off his wounded, and was not pursued. He lost six killed and seven wounded out of his 30. For this day's service he received the New Zealand Cross. In the final attack on the pa, on 4 Jan 1869, Ropata again showed conspicuous gallantry, exposing himself without fear to the enemy fire. After the fall of this position Ropata dealt with the prisoners, and as they were brought in and stripped over a hundred were shot on the edge of the cliff. In Feb 1870 Ropata with 370 Ngati-Porou continued his campaign in the Urewera and fought his way through to Waimana, on the Bay of Plenty. While Colonel Porter was taking the Horoeka pa Ropata was involved in a hard fight at Te Kakari, a few miles distant. He then made his way out to the coast to meet the Whanganui contingent. Porter commanded the advance guard, and at the junction of the Waioeka and Waipuna rivers Ropata led the harassed rearguard. Hearing that Te Kooti was in the pa at Maraetahi, he led skirmishers up the exposed riverbed until they reached the cover of an overhanging bank. There they formed, poured in a hot fire and stormed the pa, from which Te Kooti had fled. Late in 1871 Ropata's force, consisting mainly of Aowera, captured near Ruatahuna Kereopa (who was implicated in the murder of Volkner). He thoroughly subdued the Urewera. His column, the last to be in the field, embarked in the Luna at Whakatane in Dec and landed at Ropata's pa at Open Bay, East Cape.

Ropata was appointed officer in charge of the Ngati-Porou district at a salary of £200; and assessor at £100 (increased in 1879 by £100 for duty as land purchase officer; and later reduced to £50). Some years later he received a sword of honour from Queen Victoria, and from the New Zealand Government a pension of £100 a year. In May 1887 he was called to the Legislative Council as a life member. He attended fairly regularly, but only once made a noteworthy speech. Ropata died at Gisborne on 1 Jul 1897. He was buried with military honours upon the rock fortress of Pupaka, in the Waiomatatini valley, the scene of many Maori exploits.

Speaking in the Legislative Council, the Hon M. S. Grace said Ropata was one of the bravest men he had ever seen in action. He was astonished that so great a man, so noble a character, so gallant a chief, was so little known.

N.Z.P.D., 1897-98, p. 6, 7, 9-10; W. L. Williams, Hist Records; Polyn. Jour., iv, 28, xi, 219; Cowan, Wars (p); Sketches (p); Gudgeon (p); biography by T. W. Porter (p); Lambert (p); Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxx, 55.

Reference: Volume 2, page 131

🌳 Further sources

WAIKATO (? 1790-1877), a Ngapuhi chief of Rangihoua, Bay of Islands, was a fine intelligent man. Inspired by the example of his kinsman Ruatara to see the world, he sailed in Feb 1819 with Kendall and his brother-in-law Hongi in the whaler New Zealander. During the four months he spent in England he collaborated with Professor Lee in the compilation of his Maori grammar. He had an audience of King George IV, from whom he received a helmet. Returning to New Zealand by the Westmoreland (Jul 1821), Waikato was reluctant to engage in warfare. The only expedition on which he afterwards went was that of Hongi against Hinaki. The sight of his comrades devouring human bodies so affected him that he could not eat for several days. He regretted the impossibility of living at peace, and was willing to acknowledge the sovereignty of Hongi if he would cease fighting. He even considered taking his family to live in New South Wales. Waikato lived later at Te Puna, where he died 17 Sep 1877. Though he never professed Christianity, he adopted while in England the Christian names of the secretary of the Church Missionary Society (Josiah Pratt), from whom he received much kindness. Waikato was consistently friendly to the missions and pakeha settlers, and enjoyed a pension. In 1841 he pacified the natives during the trial of Maketu.

Marsden, L. and J.; S. P. Smith; Sherrin and Wallace; Church Missionary Register, 1820, pp.

Reference: Volume 2, page 222

🌳 Further sources

WAITE, REUBEN (?-?) came to New Zealand from Victoria and opened a store in Nelson. In 1860, while he was working on the Collingwood goldfields, some Maoris gave him a parcel of gold which they claimed came from the Buller district. In spite of the local scepticism about the "mad Victorian," Reuben managed to collect a crew for the Jane, which he chartered to take him from Nelson to Buller. In July 1864 he landed a quantity of merchandise from the steamer Nelson at the river beach and forthwith founded the settlement of Greymouth by opening a store. In 1866 he bought from the Nelson Provincial Council a run at Inangahua, where he continued his digging.

Harrop, Westland; Preshaw; Reid, 70, 83.

Reference: Volume 2, page 222

🌳 Further sources

WAITT, ROBERT (1816-66) was born near Jedburgh, Scotland. After finishing his education he went to London, where he had a thorough business training in the office of the Lord Mayor of the time. He came to New Zealand in the first year of the settlement of Wellington, where he established himself as a merchant and auctioneer as early as Sep 1840. He lived at Te Aro, and his wharf and store were on the old beach near Manners street.

Waitt was one of the earliest stockowners in the South Island, having sheep in charge of a man at Kaikoura in 1849. In 1850, by the advice of his friend John Scott Caverhill, he took up a government lease of all the country which afterwards became the Teviotdale and Glenmark stations, on the north bank of the Waipara river. On the arrival of the first Canterbury settlers, Waitt opened a branch of his merchant's business in Lyttelton, in partnership with D. M. Laurie. In 1854, G. H. Moore arrived from Tasmania and bought the freehold of 58,000 acres on the Glenmark run, selecting his land in such a way as to make the rest of the Glenmark leasehold unworkable without it, so that Waitt had to surrender the leasehold to him. Waitt went on with Teviotdale, and in 1854 wound up his Wellington business and settled permanently in Canterbury. He lived partly at Teviotdale and partly at Casterton, his house in the Heathcote valley, and divided his time between the station and the business in Lyttelton. He married Catherine, daughter of Donald Macdonald, a very early settler, who chartered his own ship to bring out his family. In 1856 Waitt published The Progress of Canterbury, a pleasantly written pamphlet in the form of a letter to Captain Joseph Thomas (q.v.). His health broke down about 1862 and he retired from active work, leasing Teviotdale with the sheep, dissolving his partnership with Laurie, and selling off the merchandise by auction. He died at Opawa on 14 Sep 1866.

Waitt does not seem to have taken politics very seriously. He sat for Wellington Country district in the Wellington Provincial Council (1853-54). He was also an alderman in the first Wellington municipal council (1842) and one of the original stewards of the Wellington Racing club. In Canterbury he represented Lyttelton in the Provincial Council (1857-58). He was a very well-set-up, athletic looking man, rather dark, and wore a full beard. He had a friendly manner with all kinds of people, and a good sense of humour, and enjoyed speaking the broadest Scots dialect.

Wellington P.C. Proc.; Canterbury P.C. Proc.; Cycl. N.Z., v, 119; Parltry Record; Ward; Waitt, op. cit.; Acland; personal information from contemporary settlers; Jane Deans, Letters to My Grandchildren.

Reference: Volume 2, page 222

🌳 Further sources

EDWARD WAKEFIELD (q.v.) was a son. Another son, OLIVER, became Under-secretary for Mines. He died in Mar 1884.

D.N.B.; E. Wakefield, Stafford; Harrop, Wakefield; O'Connor; Deans; Lyttelton Times, 8, 22 Jul, 29 Aug 1854, 24, 27 Dec 1875.

Reference: Volume 2, page 225

🌳 Further sources

WAKEFIELD, ARTHUR (1799-1843) was born at Burnham Wick, Essex, the third son of Edward Wakefield and Susanna Crash. Brought up by his grandmother, Priscilla Wakefield, a devout Quaker, at her home in Tottenham, he felt her religious influence throughout life. In 1807 he entered at Haigh's school at Tottenham, and in 1808 proceeded to the Grammar School at Bury St Edmunds. His father decided that he should enter the Navy, and in May 1810 he joined on board the frigate Nisus, Captain Philip Beaver, in which he spent six years. During that time he was present at the capture of the Isle de France and at the shore fighting at Java. In 1814 he was transferred to the frigate Hebrus, in which he saw service in North America, being present as aide-de-camp with the expedition which captured Washington, USA. At Bladensburg he showed great intrepidity and captured one of the enemy's flags, for which he was mentioned in despatches. At the age of 16 he was in charge of a prize of 280 tons which he carried from Chesapeake Bay to Bermuda. He was in the Hebrus at the bombardment of Algiers (1816), and in that year passed for lieutenant (two years before he could be promoted). He was posted to the Queen Charlotte in 1818, and from her he moved into the Superb (1819) as flag-midshipman to Sir Thomas Hardy, whom he accompanied on a diplomatic tour in South America which lasted two years. This appointment was in recognition of his services at Bladensburg and Washington, but he was not promoted lieutenant until 1821. His command of Spanish was of great service to this mission. In 1822 Wakefield spent six months as aide-de-camp to Lord St Vincent. In 1823 he joined the Brazen, in which he saw much service against smugglers in the Channel and slavers on the West African station. Prizes worth £40,000 were taken; and out of 900 slaves captured Wakefield himself after a long chase in three ship's boats, captured 420 in a Spanish slave schooner. He commanded the brig Conflict (1826-28), and was then promoted senior lieutenant in the Rose. He had temporary command of this ship in the protection of fisheries in the Gulf of St Lawrence and Labrador, and was then transferred as senior lieutenant to the flagship of Sir Edward Golpoys. Thereafter he was in the Winchester until she paid off in 1833, when he joined the Thunderer, still hoping for long overdue promotion. On three occasions Wakefield jumped overboard to save life. He was a good disciplinarian and invented an appliance for fishing anchors with a double hook, and apparatus for imitation shot practice. On returning home he found there had been a general promotion of lieutenants, from which he was excluded, though he had 27 years of service. He memorialised the first lord in protest (28 Feb 1837). Meanwhile his brother Edward Gibbon (q.v.) had made some progress with the New Zealand colonisation scheme and proposed that Arthur should command the first expedition. This proposal he accepted eagerly. Being a strong churchman, he went with Captain Wellesley and Dr G. S. Evans as a deputation to seek the co-operation of the Church Missionary Society (Jun 1837). The secretary (Dandeson Coates) replied flatly that he would thwart the scheme by all means in his power.

Wakefield would have proceeded to New Zealand in the Tory in 1839 had he not been appointed to command the frigate Rhadamanthus on the Mediterranean station, where he remained until 1841. He then retired from the Navy and threw himself whole-heartedly into the Nelson colony, of which he was to be the leader. Land was to be provided both for the settlers going with him and for those who had been disappointed in not receiving sections in the Wellington colony; and due provision was made for one-tenth of the whole area to be set aside for native reserves. The total area required was 221,000 acres.

Within two and a half months of the date of the prospectus the ships Whitby (350 tons), and Will Watch (300 tons) were ready to sail. Wakefield, who had been responsible for equipping the expedition, had charge of the passengers in the former ship and Tuckett (q.v.) of those in the latter. On the voyage out Wakefield maintained a regular programme of occupation and observances, establishing the Nelson Literary and Scientific Institution, a school for young gentlemen and one for labourers who could not read or write. A weekly newspaper, the Whitby Times, was established, while the labourers had one entitled Hand in Hand. On 18 Sep 1841 the Whitby anchored in Port Nicholson, where the Will Watch and the storeship Arrow were already lying. Governor Hobson had suggested tentatively that the colony should be located either at Mahurangi, in north Auckland, or in the valley of the Thames or the Waipa. Colonel William Wakefield (q.v.), the principal agent at Wellington, and Arthur were agreed in preferring Port Cooper, but Hobson objected that the land in that vicinity was subject to claims, including those of the Nanto-Bordelaise Company, and he could not appropriate them as proposed until these had been decided. They therefore had to fall back upon the lands purchased by Colonel Wakefield in 1839. The expedition left Wellington and proceeded to Queen Charlotte Sound, while Captain Wakefield visited Te Rauparaha and Te Hiko at Kapiti and obtained their sanction to settling at Blind Bay. The ships reached that destination on 8 Oct.

After a careful and somewhat disappointing exploration of the neighbourhood, Wakefield decided upon Wakatu harbour as the site of the settlement, though subsequent surveys showed that the requisite area of land for farming was not available in the neighbourhood. The local chiefs having approved, no time was lost in laying out the town, surveying neighbouring lands and preparing for the arrival of the immigrants. In Feb 1842 four ships (the Fifeshire, Mary Ann, Lloyds and Lord Auckland) arrived, with nearly 700 settlers; and within seven months there were 67 arrivals. Wakefield showed extraordinary energy, combined with tact and organising ability, in setting on foot the machinery of government, education and public works.

It was soon apparent to him, however, that more land would have to be secured for farming immigrants. The settlement suffered from absenteeism and unsold lands; uncertain titles; and the excessive labour supply in proportion to capital. At the end of 1842 Wakefield received instructions not to guarantee employment except to men who had emigrated under contract. Meanwhile Cotterill, one of the surveyors, had been exploring Cloudy Bay, where he reported that an area of 240,000 acres of land was available (Dec 1841). Wakefield believed that the Wairau was included in the purchase (to the parallel of 43 degrees) which his brother had made of Te Rauparaha at Kapiti; and he seems to have been unaware that that chief disputed this sale before Spain's court (Apr 1842). When he advertised the Wairau for survey (Mar 1843) he was at once visited by Rauparaha and Rangihaeata, the former denying the sale and the latter threatening violent opposition to any steps taken to assume possession of the land. In Apr Barnicoat, Parkinson and Cotterill, who had been entrusted with the surveys, landed in the Wairau and met Te Puaha, a mild-mannered Christian chief, who made no protest. Other natives, however, pulled up the ranging rods of the surveyors. This having been reported to Wakefield, he sent back word that the police magistrate would take action in the event of any hostile behaviour to the surveyors. On 28 May Joseph Toms, a whaler living at Porirua with his Ngati-Toa wife, landed at Cloudy Bay from his schooner Three Brothers Te Rauparaha and an armed party of about 25 men. On 1 Jun a force of 400 natives landed at Port Underwood, and set off in eight canoes and a whaleboat up the Wairau river. Methodically and deliberately they visited each of the three survey parties, burned their huts and timber, and helped them back to the coast with their own property and instruments. Cotterill proceeded hastily to Nelson and laid an information against the chiefs for destruction of property. Henry A. Thompson (who in Mar 1842 had been appointed police magistrate and agent of the Government at Nelson) issued warrants for their arrest, and declared his intention of being present when they were executed. Wakefield felt convinced of the righteousness of the proceedings and did not anticipate any resistance. The party, which left in the Government brig Victoria, included Thompson (who was virtually in command to see to the execution of his warrants), Wakefield, Captain England, Richardson (crown prosecutor) and a number of labourers. They numbered eventually 49, of whom 33 were armed indifferently with muskets and sabres. Disregarding the urgent advice of Tuckett (whom they met at sea), and a warning letter from the Rev S Ironside (q.v.), they landed on 15 Jun at the Wairau, where they were joined by J. W. Barnicoat (q.v.). Next day they proceeded up the river, and on the 17th, in two boats, they continued to ascend the Wairau and its tributaries. Four miles up the Tuamarina they found Rangihaeata in a piece of bush on the right bank of the river, accompanied by 90 men and about 30 women and children. A canoe having been placed across the stream, Thompson, Wakefield, Tuckett, Cotterill, Brooks and the chief constable (Maling) crossed and began to explain to Rauparaha that he and Rangihaeata were to be arrested and taken in the Government brig to stand their trial for destroying Cotterill's property. When Rauparaha said that Spain would inquire into that, Thompson explained that Spain was inquiring into land claims, not into the destruction of property. Rauparaha then offered to pay on the spot for any of the pakeha's property that had been destroyed; but Thompson insisted that he must stand his trial. Rauparaha replied that he did not wish to fight, but if the whites fought he would also. Rangihaeata now coming forward, the altercation became heated and Wakefield called to his men to come closer together. Thompson having caught Rauparaha by the arm to arrest him, was roughly repulsed and, some of his men coming to his assistance, a struggle began. As the whites were crossing the river at Wakefield's command a gun went off, the natives replied and firing became general. Wakefield ordered his people to retreat up the hill. They declined to make a stand and he and Howard, who had been an officer with him in the Rhadamanthus, advanced with a white handkerchief towards the natives and offered to surrender. Cotterill was retreating from the field with his men and Wakefield ordered his people to throw down their arms and lie down. The natives then coming up, Wakefield and his followers handed over their arms. They were sitting talking with the natives when Rangihaeata rushed up excitedly saying that his wife, Te Rongo, had been killed and they must have utu.

A general attack then commenced on the unarmed whites and 22 were killed, including Wakefield, Thompson, Captain England, Richardson, Howard, Cotterill and Brooks (the interpreter). The bodies of Wakefield and 16 others were buried a few days later by the Rev S Ironside (q.v.).

Wakefield was one of the best type of naval officer, courteous, considerate and with a singular command of temper. A man of deep religious conviction, he treated the natives with uniform frankness and courtesy, and his winning character earned him the general respect of the colonists. The train of events which led to the tragedy at Wairau was not laid by him. He does not seem to have realised that the claim to have bought the Wairau was contested; he had not sufficient knowledge of Maori customs and character to appreciate the gravity of the position; he never questioned the justice of his conduct; and did not realise that the threat of resistance was serious. (See FITZROY.)

G.B.O.P. 1844/556; 1845/131; N.Z.C. 31; N.Z.C. reports, 1840-45; unpublished thesis by L. R. Palmer; E. J. Wakefield; Harrop, Wakefield; Irma O'Connor; Saunders; G. Clarke; Gisborne; Thomson; Broad; Buick, Marlborough and Old New Zealander; Rusden; Ward (p); McDonald, Pages from the Past; N.Z. Gazette and Spectator, 5 Jul 1843; Evening Mail, 11 Dec 1926 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 223

🌳 Further sources

WAKEFIELD, DANIEL (1798-1858) was born in Essex, the son of Edward Wakefield and brother of Edward Gibbon, William, Arthur and Felix. Educated first at Haigh's school at Tottenham, he afterwards entered at Lincoln's Inn (1827) on the recommendation of his uncle, Daniel Wakefield, K.C., and was called to the bar. He practised for a while in London, and became interested with his uncle (Edward Gibbon) in the colonisation of South Australia. He was on the committee of the South Australian Association (1834) and assisted to draft the charter on the lines suggested by his uncle. Having married in 1835 Angela, daughter of Thomas Attwood, M.P. for Birmingham, he was an applicant for the judgeship in South Australia, but this failing he was dissuaded from joining the expedition and continued to practise in London. Emigrating to New Zealand in the forties, he practised at Wellington and Nelson. In 1847 he was appointed crown solicitor and crown prosecutor for the Southern province, and in the following year Attorney-general for New Munster and a member of the executive council and the Legislative Council for the province. He was acting-judge during the absence of Martin. Wakefield resigned his post as Attorney-general as the outcome of a disagreement with Governor Grey on the land regulations. He was a judge from 1855 to 1857, when he retired. He died on 8 Jan 1858.

Parltry Record; Ward; O'Connor; Harrop, Wakefield.

Reference: Volume 2, page 224

🌳 Further sources

WAKEFIELD, EDWARD (1845-1924) was born in Tasmania, the son of Felix Wakefield (q.v.), and came to New Zealand with his parents in 1851, spent a year in Canterbury and then went to England. He was educated in France and at King's College, London, and in 1863 returned to New Zealand and joined the staff of the Nelson Examiner (then edited by J.C. Richmond). He entered the civil service (1865), became private secretary to Stafford (1866) and was for four years secretary to the cabinet. After this extended period of secretarial duty, he joined the Customs department at Dunedin (1869) and served there and in Auckland.

In 1874, at the suggestion of Stafford, he resigned to become editor of the Timaru Herald. During 10 years in that position he successfully advocated the creation of a modern port for South Canterbury by the construction of a breakwater. He was at the same time leader writer for the Otago Daily Times, the New Zealand Times and The Press. Wakefield was M.H.R. for Geraldine (1875-81). Being defeated there, he contested Inangahua against E. Shaw (q.v.) in 1883. In 1884 he was elected unopposed for Selwyn and was for one week Colonial Secretary in the Atkinson Government (1884). Retiring from politics in 1887, he became editor of the Evening Press (Wellington). In 1890 he went to London and was afterwards appointed agent in New York of the British and United States Agency, but had to close it up in view of the financial stringency (1890). Thereafter he worked for the New Zealand press in London.

Wakefield published in 1889 New Zealand after Fifty Years. In his later years, when he suffered from blindness, he was admitted to the Carthusian foundation and lived in the Charterhouse, in recognition of his interest in Empire affairs. Just before his death (which occurred on 10 Aug 1924) he contributed to the Nineteenth Century an article on his friendship with Dickens and he published privately in 1923 a brochure on Sir Edward Stafford.

N.Z.P.D., 2 Jun 1925; E. Wakefield, op. cit.; United Empire, 1924, p. 630 (p); Timaru Herald, 15 Aug 1924.

Reference: Volume 2, page 224

🌳 Further sources

WAKEFIELD, EDWARD GIBBON (1796-1862) was the son of Edward Wakefield, who at the time of his birth was a farmer in Essex, but afterwards became a land agent in London; achieved fame as an educationalist and philanthropist and was the author of An Account of Ireland, Statistical and Political (1812). Through his mother, Priscilla Bell, he was descended from the Quaker family of Robert Barclay, the apologist, and he was thus related to F. D. Bell (q.v.). Owing to the straitened circumstances of his father, Edward and several of his brothers lived for part of their childhood with their grandmother at Tottenham. She was a noted philanthropist. The boys went first to Haigh's school. At that early age Edward showed a perverseness and intractability which increased in his youth and was the cause of his leaving each of the schools to which he was sent. He left Haigh's in Dec 1807 for Westminster, where he had many fights and difficulties, and eventually refused to go back. Thence to the High School at Edinburgh, which he left in 1811, stubbornly refusing to go back.

In 1813 he was admitted at Gray's Inn, but in the following year he became private secretary to the Hon William Noel Hill, son of Lord Berwick, and then envoy to the court of Turin. He travelled a good deal as a king's messenger and saw much of fashionable life in Italy and Paris. Having made the acquaintance of Eliza Susan Pattle, the heiress of a Canton merchant, Thomas Charles Pattle (deceased), they eloped and were married at Edinburgh (1816). The mother and uncles of the girl were won over, and through the influence of Hill the Lord Chancellor not only sanctioned the marriage, but made the most liberal settlement on Wakefield. He was to receive from £1,500 to £2,000 a year, independent of any private property of his own and subject to no control, the allowance to be increased by £2,000 a year at the death of his mother-in-law. The couple went to Genoa on a diplomatic mission, and then back to Turin. Wakefield became secretary to the legation, where his brother William was also employed. There Wakefield's first child, Susan Priscilla, was born (1817). The mother died on 5 Jul 1820, after the birth of the second child, Edward Jerningham.

Meanwhile Wakefield had been employed as attache and secretary-general at the embassy in Paris, where they saw much of fashionable life. In 1824 his father married Frances, the daughter of the Rev Dr Davies, headmaster of the Macclesfield Grammar School. Wakefield and his brother visited this family at Macclesfield, and through them became aware of the existence of a wealthy heiress, Ellen, the daughter of William Turner, a manufacturer, of Shrigley, Cheshire, and sheriff of the county of Yorkshire. In Mar 1826 Edward and William Wakefield, by means of a ruse, persuaded the girl to leave the school and took her to Gretna Green, where Edward went through a form of marriage with her. He then took his wife to London, Dover and Calais, where they were overtaken by the girl's uncles and police agents. William had already been arrested in England, and Wakefield offered to return to face the charge of abduction. They were tried at the Lancaster assizes, their stepmother, Frances Wakefield, and the servant, Thevenot, being also indicted; and were found guilty. On 14 May 1827 Edward and William were each sentenced to three years imprisonment, the former at Newgate and the latter at Lancaster. Frances was not sentenced. A bill was passed by Parliament to annul the marriage, which had not been consummated.

After his transfer to Newgate prison Wakefield was permitted to see his children and to take an active part in their education. In his prison surroundings he saw much of the seamy side of life, and became interested in trying to reform aspects which seemed unnecessarily harsh. In 1830 he wrote an essay, The Condemned Sermon (which was published in Popular Politics in 1837), and in 1831 he wrote Facts Relating to the Punishment of Death in the Metropolis. The public were shocked by some of his disclosures, and certain reforms which he suggested were carried into effect. It was here, too, that Wakefield entered upon that close study of the subject of colonisation which was to issue in a masterly thesis a few years later. He investigated the Swan river failure, which he was convinced was due to the dispersal of the settlers over too wide an area by the granting of vast estates to wealthy emigrants in the neighbourhood of the settlement. From this he developed his theory that land should be sold at too high a price to enable the labourers too readily to become landowners, thus depriving the land of its due supply of labour. He elaborated his system in the sketch of a proposed colony which appeared in a series of articles in the Morning Chronicle (Aug-Oct 1829). In the same year was published his book, A Letter from Sydney, together with an Outline of a System of Colonisation. In this book (edited by Robert Gouger) he insisted that all land in the colony should be sold, and that there should be a tax on rents of lands already sold and on future sales to form an emigration fund, which should be applied to the introduction of a due proportion of labourers for the needs of the settlement. He now abandoned his fixed price of £2 per acre for land, and suggested that the 'sufficient price' must be fixed according to the conditions of each settlement. In Apr 1830 he published (in the Spectator) 'The Cure and Prevention of Pauperism by means of Systematic Colonisation.' Shortly after his release (which took place in May) he formed the National Colonisation Society, which consisted of a small select band of thinkers, and absorbed Gouger's Emigration Society. The first pamphlet, A Statement of the Principles and Objects of the Proposed National Society for the Cure and Prevention of Pauperism by Means of Systematic Colonisation, appeared in 1830. In 1831 Lord Goderich became Secretary of State for the Colonies (with Lord Howick as Under-secretary), and in regulations published shortly afterwards it was provided that henceforth all land in New South Wales should be sold at not less than 5s per acre. In 1831 Gouger and Wakefield brought forward the South Australia project and obtained the approval of Howick, with the proviso that the governor of the settlement should be appointed by the government and not by the chartered company. Goderich, however, did not approve the scheme (30 May 1832). In 1833, when Wakefield published his England and America; a Comparison of the Social and Political State of both Nations, the Society had 42 members, including Charles Buller, John Stuart Mill, John Hutt, Colonel R. Torrens, Sir F. Burdett, and Sir J. C. Hobhouse. It was revitalised by this publication. At the end of the year the South Australian Association was formed, with Buller, Torrens and Roebuck on the committee. Wakefield, restrained by the consciousness of his too recent misdemeanour and its punishment, remained discreetly in the background; but his brother Daniel (q.v.) assisted in drafting the articles of association. The Duke of Wellington approved the scheme, and Wakefield urged, in recognition of his interest, that the chief town of the settlement should be named after him.

The serious illness of his daughter Nina (Priscilla) now took Wakefield to Lisbon, where to his intense grief she died on 12 Feb 1835. His personal life was wrapped up in the two children, and Nina had become his confidant in schemes and economic speculations which were beyond the comprehension of most young women. Wakefield brought back to England with him a Portuguese girl, Leocadia de Oliveira, who had helped to soothe the last days of his daughter. He educated her and brought her to New Zealand, where she married. On his return to England Wakefield found that changes had been made in the South Australian scheme which he considered fatal. He fell out with Gouger, and Torrens was unable to effect a reconciliation. The price fixed for the sale of land, 12s an acre, he considered too low. When he himself was unable to sell the land at that price, George Fife Angas came forward with a joint stock company which took the necessary area at 12s. Wakefield now withdrew from the South Australian scheme and turned his attention to New Zealand, Torrens continuing as chairman of the commissioners. In Jun 1836 Wakefield gave valuable evidence before the select committee on methods of disposing of land in the colonies. This evidence was published in 1841 for the government of Texas. The select committee recommended that the upset price should be a permanent principle of future colonial regulations. As a result of the evidence given by Wakefield at this inquiry the New Zealand Association was constituted at a meeting at his house on 22 May 1837. It soon announced its intention of settling New Zealand, and thus came into immediate conflict with the Church Missionary Society, which strongly opposed the foundation of a British colony in New Zealand. In a book published under the auspices of the Association in 1837, entitled The British Colonisation of New Zealand, Wakefield proposed making treaties with the native tribes for the cession of territory and all other necessary activities. Urged by the missionary societies, the Colonial Office, now under the strong control of Stephen as permanent under-secretary, dismissed the proposal (Jun 1837) because it involved the acquisition of sovereignty in New Zealand, which would inevitably issue in the conquest and extermination of the native race. The Secretary of State (Lord Glenelg) was, however, so impressed by accounts of lawlessness amongst whites in New Zealand that he informed Lord Durham that he would be willing to consent to the incorporation of a company by royal charter so long as the government had the right of veto over the personnel of the directorate and officials. Wakefield having assured him that the Association assumed no pecuniary risk and did not expect pecuniary gain, he said he would not oppose the bill (5 Feb 1838). Both the Church Missionary Society and the Wesleyan Missionary Society petitioned against the bill, and the missionary influence in Parliament and the country was so strong that the select committee of the House of Lords (at which Wakefield produced a Maori witness, Nayti) reported against it. The best way to further the civilisation of New Zealand, it recommended, was to support the existing missions there. Wakefield was in Canada at the time when the bill was being discussed in Parliament, and it was defeated by 92 votes to 32. Thus ended the Association's scheme of appointing commissioners in New Zealand and making treaties with the natives or exercising criminal jurisdiction. In 1836 Wakefield's friends made an effort to find him a seat in the House of Commons, and he actually issued an address to the electors of Birmingham strongly approving the reform bill, and hoping to see universal suffrage, the ballot, annual elections and three-year parliaments.

Having withdrawn from his parliamentary ambitions, he took part in forming the New Zealand Association, and in the same year brought about the select committee on transportation, which warmly endorsed his principles.

In Jan 1838 he accepted a position on Durham's staff for Canada. Buller was chief secretary, and Wakefield was invited to accompany the mission really to investigate the management of crown lands. But for the veto of the Colonial Office he would have been appointed commissioner of crown lands. In fact, Buller was commissioner, but Wakefield took charge of the land commission, the registry of titles and the commutation of feudal tenures. When he arrived in Canada in the middle of 1838 (some time after Durham), the rebellion of 1837 was still a recent memory and he had unique opportunities of discussing the grievances of the colonists. He failed to see the rebel Papineau, though he made a journey to Saratoga for that purpose, but he soon formed the opinions that the trouble in Canada was a racial war; that the French Canadians were a poor class and the country must be made English by every means. Durham had humanely dispensed with the trial of rebels in prison in favour of exiling to Bermuda eight of the leaders. His enemies in England seized on the fact that Bermuda was outside his jurisdiction and the government weakly disallowed the ordinance. Disgusted at this desertion of him after a promise of full support, he resigned (25 Sep). Wakefield defended Durham with the greatest energy. Fearing that his report would be mutilated by the government to cover its own faults, he disregarded official propriety and communicated the greater part of it to The Times before Parliament received it. The substance of the Report on the Affairs of British North America (which was addressed to Glenelg on 31 Jan 1839) appeared in The Times on 8 Feb. It proposed the reunion of the provinces of Upper and Lower Canada as a prelude to the inauguration of responsible government. Durham's enemies refused him credit for the report ('Wakefield thought it, Buller wrote it, and Durham signed it'), but the refusal was malevolent. Durham, an extremely able man, both thought and wrote. Wakefield was responsible for the appendix on land-reform, where Durham was his pupil; but Wakefield at that time had no comprehension of the principle of responsible government, such as both Durham and Buller displayed; and the statement of this principle was in fact the essence of the report. Wakefield later appropriated it as part of his 'system.' His land-policy was divorced from Canadian reality.

On his return to England late in 1838 Wakefield found a new impetus to the New Zealand project in the scheme of de Thierry (q.v.) Though the proposal, as communicated by George F. Angas, envisaged a sovereignty in de Thierry's own person, there was already a widespread fear of French designs in New Zealand. When Lord Glenelg went out of office (Feb 1839) he left a minute recommending that action be taken. His successor (Lord Normanby) refusing to move, the New Zealand Company hastened its plans, selected Colonel W. H. Wakefield as leader of the proposed settlement in New Zealand (28 Mar 1839), and arranged for the despatch of the expeditionary ship, the Tory. She left the river on 25 Apr rather hurriedly, lest the government should intervene. When Normanby refused letters of introduction to the governors of New South Wales and Tasmania Wakefield feared some more definite sign of disapproval. There is a legend, lacking proof, that he hastened to Plymouth to despatch the ship. That done, he established himself in the Company's headquarters in Broad street buildings, and throughout the year was the directing spirit in all the negotiations with the Colonial Office. In Feb 1840 Captain Hobson concluded the Treaty of Waitangi and took office as Lieutenant-governor of New Zealand.

Wakefield became a director of the Company on 9 Apr 1840, and a few weeks later he persuaded the board to adopt the name 'Wellington' for the first town in recognition of the Duke's assistance. He arranged a great meeting of shipowners, bankers and merchants of the city of London to urge the Government to take measures to preserve the 'long established sovereignty of the British crown in New Zealand.' Before the select committee of the House of Lords Wakefield gave evidence, the value of which was acknowledged by the chairman (Lord Eliot) at a public dinner at Plymouth on 5 Nov. In Sep the directors, on his advice, applied to Lord John Russell for a charter. Stephen agreed, and Wakefield and Lord Petre were appointed to negotiate with Russell as to the terms. On 26 Oct Russell agreed to issue a charter for 40 years, with increased capital and more powers, and the Company was to receive four acres of land in the Colony for every pound of expenditure incurred in colonising. The charter was dated 12 Feb 1841. In Dec 1841 Wakefield again visited Canada to look after an interest which he had acquired in a land company. While there he was elected (Nov 1842) to represent in the House of Assembly of Lower Canada the French-speaking county of Beauharnois, the electors of which appreciated what he had done to secure for them a share in their administration. The governor, Sir Charles Bagot, regarded him as 'a vindictive, as well as subtle serpent,' and was careful to have nothing to do with him; but his confidential advice to Bagot's successor, Sir Charles Metcalfe, in Metcalfe's conflict with ministers on the subject of responsible government, earned for him the hatred of the Canadian Radicals and the title of 'arch-traitor.' His perception in Canadian politics was nevertheless sometimes shrewd, though in the responsible government controversy he was clearly fighting against the future. Metcalfe had declined to consult his ministers in the making of appointments. Wakefield supported the governor, for reasons which he set forth in his pamphlet, A View of Sir Charles Metcalfe's Government of Canada, by a Member of the Provincial Parliament. He came back to England (1844) to find the Company once more at war with the Colonial Office over the interpretation of the agreement as regards the allocation of grants of land. A select committee appointed by the House of Commons upheld the Company on every point except its 'highly irregular and improper conduct' in sending out settlers in defiance of the authority of the crown. Lord Stanley (the Secretary of State) would not, however, accept the Company's contention that the Maori possessed only a qualified dominion in New Zealand. In Mar and Jun 1845 there were stormy debates in Parliament. Earl Grey became Secretary of State in Jun 1846. Wakefield had a discouraging interview with him at Buller's house in Jul, and a week or two later suffered an apoplectic stroke as the result of overwork and excitement (15 Aug 1846). This placed him hors de combat for some years, though he continued to attend meetings. In May 1847 Buller made an agreement with Grey under which the Company should receive a new loan and come under government control. Wakefield protested against government control, but was in no state of health to fight, and retired to undergo the water cure at Great Malvern. His enthusiasm in colonisation was revived by the Church of England proposal to settle a colony in New Zealand, and by a meeting with John Robert Godley (q.v.), whom he importuned to lend his influence to the scheme. Godley acceded (30 Nov 1847), and Wakefield transferred to him sufficient stock (£500) to qualify him as a director. The site proposed for the settlement was Wairarapa.

Wakefield was now writing topics regularly for the Spectator. Late in 1848 he retired to France (with A. J. Allom, q.v.) to finish his book on the Art of Colonisation, in which he hoped to establish his claim as the author of the school of thought now almost triumphant. The book was published in Feb 1849. He resigned from the directorate of the Company. Earl Grey about this time submitted to Durham a scheme for a colony in Canada, which Wakefield criticised and showed to be impracticable. Early in 1849 he drew up the heads of the articles of association for the Canterbury settlement, which being done, he wrote to F. D. Bell (his kinsman) in New Zealand to say that he was now determined to proceed thither, since his work in England was finished. He arranged for the publication of the Canterbury Papers and, the land sales being insufficient to justify proceeding, he arranged a personal guarantee of £15,000 by Lord Lyttelton, Sir John Simeon, Lord Richard Cavendish and himself. Having worked with his accustomed zeal until the first four ships of the Canterbury settlement had passed down the Channel, he then turned to the New Zealand constitution. On 8 Feb 1850 Lord John Russell proposed in parliament that provision be made for the better government of her Majesty's Australian colonies. The bill was passed on 13 May, a similar one being promised for New Zealand in the following year. In the drafting of the New Zealand constitution some share was taken by Wakefield, Fox, Weld, Sewell, Adderley (afterwards Lord Norton) and Lyttelton. In 1851 it was impossible to bring in the bill, but it came in 1852. In Jun Wakefield, fearing its destruction by the opposition of Molesworth, petitioned both houses in favour of it.

The act received the royal assent on 30 Jun. Wakefield sailed for New Zealand in the Minerva in Oct 1852, arriving in Lyttelton on 2 Feb 1853. He became involved almost immediately in a controversy with Governor Grey over his land regulations of 4 Mar 1853, in which the price was fixed at 10s per acre, reducible to 5s in cases where the land was not easily accessible. Wakefield wrote home characteristically that 'he worked the newspapers and went to law with the Governor.' Thereafter he was at odds with Grey over alterations in the constitution and his delay in having Parliament constituted, and later in summoning the General Assembly to meet. Wakefield was elected a member of Parliament for Hutt (19 Aug 1853) and of the Wellington Provincial Council, also for Hutt (5 Sep), defeating by a very large majority candidates who supported the policy of Grey. Grey left the Colony on 31 Dec 1853. The Provincial Council met on 28 Oct 1853 and, having elected Clifford to be Speaker, had good reason to approve its choice. So that when Parliament assembled seven months later Wakefield had already been in consultation with other members and persuaded them to elect Charles Clifford (q.v.), though a Catholic, to the chair of the House of Representatives.

Colonel Wynyard, the administrator, was inexperienced and lacking in initiative, and Wakefield soon appeared as the Machiavelli of Parliament. The House had no sooner shaken down to its task when he moved (2 Jun 1854) to establish full responsible government. Swainson (the Attorney-general) ruled that the Governor had no power to introduce the responsible system, but Wakefield had won his point and was prepared to await developments. He wrote Home that he was happy in having the full realisation of all he had hoped and longed for. Friction occurred between the responsible ministers and the permanent officials who sat with them in the executive and whom, according to Wakefield's ruling, the Governor had no power to dismiss since they were appointed by the crown. Wynyard therefore accepted the resignation of ministers and consulted Wakefield, who once more appeared as the enemy of the system he had always advocated. Provoked by his rather tactless conduct, the House passed a resolution (proposed by one of the executive, FitzGerald) protesting against the acceptance of advice from a private member of Parliament. On the intimation that Wynyard intended to prorogue Parliament (also on the advice of Wakefield), the House passed a resolution demanding the full grant of responsible government and the removal of Wakefield from his position as unofficial adviser. Wakefield's supporters walked out of the chamber in the hope of preventing the motion being carried. He withdrew then from his unique position, and a fortnight later Parliament met and passed supply for a ministry led by T. S. Forsaith (q.v.), with Travers, Macandrew and E. J. Wakefield as colleagues.

On 8 Dec the Secretary of State approved the grant of responsible government. Wakefield retired at the general election (1855). He was re-elected to the Provincial Council, but attended less frequently owing to failing health. His most noteworthy intervention in this period was at the election of 1857, when his son (E. J. Wakefield) made a determined attempt to capture the provincial government. Thereafter he lived in enforced retirement at his home in Wellington, his principal companion in the evening of his life being Alice, daughter of his brother Daniel, and later the wife of Harold Freeman. He died on 16 May 1862, and was buried in the Sydney street cemetery.

E. Irving Carlyle, in the Dictionary of National Biography, says: "The importance of Wakefield's achievements in colonial matters can hardly be overestimated. The tangible fruits of his labours are the least part of their result, for all subsequent colonial development has followed the direction of his thought. He brought to the subject for the first time the mind of a philosopher and statesman, equally fitted for framing a comprehensive theory and for directing its working in practical detail. The great flaw in his character was lack of scruple in selecting the means for attaining his ends. This imperfection of character brought about serious disaster in his private affairs, and in his public life it prevented even his most devoted supporters from giving him their implicit confidence."

Wakefield's publications include: Swing Unmasked, or the Causes of Rural Incendiarism (1831), The Hangman and the Judge (1833), Popular Politics (1837).

G.B.O.P. 1836-45; N.Z.P.D. 1854-62; N.Z. Comy reports; Wakefield Letters in Canterbury Museum; N.Z.C., pass. (including many manuscript and draft letters in Wakefield's hand); E. J. Wakefield, Adventure; Harrop, Wakefield; Wakefield, New Zealand (p); Wakelin; O'Connor (p); Gisborne; Saunders; Rusden; E.G. Wakefield, op. cit.; Egerton; Sherrin and Wallace; Garnett (p); Godley, Letters; Lovat; J. Collier (introd. The Art of Colonisation, 1914); R. C. Mills, The Colonisation of Australia (1915); John Morley, Life of William Ewart Gladstone (1904); Hight and Bamford; Keith; Scholefield, Hobson; Ward (p); A. J. Harrop in The Press, Oct-Nov 1928; Stuart J. Reid; Lucas; Chester W. New, Lord Durham; Chester Martin, Empire and Commonwealth; W. P. Morrall, Colonial Policy of Peel and Russell; Fisher's Colonial Magazine, Jul 1844; Wellington Independent, 20 May 1862; Wellington Spectator, 5 Jan, 23 Jul 1853; Otago Daily Times, 30 Dec 1931; The Press, 1 May 1909, 12 Dec 1925.

Portrait: Bust by Joseph Durham, R.A., in Colonial Office (replica in Parliament House, Wellington); portrait by E. J. Collins and Richard Ai in Provincial Hall, Christchurch.

Reference: Volume 2, page 225

🌳 Further sources

WAKEFIELD, FELIX (1807-75) was a son of Edward Wakefield, and brother of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. He was trained as a surveyor and engineer. About 1830 he joined his father in a silk business at Blois, in France, and while there married Marie Felice Eliza Bailley. A year or two later he settled in Tasmania, where he farmed without much success for about 16 years. Returning to England in financial straits, he was assisted by his brother Edward Gibbon, who undertook the education of his family of seven. Careless in money matters, he was appointed in 1849 emigration agent for the Canterbury Association, but his brother, fearing embarrassment as the result of his irresponsible nature, persuaded him to go to New Zealand and bought him a farm on the road from Lyttelton to Christchurch. His notes on surveying and the disposal of waste lands in colonies were edited by his brother and published in London (1849). The first draft was communicated in the form of instructions to Captain Joseph Thomas.

Wakefield sailed for New Zealand in the Sir George Pollock (1851). In 1852 he returned to England. Coming again to Canterbury in 1854, he tried to promote a scheme to improve the mouth of the Avon and open up navigation with the plains for vessels of 50 tons. He was a keen horticulturist, and in later years imported red deer and pheasants to Nelson. In 1854 he returned to England with several of his family, volunteered for the war in the Crimea and was employed as a superintendent of army works (with the rank of lieutenant-colonel) making the railway from Balaclava to Sebastopol. After the declaration of peace he visited Syria, Turkey, Russia and Egypt, and returned to New Zealand in 1863. He was secretary to Bradshaw as government agent on the Otago goldfields (1867-70). In 1870 he published The Gardeners' Chronicle for New Zealand. Wakefield died on 23 Dec 1875.

Cycl. NZ, iii (p); Godley, Letters; Wakefield; Hight and Straubel.

Reference: Volume 2, page 225

🌳 Further sources

WAKEFIELD, WILLIAM HAYWARD (1803-48) was the fourth son of Edward Wakefield, and brother of Edward Gibbon (q.v.). Born at Burnham Wick, Essex, he was brought up for the most part by his grandmother, Priscilla Wakefield, and educated at Haigh's school at Tottenham. When little more than a youth he was attached to the British embassy at Turin (where Edward Gibbon was also employed). He married (1826) Emily Eliza (d. 1827), daughter of Sir Philip Charles Sidney, of Penshurst. Wakefield was implicated in the abduction of Miss Turner, and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment, which he served in Lancaster Castle. On being liberated he travelled in Austria, Russia and Lapland, and in 1832 entered the service of Portugal, where he was decorated with the order of the Tower and Sword. He then took service in the British Legion in Spain, gained some distinction and rose to the rank of colonel commanding the 1st Regiment of Lancers under Sir de Lacy Evans. After returning to England he rejoined, and commanded the 3rd Spanish Legion (after the disbandment of the 2nd in 1837). In this corps d'élite of cavalry and artillery he again distinguished himself in the operations which resulted in the defeat of the Carlist forces in the Biscay provinces. He received from Queen Isabella the order of San Fernando. Wakefield now found himself out of employment, and returned to England with his future quite obscure. At this juncture the affairs of the New Zealand Company were making rapid progress. The directors had made up their minds to colonise the Port Nicholson district and, failing to obtain the sanction or even the goodwill of the Colonial Office, had decided to hasten their expedition as the surest means of forestalling French activities in New Zealand. Edward Gibbon Wakefield had intended that his younger brother Arthur should command the first ship and settlement, but Arthur had unexpectedly been given a new sea command in the Mediterranean and was not available. The post was therefore offered to William, who accepted. He sailed in the Tory from Plymouth on 12 May 1839 to prepare the way for the Company's settlers by making purchases of land from the natives on both sides of Cook Strait and laying out the town of Port Nicholson and the country sections in the neighbourhood. The instructions given to Wakefield were carefully drawn to carry out the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon, and to ensure that the natives should be treated with every consideration and forbearance and their interests fully preserved. The ship's company and others who sailed in the Tory numbered 35 all told, and included Edward Jerningham Wakefield, Charles Heaphy (artist), Ernst Dieffenbach (naturalist), Edward Main Chaffers (the master, who had been with Darwin in the Beagle), Dr John Dorset and Nayti, the New Zealander. On 16 Aug the Tory entered Queen Charlotte Sound, and four days later, having taken on board Dicky Barrett (q.v.) from Te Awaiti, she entered Port Nicholson and anchored off Petone beach, not far from the pa of the Ngati-Awa chief Te Puni. He and Wharepouri spent the night on board.

Having saluted the New Zealand flag, Wakefield proceeded to negotiate for the purchase of 1,100 acres of town land and 110,000 acres of country land that was required for the settlement. E. J. Wakefield drew up the deed of purchase, which was translated to the Maori sentence by sentence by Barrett. It transferred to the Company a triangle of land enclosed by lines between Sinclair head, Cape Turakirae and the summit of the Tararuas. While this was being transacted, the surveyors examined the harbour and surrounding land. On 30 Sep the sale was celebrated by the hoisting of the New Zealand flag, which was saluted with 21 guns. Wakefield then sailed in the Tory (4 Nov) for Cloudy Bay. At Kapiti island he purchased from Te Rauparaha and other chiefs tracts of land on both sides of the strait. These he named North and South Durham. After visiting Taranaki, he proceeded to Hokianga (where he arrived on 2 Dec) to inspect the property of the New Zealand Company of 1825, which was situated at Herd's point. There he met the Wesleyan missionaries Bumby and Hobbs (q.v.). He took formal possession of the land, and purchased from the supposed widow of Captain Blenkinsopp what purported to be the original conveyance to him by Rauparaha, Rangihaeata and others of the plains of Wairau. The Tory struck on a bank in Kaipara harbour, sustaining such damage that she could not be seaworthy again for several weeks. Wakefield therefore walked overland to Bay of Islands and, chartering the brig Guide, reached the rendezvous at Port Hardy on 11 Jan 1840, to find that none of the emigrant ships had arrived. He proceeded to Port Nicholson, where the Cuba surveying ship was anchored.

On 20 Jan the emigrant ship Aurora arrived, followed by the Oriental on 31 Jan and the Duke of Roxburgh on 7 Feb. Wakefield found that Captain W. M. Smith (q.v.) had laid out the town and settlement along the Petone shore, at the southern end of the Hutt Valley. He favoured the site at Thorndon, but he conceived that in this matter Smith's opinion should prevail, and work continued at the town of 'Britannia' (as it was called) until events occurred which led to a revision of this decision. On 2 Mar the first meeting took place of the council of colonists, which had been formed before sailing from London, to provide for their self-government pending the establishment of British authority. Wakefield was its first president, Samuel Revans the secretary, and G. S. Evans the umpire or judge. When Evans arrived in the Adelaide (7 Mar) the committee was able to function, and steps were at once taken for the inauguration of public works, finance and public institutions. On 30 May, in pursuance of a resolution of the council, Wakefield issued an order calling upon all settlers between the ages of 18 and 60 to present themselves for military training in view of the hostile attitude of some natives in the Hutt valley. While these measures were in train Lieutenant Shortland, the Colonial Secretary, arrived in Port Nicholson with a detachment of soldiers and constables. His first act was to cause the New Zealand flag on the beach at Petone to be lowered and replaced by the Union Jack. On 4 Jun he hoisted the flag with ceremony at Thorndon, and read the proclamations of British sovereignty. The council automatically went out of existence, and Wakefield and his colleagues formally welcomed the appearance of British authority. Acting on instructions from the Company, Wakefield was anxious to persuade the Governor to establish his capital at Port Nicholson. When this was obviously impossible, he proceeded to Bay of Islands to present his respects to Captain Hobson and deliver up the house which had come out in parts from England in one of the Company's ships. Wakefield resided at Government House, and on his return reported to a public meeting on 19 Aug having been received with cordiality and assurances of co-operation.

While he was away news arrived of the passing by the Legislative Council of New South Wales of an ordinance declaring titles to land in New Zealand null and void until adjudicated upon by land commissioners to be appointed for the purpose, and limiting to 2,560 acres the extent of land that might be granted to any applicant. A deputation sent to Sydney to interview Governor Gipps obtained from him an undertaking not to disturb the settlers at Port Nicholson, but to endeavour to procure for them confirmation of titles up to 110,000 acres, with the usual reservations for native purposes. The area available about Port Nicholson being inadequate, Wakefield in Jan 1841 sent Carrington to explore Blind Bay and Taranaki. He reported on the latter as the better site for the second settlement. A flood in the Hutt River in 1840 inundated much of the land upon which the town of Britannia stood, and convinced the settlers that they should remove to Thorndon. It is not entirely certain which site Wakefield preferred. By the end of 1840 the town of 'Wellington' was beginning to take shape, the name having been adopted by the directors, at the instance of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, in recognition of the help given by the Duke to the South Australian Association. On 8 Feb the Brougham sailed for Taranaki with pioneer settlers for that colony (accompanied by Dicky Barrett). In 1841 Wakefield was gazetted a justice of the peace. With his fellow justices he joined in an address to the Governor congratulating him on the establishment of New Zealand as a separate colony. This document was used as a vehicle for importuning Hobson once more to establish his capital in Wellington, a point upon which he had already made up his mind.

Wakefield was engaged for several years in endeavouring to prove the claims of the Company to the land which he believed he had purchased from the natives. To find room for expansion, he had explorations made in the Manawatu, in the Wairarapa and the South Island, and on the suggestion of Hanson he despatched him to endeavour to purchase land in the Chatham Islands. He took prompt steps on hearing of the affray at the Wairau to protect the settlement at Nelson, and he accompanied the magistrates to the spot where the fatal collision had occurred. The Wellington volunteers having been summoned for duty by the magistrates, the Superintendent of the Southern Division (Major M. Richmond) forbade their assembling. Early in 1844 Wakefield received Governor FitzRoy on his visit to Wellington. Later in the year he sailed in the Deborah to investigate the suitability of South Island ports and neighbouring regions for settlement, in view of the projected New Edinburgh colony. Wakefield occupied for eight years the responsible position of principal agent for the Company in New Zealand, having control over the resident agents at the other settlements as they were established. Surrounded by a growing body of settlers, many of whom were discontented owing to delay in receiving their land, suffering from the counter attractions of the other settlements in turn and constantly harassed by the agitation of his fellow settlers against the government at Auckland, Wakefield steered a sensible middle course, and so avoided being drawn into conflict on occasions when a majority of the settlers was against him. He did, nevertheless, allow himself occasionally to write too freely in his despatches against Government officials and the missionary body, and thus came into conflict with a powerful interest in Great Britain.

Accounts differ as to Wakefield's character. The baffling reserve which is remarked by almost all who encountered him was no doubt a serviceable trait in the awkward situation in which he was placed, having to conciliate settlers, directors, local and home government. Gisborne says: 'No one knew what he really thought and what he really meant to do. His manner was attractive and, in outward appearance, sympathetic, but the inner man was out of sight and hearing.' Wakefield died on 19 Sep 1848, and was buried in the Sydney street cemetery, Wellington.

G.B.O.P., 1840 et seq., 1849/1120; Godley, Letters; O'Connor; Garnett; Gisborne; Saunders; N.Z.C. reports and despatches (principal agent to Secretary and to resident agents); Ward (p); Evening Post, 24 Aug 1929 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 228

🌳 Further sources

WAKELIN, RICHARD (1816-81) was born at Barnacle Hall, Warwickshire, and educated in the county. As a young man he tried several occupations, and with an elder brother bought land in Canada. Finding the life unsatisfactory they sold out and travelled widely in the United States. Wakelin was now a pronounced democrat, and he also at an early age became a devout advocate of temperance. On his return he settled down to journalism in his native county, and after another visit to the United States (1839) opened a bookseller's shop in Coventry. For some time also he edited the Temperance Gazette at Birmingham. He threw himself with vigor into the Chartist movement and started a paper on radical lines, The Cause of the People. To evade press restrictions it was produced in Isle of Man, but the law was hastily amended, and as he could not find the surety of £500 required under the act the publication had to cease.

Wakelin came to New Zealand with his family in the Eden (1850) and spent some months visiting New Plymouth and Nelson, eventually reaching Wellington in the schooner Mary (Dec). He opened a school at Te Aro, but finding a rival school next door, he wrote letters on education to the Independent in the hope of diverting attention to his school. One result was to attract the attention of T. W. McKenzie and the Governor (Grey), who took steps which led to the opening of the Church of England school at Thorndon. In June 1851 Wakelin was engaged to report the Legislative Council proceedings for the Independent. After the session he became a member of the staff, and on the retirement of Featherston he became editor (May 1852). He was a strong supporter of Grey against the activities of the Constitutional Association, and afterwards of Featherston, with whom he was on terms of close confidence during the political controversies with E. J. Wakefield. About 1859 he became editor of the New Zealand Advertiser, and about 1866 he went to Greytown and started the Wairarapa Journal. After running this for a short time he became associated with the Mercury. In 1870 he established the New Zealand Mail for T. W. McKenzie, editing it for some time from his home at Moroa. On the death of A. K. Arnot, Wakelin purchased the Mercury, the name of which he changed in 1872 to the Wairarapa Standard. This paper he edited until his death, having Joseph Payton as partner for a few years. Wakelin in 1877 published at Wellington his History of Politics, containing the Political Recollections and Leaves from the Writings of a New Zealand Journalist, a modest booklet which contains authoritative narratives of certain interesting phases of early Wellington history. He died on 2 Dec 1881.

Cycl. N.Z., i (p); Wakelin, op. cit; N.Z. Times, 12 Dec 1881

Reference: Volume 2, page 229

🌳 Further sources

WALES, NATHANIEL YOUNG ARMSTRONG (1832-1903), who was born in Northumberland, England, and educated at Jedburgh, Scotland, came to Dunedin from Victoria in 1861. There he became a partner in the architects firm of Mason and Wales. As a public man Wales was member for Dunedin in the House of Representatives (1874-75), had a seat on the Otago harbour board (being for a time chairman), was a member of the Dunedin City Council, and was mayor of the city (1895-96). He was chairman of the Roslyn Tramway Co. Soon after arriving in Dunedin, Wales joined the volunteers, and rose from the ranks to be lieutenant-colonel of militia and honorary colonel of volunteers. In 1895 he was elected an honorary associate in the grand priory of the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem. He died on 3 Nov 1903.

Cycl. N.Z., iv (p); Otago Daily Times, 4 Nov 1903.

Reference: Volume 2, page 229

🌳 Further sources

WALKER, ANDREW (1855-1934) was born in Berwick, Scotland, and arrived in Port Chalmers at the age of five. He was educated at the old stone school, Dunedin, under Robert Stout and Alexander Stewart, and at the age of 14 was apprenticed to printing in the Evening Star office. He was secretary of the Otago typographical union (1887-88), which he represented at the trades and labour congress in Dunedin (1885). He was president (1889-93), after which he again became secretary. He was president of the Otago trades and labour council (1910-11). Walker was a member of the workers' political committee (1903-05); of the first licensing committee elected in Dunedin on the popular vote, and of the George Street school committee. Standing for Labour, he defeated G. M. Thomson for Dunedin North in 1914, but was defeated by E. Kellett in 1919. He was for some years thereafter employed in the Government Printing office. Walker died on 10 Jul 1934.

N.Z.P.D., 11 Jul 1934; Paul, Trades Unionism; Who's Who N.Z., 1932; Cycl. N.Z., iv; The Dominion, 11 Jul 1934.

Reference: Volume 2, page 229

🌳 Further sources

WALKER, FREDERICK THOMAS, was born in Tasmania in 1827, a son of Thomas Walker, who came to New South Wales before 1821 as deputy assistant commissary-general. He was brought up at Rhodes, Tasmania, and in the early sixties came to Otago and took up land at Omarama. He represented Lindis in the Provincial Council (1863-66), and was a member of the executive. In 1865 he was a member of the civil service commission in Otago. He was a justice of the peace and a fellow of the Royal Society. Walker married (1891) Adela, daughter of Major-general Cumberland (96th Regiment).

Otago P.C. Proc.; Col. Gent., p. 242, ii (xxii).

Reference: Volume 2, page 229

🌳 Further sources

WALKER, FREDERICK, who came to Otago in the Bosworth (1857), entered into business as a sawmiller. He was afterwards auctioneering in Dunedin. He represented Eastern in the Provincial Council (1860-63) and was on the executive in 1860-62. He died in the late sixties.

Cycl. NZ, iv.

Reference: Volume 2, page 229

🌳 Further sources

WALKER, LANCELOT (1829-1907) was a son of Thomas Walker (of the Scots Greys, and Ravensfield Park, Yorkshire), his mother being a daughter of John Claudius Beresford (Lord Mayor of Dublin). He held a commission in the East India Company's army, but resigned as a subaltern several years before the Mutiny. Walker came to New Zealand and was in partnership with Mallock in Heathstock station, Canterbury (1855). He sold his share in 1863 on taking up Four Peaks, Geraldine. He was M.P.C. for Geraldine (1870-71) and represented Akaroa in Parliament (1863-66) and Ashley (1866). In 1885 he was called to the Legislative Council, of which he was one of the last surviving life members. He was a prominent racing owner and, in partnership with G. G. Stead (racing as "Mr Frazer"), owned Trump Card and Le Loup. He had a part in importing Traducer. Walker died on 19 May 1907.

N.Z.P.D., 27 Jun 1907; Col. Gent.; Acland; Canterbury P.C. Proc.; The Press, 20 May 1907. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 229

🌳 Further sources

WALKER, SAMUEL (1842-80) was born and educated in Dublin. After studying medicine he came to New Zealand. When the Waikato war broke out, he joined the Armed Constabulary as a surgeon, and was present at many actions on both East and West Coast. He served for eight years, and distinguished himself repeatedly by his coolness in attending to the wounded under fire, notably at Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu, Moturoa, Okutu and Otautu (13 Mar 1869). For the last named he received the New Zealand Cross. Walker died at Taupo on 24 Dec 1880.

N.Z. Army records; Gudgeon (p); Cowan.

Reference: Volume 2, page 229

🌳 Further sources

WALKER, WILLIAM CAMPBELL (1837-1904) was born at Bowlandstow, Midlothian, Scotland, the son of Sir William Stuart Walker (1813-96), chairman of the board of supervision in Edinburgh. He was educated at Glenalmond, Perthshire, at Rugby School and finally at Trinity College, Oxford, where he graduated in 1861, subsequently proceeding M.A. Arriving in Canterbury with his brother (A. J. Walker) by the Evening Star (1862), they took up the Mount Possession run in the Ashburton district. He represented Ashburton in the Canterbury Provincial Council (1866-67, 1874-75). He was a member of the first Ashburton county council (1877), and was chairman from that date to 1893. He was 25 years chairman of the Mt Somers road board. In 1884 he won the Ashburton seat in Parliament as a supporter of Vogel, and represented it till 1890, when he was defeated by E. G. Wright. He was called to the Legislative Council in 1892 and was a member until his death (on 5 Jan 1904).

Early in 1896 Walker joined Seddon's executive, and he presently assumed the portfolios of Immigration and Education, which he administered until 1903. He relinquished them to become Speaker of the Legislative Council, a position he held until his death. He was keenly interested in education and was a governor of Canterbury College (1886-97). In 1897 he obtained the passage of a bill separating Canterbury College from the Agricultural College. He was a member of the Ashburton school committee, the A. and P. association, the High board, and the land board (1891-96). In 1901 he was created a C.M.G.

Walker married (1871) Margaret, daughter of Archdeacon Wilson. While living in Wellington he promoted the Canterbury Society of Wellington.

Cycl. N.Z., i (p), iii; N.Z.P.D., 28 Jun 1904; Acland; N.Z. Times, 17 Oct 1892; Lyttelton Times and The Press, 6 Jan 1904.

Reference: Volume 2, page 229

🌳 Further sources

WALLACE, JAMES, was a property owner in Thorndon (Wellington) in the forties. He represented Wellington Country district in the Provincial Council (1857-60). When the Government declined to construct the Manawatu railway, John Plimmer and Wallace canvassed for capital and called public meetings. He was secretary and general manager for many years, retiring in 1894.

Wellington P.C. Proc.; Ward (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 230

🌳 Further sources

WALLACE, JOHN (1788-1880) was born and educated in Scotland, but moved to England as a young man and lived in Liverpool and Birmingham. In 1841 he brought his family to Taranaki in the Amelia Thompson, and spent some months in New Plymouth and Nelson before settling down in Wellington. He was on the burgesses roll in 1843. He had been a fellow of the Society of Arts in Birmingham, was devoted to art and literature, and not without talent of his own in both. He wrote art notices for the Birmingham papers, and painted a good deal, some of his pictures of old New Zealand being well-known. A personal friend of E. G. Wakefield and Dr Featherston on the Settlers' Constitutional Association, Wallace allowed himself to be led into provincial politics, and for the first two years (1853-55) represented one of the city seats. He took a particular interest in education, and was on the education committee. His wife died in 1855, aged 75, and he retired from politics. Some time later he accepted a post in the provincial treasury, of which he had charge when he retired on pension. Wallace died on 16 Mar 1880.

Ward; Evening Post, 16 Mar 1880, 14 Nov 1929.

Reference: Volume 2, page 230

🌳 Further sources

WALLACE, JOHN (1820-85) was born at Kintyre, Scotland, and came to Auckland in 1856, starting farming with his brothers at Mangere. He served on the highway board and the school committee, and was an elder of the Presbyterian church at Otara until joining the Wesleyan denomination. He represented Franklin in the Auckland Provincial Council (1861-65). Wallace died on 25 Nov 1885.

Parltry Record; Auckland P.C. Proc; N.Z. Herald, 1 Mar 1886.

Reference: Volume 2, page 230

🌳 Further sources

WALLACE, JOHN HOWARD (1816-91), the son of John Wallace (q.v.), was born in Liverpool. Shortly afterwards the family removed to Birmingham, where he received his education and his bias towards emigration. He was apprenticed to James Drake, bookseller and law stationer, amongst whose clients were many advocates of political reform. While with Drake, Wallace travelled widely throughout England compiling guide-books of the railways, which were then spreading over the face of the country. He made the acquaintance of S. White, representing a Birmingham and Bristol firm, and they decided to emigrate together to New Zealand.

In Jul 1839, Wallace left Drake's, and three months later the two sailed in the Aurora for Port Nicholson, where they arrived on 22 Jan 1840. They entered into business on Lambton quay as general merchants. Before long they opened a branch at Nelson, of which White, who had married Wallace's sister, became manager (1842). On the death of White, James Smith married his widow and he in turn joined Wallace as a partner. When Smith retired to return to England, Wallace took his son into partnership. They added auctioneering and a commission agency to the business, which was carried on in Hunter street until Wallace retired in 1885. Although only 23 years of age when he landed in New Zealand, Wallace was a burgess on the roll of 1843, and was at the head of the list of reserve councillors at the town board election (1842). In 1844 he was treasurer of the Mechanics' Institute. Two years later he seconded the motion of thanks to the 58th Regiment for their services at the Hutt, and proposed to ask that the settlers be supplied with arms. In 1848 he married Sarah Ann, daughter of Robert Stanton (London) and widow of A. Benham. A member of the Settlers Constitutional Association, Wallace helped to draw up the petition asking for representative government. He was active in the demand for education through the Church of England Educational association and he represented the laity when Bishop Selwyn consecrated St Peter's Church (1858). He was a member of the town board of Wellington (1863-70) and of the City Council later. In 1861 he entered the Provincial Council as a member for the City. He was for eight years chairman of committees, for some time chairman of the library committee, and a strong advocate of the proposed railway to Wairarapa. When a railway committee was set up at a public meeting (1867) Wallace was appointed secretary, and he kept the movement alive until the line was provided for. In 1864 he was elected first chairman of the Mungaroa board of highway wardens.

Wallace's most noteworthy interest was New Zealand history. He collaborated with R. A. A. Sherrin in the compilation of Brett's History of New Zealand (1890) and he published a small manual on the subject. At the jubilee of the settlement in 1890 he received an illuminated address for his work. Wallace died on 9 Jun 1891.

Wellington P.C. Proc.; Cycl. NZ., i (p); Ward (p); Wakelin; NZ. Times, 10 Jun 1891; Evening Post, 9 Jun 1891, 14 Nov 1929 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 230

🌳 Further sources

WALLACE, WILLIAM VINCENT (1812-65) was born at Waterford, Ireland, the son of William Wallace, bandmaster to the 29th Regiment. At the age of eight he showed aptitude for music and, with the encouragement of his colonel, his father taught him the clarinet and the piano. At the age of 15 Wallace became second violinist at the Theatre Royal, Dublin, under Barton (the teacher of Balfe), and in 1830 he was appointed organist at Thurles cathedral. There he composed a mass O Salutaris which he used later in his opera Maritana. He married Isabella Kelly, of Blackrock, became a Catholic and assumed the name of Vincent. He was now composing freely. In 1835 he visited Australia, but having quarreled with his wife he went into the back country and was employed on sheep stations. He gave very successful concerts in Sydney, travelled widely in New Zealand and on the whaling grounds (1837-41) and in South America and the United States. His musical triumphs continued and when he got to London he planned an opera for which Edward Fitzball gave him the libretto. Maritana was first produced at Drury Lane on 15 Nov 1845 and was an immediate success. Thereafter Wallace composed much music of high standard, including fantasias, romances and songs and several operas, notably Matilda of Hungary and Lurline (which, after many vicissitudes, was produced at Covent Garden in 1860). He died on 12 Oct 1865. There seems to be no warrant for the statement frequently made that Wallace composed portion of Maritana while in New Zealand.

W. H. Grattan Flood, William Vincent Wallace, a Memoir (1912); Arthur Pougin, W. Vincent Wallace, étude biographique et critique (1866); J. F. Hogan, The Irish in Australia (1888); Cox; Ward; Otago Witness, 6 Jan 1866; Mennell; A Century of Journalism, p. 576; N.Z. Herald, 13 Feb 1875.

Reference: Volume 2, page 230

🌳 Further sources

WALLIS, FREDERICK (1853-1928) was the son of the Rev. J. Wallis, vicar of St Andrew's, Stockwell, London. He was educated at St Paul's School, London (1864-72) and at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1876 in the first-class classical tripos and the first-class theological tripos. He won the Evans and Scholefield prizes. Elected a fellow of his College in 1878, he was ordained priest the following year. (M.A. 1879; D.D. 1894). He was curate of St Luke's, Chesterton, Cambridge (1878); dean of Gonville and Caius (1878-91), lecturer in divinity (1878-94), and deputy to the professor of divinity (1891). He was examining chaplain to the Bishop of Salisbury (1886) and senior proctor of the University (1892-93).

Wallis was chosen as Bishop of Wellington in 1895, and consecrated in the pro-Cathedral in Wellington. He was a member of the council of Victoria University College (1898-1905) and a chaplain to the Wellington Naval Volunteers and the 1st battalion of the Wellington Rifle Regiment. He did much work in this capacity during the South African war, together with heavy episcopal duty in a rapidly expanding diocese. In 1911 he resigned the see owing to ill-health, and later was archdeacon of Wiltshire (1911-12) and of Sherborne (1916-19). Wallis married (1894) Margaret, daughter of Colonel Williams, M.P. He died on 24 Jun 1928.

Who's Who NZ., 1908; Crockford.

Reference: Volume 2, page 230

🌳 Further sources

WALLIS, JAMES (1809-95) was born at Blackwall, near Poplar, London. As a young man he became a local preacher, and he was received into the Wesleyan ministry in 1833. After spending a year in the Ely circuit, he left for New Zealand in the Brazil Packet, arriving at Hokianga on 1 Dec 1834. He assisted to build the mission house at Mangungu, and was attached for some time to the Hokianga station. Whiteley and Woon were sent to establish missions on Kawhia harbour, and Wallis to establish one at Te Horea, Whangaroa. He walked to his station from Kawhia, and lived in a rush hut until he built a dwelling to which his wife could come. At Te Horea he erected the first church in Raglan district. Work had scarcely been commenced when instructions were received from the London committee to leave the field to the Anglicans, and Wallis was removed to Tangiteroria, where he did pioneer work in the Kaipara district. The chiefs insisted on the return of their spiritual fathers, and in 1838 Wallis recommenced his work at Whaingaroa, where he remained until 1862. He was very successful with the natives. Absolutely fearless, he once stood between a company of infuriated local natives and some warriors from Waipa, and ultimately established peace. Amongst his converts were Hamiora Ngaropi (of Whatawhata), Wiremu Patene (of Karakariki), and the great Tainui warrior, Te Awaitaia (q.v.), who later was baptised as Wiremu Naera (William Naylor).

Largely through Te Awaitaia's influence Wallis and Whiteley were able to act as mediators between hostile tribes, to curb the Waikato, to establish peace between them and the Taranaki tribes, and to secure the liberation of slaves. When the 10 chiefs in the Kawhia region signed the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 their signatures were witnessed by Wallis and Whiteley. Wallis had a constitution that could endure hardships. In Mar 1841 he walked from Raglan to Port Nicholson accompanied by natives. At Ngamotu he found the first company of New Plymouth settlers and held service with them. Finding Te Heuheu, the chief of Taupo, engaged in warfare near Wanganui, he exerted his influence to restore harmony.

In 1863 Wallis was transferred to European work. He spent three years at Onehunga and two years at Pitt Street Church, Auckland. In 1868 he was superannuated. His wife died on 8 Feb 1893, and his own death occurred on 5 Jul 1895.

Buller; Morley (p); W. and Williams; N.Z. Herald, 6, 20 Jul 1895.

Reference: Volume 2, page 231

🌳 Further sources

WALLIS, JAMES (1825-1912) was born in Aberdeenshire and educated at Aberdeen University, where he graduated M.A. (1844). He was a profound Greek scholar. As a clergyman, and later a missionary of the Presbyterian Church, he ministered in Dundee and Aberdeen and at Essequibo and Demerara, in British Guiana. With the object of becoming a medical missionary he passed as a surgeon at Edinburgh (1863), and two years later he began to visit New Zealand as a surgeon in the Rangitoto and other vessels. He was for a few years in charge of St David's Church and then, outside of the Presbyterian Church of New Zealand, he built Newton Kirk, where he preached as an independent for some years. Dissensions arising, he sold his property in 1881 and farmed at Riverhead until 1896, when he moved to Richmond. Standing as an independent, Wallis was M.H.R. for Auckland City West (1877-81). He afterwards supported Grey. He was a strong advocate of woman's suffrage and introduced a bill in 1878. He contested a city seat in 1896.

Wallis married (1862) Elizabeth (d. 1904) daughter of Dr Richard Poole (Edinburgh). He died on 25 May 1912.

N.Z.P.D., 27 Jun 1912; Cycl. N.Z. ii (p); N.Z. Herald, 27 May 1912. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 231

🌳 Further sources

WALPOLE, GEORGE HENRY SOMERSET (1854-1929) was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, and was a tutor until he was ordained. He was successively incumbent of St John's church, Auckland (1882); professor in the general theological seminary in New York (1889), principal of Bede College, Durham (1896); rector of Lambeth (1903); and Bishop of Edinburgh from 1910 till his death on 4 Mar 1929. His son, SIR HUGH SEYMOUR WALPOLE (1884-), the English novelist, was born in Auckland.

Who's Who; Otago Daily Times, 20 Apr 1929.

Reference: Volume 2, page 231

🌳 Further sources

WALSH, ALFRED WILSON (1859-1916) was born at Kyneton, Victoria; came to New Zealand with his parents as a child, and was educated privately in Dunedin, where he acquired a great taste for the countryside and nature. While employed as a draughtsman in the Public Works department, he took lessons in drawing and painting from David Hutton. By sketching assiduously he had achieved a reputation by the age of 27. He was for 20 years from 1886 on the teaching staff of the Christchurch School of Art, and 10 years on the council of the Canterbury Society of Arts. He was an enthusiastic gardener. After his mother's death he retired from the School of Art and, having married a daughter of Mr Justice Conolly, he continued landscape painting, showing a vigorous spontaneity in the handling of his medium. He did most of his work in north Canterbury and Westland. Walsh died on 10 Sep 1916. An exhibition of his work was held at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts in Wellington in 1926.

W.S.W. in programme of exhibition cit. (p); J. C. Duncan in Art in New Zealand, Mar 1929; The Press, 13 Sep 1916.

Reference: Volume 2, page 231

🌳 Further sources

WALTER, EDWARD (1866-1932), who was born in Cornwall, came to New Zealand in 1885. For some years he worked on farms in the Waikato and Hawkes Bay districts, and in 1894 took up land at Douglas, Taranaki. He was a member of the Stratford county council for 16 years and chairman for seven (1925-32); chairman of the Douglas school committee (12 years), and a member of the Stratford hospital board. In 1923 he served on the district revision committee, and in 1925 he defeated R. Masters for the parliamentary seat for Stratford. Defeated in 1928 (by W. J. Polson), Walter died on 30 Jan 1932.

N.Z.P.D., 25 Feb 1932; Who's Who N.Z., 1924; Taranaki Herald, 30 Jan 1932 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 231

🌳 Further sources

WALTON, HENRY, the son of a cotton manufacturer, was born in England, and with his brother came to New Zealand in the early forties. They took up land at Maungatapere, near Whangarei, and supplied trees for the Kapara timber mills, and established a lime kiln on Limestone Island in Whangarei harbour. After much heavy expenditure they succeeded in mining coal at Whangarei. Walton represented Marsden in the Auckland Provincial Council (1865-67), and sat in the Legislative Council (1863-66). In 1867 he returned to England to manage his father's business and he died there in 1896.

Auckland P.C., 1865-67; N.Z.P.D., 1863-66; Cycl. N.Z., ii.

Reference: Volume 2, page 231

🌳 Further sources

WARBRICK, JOSEPH ASTBURY (1862-1903) was born in the Rotorua district, being a son of Abraham Warbrick, native interpreter. Educated at St Stephen's College in Auckland, he learned there to play Rugby football, and at the age of 15 represented Auckland province against Otago, playing as full-back. In 1878 he played for Wellington against Canterbury, Otago and Nelson. In 1880, playing for the same side, he was mainly responsible for the defeat of his native province by potting a goal from near the halfway flag. In 1882 Warbrick returned to Auckland, which he represented in two matches against New South Wales. He played for Auckland for some years, and was chosen in the New Zealand team to tour New South Wales.

In 1885 he captained Hawke's Bay against Poverty Bay, and then for a year or two captained Auckland, including the match against New South Wales. In 1888 Warbrick played for Wellington against the English team, and he was one of the organisers of the Native team which toured the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand in 1888-89. He then settled down as a farmer in the Bay of Plenty, but continued to play football, representing his province for the last time in 1894.

Warbrick was a member of the Whakatane county council and first chairman of the Rangitaiki drainage board, in which he took a great interest. He was an ardent horticulturist. He was killed in an eruption of Waimangu geyser on 30 Aug 1903.

N.Z. Rugby Annual, 1920; N.Z. Herald, 1 Sep 1903.

Reference: Volume 2, page 231

🌳 Further sources

WARBURTON, JAMES KEMMIS (1842-1923) was born at Nelson, the son of Thomas Kemmis Warburton, who represented Wellington City in the Wellington Provincial Council (1857-61). He received some of his primary education in Wellington and then went to England, returning to the Colony in 1862. As a young man he was a successful athlete and a notable swimmer. Having a brother at Gabriel's Gully, he also went to the goldfields, joined the post office at Wetherstones and eventually became chief counter clerk in Dunedin. He was afterwards Panama mail clerk at Wellington, secretary to George Gray, the head of the department, and officer in charge of the post office savings bank and money order department, in which he initiated a new system of accounts. In 1891 he was commissioned by Ballance to reorganise the Public Trust office, then under criticism, and in later years he was called in to advise the British Government in the initiation of its public trust office. Perhaps the most important achievement of his career was the administration of the West Coast native reserves, and the legislation connected with it, which materially assisted to unravel the difficulties in native titles resulting from the Te Whiti movement. Warburton submitted to Ballance (shortly before his death) a scheme of advances to settlers. This was later adopted by the Liberal Government, which entrusted to him the management of the new department (in conjunction with the superintendence of the Public Trust). In 1896 he succeeded J. E. FitzGerald as Controller and Auditor-general, a position which he held to 1910. Warburton died unmarried on 9 Jun 1923.

N.Z. Times, 2 Jul 1923; App. H.R., pass; Cycl. N.Z., i (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 232

🌳 Further sources

WARD, CHARLES DUDLEY ROBERT (1827-1913) was born at Gilston Park, Hertfordshire, the eldest son of Sir Henry George Ward, who became governor of Madras. He was educated at Rugby and at Wadham College, Oxford, called to the bar at the Inner Temple in 1853, and in 1854 emigrated to New Zealand. In the following year he was elected member for the Wellington County district in the House of Representatives (retired 1858), and in 1857 was appointed chairman of the courts of sessions of the peace for Wellington, and presiding judge of the magistrate's courts for Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa and Wanganui. Subsequently he was appointed resident magistrate for Wellington (1864); district judge for Wellington, Wanganui, Marlborough and Hawkes Bay (1866); acting Supreme Court judge at Dunedin (1868); district judge for Westland, Southland and Otago (1869), and acting Supreme Court judge at Auckland (1886), Christchurch (1887), and Dunedin (1894). Ward declined a permanent appointment on the Supreme Court bench in 1896. He retired in 1906, and served for a time as chairman of the railway board of appeal. His death occurred on 30 Aug 1913.

Cycl. N.Z., iv (p); Who's Who N.Z., 1908; Otago Daily Times, 1 Sep 1913, 2 May 1914.

Reference: Volume 2, page 232

🌳 Further sources

WARD, CROSBIE (1832-67) was the third son of the Hon. and Rev. Henry Ward, rector of Killinchy, County Down, Ireland. He was educated at the College School at Castletown, Isle of Man, and then at Trinity College, Dublin. When he was 18 years of age three of his brothers—Edward Robert, Henry, and John Hamilton—joined the Canterbury Association in London (1850). The first-named was secretary of the Society of Canterbury Colonists. They sailed with FitzGerald in the Charlotte Jane and arrived in Lyttelton in Dec. Edward Robert was plainly designated for leadership, and Grey appointed him to the commission of the peace within two months of his landing.

The Ward brothers selected their land on Quail Island, in Lyttelton harbour. There they built their house and a yawl, the Lass of Erin, with which to keep in communication with Lyttelton. In Jun 1851, while returning from Governor's Bay with a load of wood, Edward Robert and Henry were drowned. On receipt of the news in Ireland it was decided that Crosbie should come out to wind up the affairs of his brothers, and he arrived in the Stag on 17 May 1852. Crosbie spent three years farming on Quail Island with his brother (John Hamilton), and became so interested in the affairs of the settlement that he could not refrain from taking part in them. When a vacancy occurred in the Provincial Council for Akaroa (1855) he was duly elected (with Moorhouse as colleague). Later in the year he stood for Parliament in the Country Districts, but was defeated. In Jul 1856 Ward joined the staff of the Lyttelton Times, where he showed great energy in the management. He lost his seat in the Provincial Council at the general elections of 1857 by being too late for nomination for Lyttelton. In 1858, when the controversy of the land regulations came to a head, Ward wrote for his paper the verses now celebrated as The Song of the Squatters, narrating the descent of the squatting interest upon the Provincial Council to influence its legislation. In May 1858 he was elected, without opposition, to represent Lyttelton in Parliament, and a few months later the same constituency returned him to the Provincial Council, thereby endorsing Moorhouse's tunnel project. He was re-elected in 1860.

Ward's progress to the front rank in provincial and colonial politics was immediate. Gisborne says: 'He was a young man of great public promise. Had his life and health been spared he would assuredly have attained the highest political position in the colony; his qualities were admirably fitted for the purpose. He was intelligent, well educated, energetic, and persevering. He had a rare combination of perceptive and reflective faculties, and a remarkable power of attracting support and of conciliating opposition. He took at once in the House of Representatives a leading position.' Alfred Cox says: 'In his grasp of finance there were few men in our colonial Parliament who came near him. He spoke on all questions, political as well as financial, with a fluency and force that has seldom been surpassed in the Parliament of New Zealand.' Ward's rich Irish endowment marked him out for rapid distinction; and no young man could more rapidly have moved to the van. At 26 he entered Parliament. At 29 he joined the Fox government as Postmaster-general and Secretary for Lands (really to represent the interests of the South Island). He tried on his own responsibility to get the stamp duties restricted to the North Island, but only rallied 15 members to his support. Fox in 1862 requested him to visit Hawkes Bay to compose a dispute between the settlers and the natives; and the tact by which he achieved success fully justified the experiment. He was one of the strongest advocates of a fast mail service between Australia, New Zealand and Great Britain, and as Postmaster-general promoted the scheme. Domett as Premier kept Ward on as Postmaster-general, and early in 1863 sent him to England to endeavour to make the necessary arrangements. Ward took a bold line and succeeded in making contracts for a service by way of Panama. While in England also he entered into important negotiations with the British Government regarding the cost of the Imperial troops in the Colony. His letter to Lord Lyttelton attracted much attention. Returning to New Zealand early in 1864, Ward found his government out of office and a Fox-Whitaker combination in its place. For some time there was a danger that the contracts would not be approved, but eventually Parliament endorsed them.

When Weld offered him a seat in his ministry (1864), Ward felt that his views had diverged too far from those of Weld as regards the relations of the two Islands, and he remained a private member. In 1866 he was elected for Avon. He was at that time involved in the superintendency contest between Moorhouse and Lance. The fight almost resolved itself into a duel between Ward and FitzGerald, fought in the columns of the two Christchurch papers. FitzGerald was a brilliant writer and a political dogmatist. Ward delighted to dazzle and annoy his opponents by occasional contributions and political squibs. He is also said to have been responsible for most of the witty sketches which graced the pages of Canterbury Punch.

Early in 1867 Ward accepted the post of agent in London for the province of Canterbury. Before leaving, he accompanied Hall to attend the postal conference in Melbourne. In London he was immediately immersed in work, and succeeded in selling £150,000 of debentures on behalf of the province. He set no limits to his efforts, and his energy hastened his death, which occurred on 25 Dec 1867. His widow (who was a daughter of James Townsend, Rangiora) afterwards married George J. Cooke, (London).

Canterbury P.C. Proc.; N.Z.P.D., 26 Jul 1866; Cycl. N.Z., i; Cox; Godley, Letters; Gisborne; Saunders; Edward R. Ward, diary in The Press, 24 Jan-28 Feb 1925; Canterbury Times, 15 Jan, 28 Dec 1868; Lyttelton Times, 29 Apr 1867, 16 Sep 1881; G. H. Scholefield in The Press, 14 Jun 1930 (p)

Reference: Volume 2, page 232

🌳 Further sources

WARD, JOSEPH (1817-92) was born in Staffordshire. A surveyor by profession, he came to Nelson in the George Fyfe (1842), and with his brother-in-law (Cyrus Goulter) was employed by the New Zealand Company, and later by the Nelson provincial government, laying off a part of the Wairau block for agricultural purposes. He also surveyed pastoral runs in Marlborough and the town and district of Kaikoura. Ward took up a large block of country on the Clarence river, which he named the Warden run and afterwards increased by the addition of the Tytler run. At one time he was running more than 50,000 sheep, but the ravages of scab and rabbits compelled him to surrender a portion and in his later years he devoted his attention to the Blythfield and Brookby estates. He saw much adventure and hardship in the early days of Marlborough. To gain access to his property he developed the track by Ward's pass (which he discovered). His interest in the welfare of the whole district never flagged; and no member of the Provincial Council did better service in the stormy days of Marlborough politics. From 1853-57 he represented Wairau in the Nelson Council. Marlborough being established as a separate province, he was a member of that Council throughout (representing Flaxbourne and Clarence 1860-62, Clarence 1862-69, and Wairau valley 1869-75). He was a member of the executive in 1860, 1862 and 1867-69 and was deputy-superintendent in 1867. In 1875 (when Seymour left on a visit to England) Ward agreed to stand for the Wairau seat in Parliament and defeated Moorhouse. What he saw of general politics in the session of 1875, when the battle of the provinces was being fought out, sufficed to disillusion him. He stood for re-election, but was defeated by Henry Dodson, and resisted all future overtures to re-enter the colonial sphere. He was a justice of the peace and did duty as such for many years and on many local boards. A Roman Catholic by religion, he was a faithful supporter of the church in his province. Ward died on 12 Nov 1892.

Nelson and Marlborough P.C. Proc. and Gaz.; Redwood; Cycl. N.Z., v (p); Buick, Marlborough (p); Marlborough Express, 13 Nov 1892.

Reference: Volume 2, page 233

🌳 Further sources

WARD, JOSEPH THOMAS (1862-1927) was born in London, his father being a wine and spirit merchant. Belonging to an old Catholic family in Staffordshire and Yorkshire, he was in early youth an altar boy to Cardinal Newman, and was preparing for the priesthood when scientific curiosity diverted him. He went to sea, where he first acquired a taste for astronomy. In 1879 he came to New Zealand, and was employed on sheep stations in Marlborough. He settled in Wanganui in 1896, opening a bookshop in Victoria Avenue which became a rendezvous of intellectual and scientific students. He had a profound knowledge of astronomy and contributed to the journal of the British Astronomical Society his discoveries and theories concerning Mars. He was also interested in double stars, a list of which he forwarded to the Lick Observatory, California. Ward founded the Wanganui astronomical observatory in 1906, and was its honorary director until his death. He made many instruments for this and other observatories. The French Astronomical Society accepted and published his observations on a transit of Venus.

A warm champion of intellectual freedom, Ward was one of the 25 honorary associates of the Rationalist Press Association. A great thinker, a man of wide tolerance and a practical humanitarian, he had also a distinct literary gift, and wrote verse of good quality. He delivered the Cawthron lecture in 1926. He died on 4 Jan 1927.

L. J. B. Chapple (information); Wanganui Herald and Chronicle, 5 Jan 1927.

Reference: Volume 2, page 234

🌳 Further sources

WARD, ROBERT (1816-76) was born at Sporle, Norfolk. He was a very studious boy, and at the age of 15 was converted. He joined the Primitive Methodist Church, took part in prayer meetings and became a local preacher. Ordained in Mar 1835, he spent nine years in circuit duty in Norfolk. He married (1839) Emily Brundell. In 1844 he was designated by the connection for mission work and appointed to Australia, his destination being changed later to New Zealand. He sailed by the Raymond (3 May 1844) and arrived at New Plymouth on 29 Aug. Ward was a very able preacher, a passionate evangelist, a careful student and a keen observer. In 1844 he opened a small church at Henui and established a day school for native children. He visited several neighbouring pas but owing to the settlers having asked for his services he could not minister to the Maori. In 1847 he visited Wellington to open a church for the Rev H. Green. Three years later, on being summoned to Auckland to open a cause there, he sailed as far as Kawhia in a schooner and, after worshipping with Whiteley, completed the journey overland on foot. In Auckland he opened the first Primitive Methodist Church (16 Mar 1851). He spent nine years there and returned to New Plymouth (1859) to find native affairs very troubled. He saw a good deal of the fighting, in which two of his sons served as volunteers. In 1868 Ward moved to Wellington where he opened churches in Webb Street and Sydney Street. In 1871 he revisited England, returning with a reinforcement of seven clergymen. He established a cause at Christchurch (1871), the church being opened in 1873.

Ward was the pioneer of Primitive Methodism in New Zealand, having opened causes in New Plymouth (1844), Auckland (1851), and Wellington (1847). He died at Wellington on 13 Oct 1876. Three of his seven sons became Methodist ministers (DR FREDERICK WARD, afterwards editor of the Sydney Morning Herald; REV C. E. WARD and REV JOSIAH WARD). Another, ROBERT, was a judge of the native land court, and his son, ROBERT PERCY WARD (1868-1936) was Under-secretary for Justice. Ward's publications included Lectures from New Zealand Addressed to Young Men (1862) and Life among the Maoris of New Zealand (1872).

Wells; Selwyn; Morley; information from Rev M.A.R. Pratt. Portrait: Taranaki Hist. Coll.

Reference: Volume 2, page 234

🌳 Further sources

WARD, SIR JOSEPH GEORGE (1856-1930) was born at Emerald Hill, Melbourne, on 26 Apr 1856, the son of William Thomas Ward, a merchant. His parents coming to New Zealand when he was three, he attended the Bluff school to the age of 13, when he joined the post and telegraph service as a messenger. He left this for a merchant's office, and at the age of 20 joined the railway service. Next year, with very small capital, he started in business on his own account as a grain merchant. Being successful in his earliest operations, he soon had a flourishing connection in the export of grain to Australia, where he established agencies.

Though closely engaged in what was one of the largest businesses of its kind in the Colony, Ward found time to enter public life. He was elected in 1878 to the Campbelltown borough council, of which he was a member till 1897, including five years as mayor (1881-85) and another term as mayor in his final year (1896-97). He was a member of the Bluff harbour board from 1881-97. He resigned for political reasons, but was at once re-elected and remained on the board for many years. He was chairman (1883-88 and 1893-94). As a member of the Invercargill chamber of commerce, Ward did valuable service for his district by insisting that large steamers could load and discharge at the Bluff and that Southland cargo need not go to and from Port Chalmers as hitherto. This was clearly demonstrated by the first visit of the steamer Triumph, which went through the whole operation of discharging and loading at Bluff and clearing thence for London.

In 1890 Ward made his first effort to enter national politics, and succeeded in winning the Awarua seat against J. W. Bain and G. Froggatt. In the two succeeding elections he was unopposed and he retained the seat continuously, though often against opposition, until 1919. His administrative ability was at once recognised by John Ballance, who in Feb 1891, despite his lack of parliamentary experience, invited him to accept office as Postmaster-general. His flair for business was soon evident in the management of this important department, which he continued under the leadership of Ballance and Seddon until the middle of 1896. He attended the postal conferences in Sydney (1892), Brisbane (1893), Wellington (1894) and Hobart (1895). Inspired by the advanced proposals of Henniker Heaton, he consistently advocated the cheapening of postal and telegraphic communications, and during his many years in control of the department in New Zealand he lost no opportunity of furthering this object. In Seddon's cabinet he assumed at the outset the office of Colonial Treasurer and Commissioner of Customs, and in the second year he took also the department of Marine and the new department of Industries and Commerce. While in Australia in 1894, Ward had an opportunity of observing the effects of the banking crisis, and he came to the conclusion that if the Government had assisted the banks which were in difficulty the collapse would possibly have been avoided and would certainly have been less severe. When signs of a similar crisis appeared in New Zealand he warmly advocated state intervention and threw his whole influence into the legislation which in one day saved the Bank of New Zealand from failure and made it a semi-state institution for the future. His second budget speech (in 1894) was a noteworthy, and at that time somewhat alarming, outline of his financial policy. He proposed to raise loans amounting to £5,000,000 for public works and the purchase of native lands, and to assist farmers by making capital available to them for improvements at low rates of interest. He proposed the creation of consols in New Zealand, and amazed his critics by proceeding to England and raising the necessary money at the unprecedentedly low rate of 3 per cent. The State Advances office, established by Ward in 1894, was destined to be one of the most beneficent departments of state, and was never seriously challenged. In 1895 he carried through a customs bill, not without some difficulty, and he was also responsible for the passing of measures providing for grants to farmers and to fruitgrowers.

The political life so happily entered upon by the brilliant young administrator was destined to be interrupted in circumstances which might have been fatal to the future of less able or less optimistic men. The business of the J. G. Ward Farmers' Association, of which he was managing director, had grown beyond the stage at which a minister of the crown administering several important departments could hope to exercise adequate control of it. In 1897 the company failed, and Ward himself was seriously embarrassed, thereby vacating his seat in Parliament and having to withdraw from the ministry. Within a month of his seat becoming vacant, he was re-elected (13 Aug 1897), and the court held that he was now legally entitled to sit in Parliament. Ward's affairs recovered in a surprisingly short time, and he rejoined the ministry as Colonial Secretary and Minister of Trade and Customs (Dec 1899) and in Jan 1900 took charge of Railways. He threw himself with his accustomed ardour and efficiency into the administration of his departments, and revived his schemes for cheapening and improving empire communications. On 1 Jan 1901 universal penny postage was inaugurated in New Zealand, and Ward received the honour of K.C.M.G. in recognition of his work. He consistently urged the establishment of penny postage throughout the Empire, the inauguration of an all-red cable service across the Pacific (which was opened in 1902) and an all-red mail service. At the postal conference in Rome in 1906 he again put forward these views, and within a few years most of them materialised. In 1901 Ward passed the bill establishing the first department of Public Health in the world, and he became minister. Amongst other measures which he got through Parliament during these years were an act to establish a State Fire Insurance department, in order to keep down charges, and a public service superannuation scheme (which was applied first in 1902 to his own department of Railways). Though Seddon retained control of the Treasury till his death the rehabilitation of his talented lieutenant was complete, and he was regarded as the inevitable successor to the leadership of the Liberal party. As early as 1902, when the Prime Minister attended the coronation of King Edward VII, Ward assumed the position of acting-Prime Minister. He was actually out of the country, attending the postal conference at Rome, when Seddon's death occurred (10 Jun 1906), and it was not till 6 Aug 1906 that he assumed office as Prime Minister, Minister of Finance, Postmaster-general and Minister of Defence.

Ward's cabinet a few weeks after he took office consisted of Hall-Jones (who had been Prime Minister temporarily, as Minister of Public Works and Railways); James Carroll (Native Minister), James McGowan (Justice, Mines, Immigration and Industries and Commerce), Albert Pitt (Attorney-general, Colonial Secretary and Minister of Defence), J. A. Millar (Labour, Customs and Marine), R. McNab (Lands and Agriculture) and G. Fowlds (Education and Public Health). On the death of Pitt shortly afterwards Ward assumed the portfolio of Defence, and John G. Findlay came into the cabinet as Attorney-general and Minister of Internal Affairs, with a seat in the Legislative Council. With such a team, and enjoying the unprecedented majority which Seddon had won at the general election a few months earlier, Ward was able, if he desired, to carry out his policy with little likelihood of being opposed. The first years of his premiership were marked by a succession of useful measures in furtherance of the Liberal programme of the nineties. Nevertheless, though the opposition at the moment was so weak, he shrank from a test of strength on the question of the freehold tenure. McNab did indeed bring in a bill to extend the leasehold, and it was well received on its second reading, but was then dropped. In 1907 Ward once more went to London, to attend the Imperial Conference (which opened on 15 Apr 1907). He was made a Privy Councillor, and on his return six months later he announced that the style and designation of New Zealand had been changed from 'Colony' to 'Dominion.' This was effected by royal proclamation of 10 Sep 1907 and involved certain consequential changes, such as the designation of 'M.H.R.' being changed to 'M.P.,' 'Colonial Treasurer' to 'Minister of Finance' and 'Colonial Secretary' to 'Minister of Internal Affairs.' An act was passed in 1907 increasing the graduated land tax, and another abolishing the lease-in-perpetuity in favour of the renewable lease with revaluation. In 1910 Ward established the national provident fund, to encourage the making of provision for sickness and old age and inalienable life annuities, and passed a workers' dwelling act; and in 1911 he passed a widows' pensions act. In the realm of finance he created a public debt extinction fund (1910), which envisaged the amortisation of the national debt in 75 years, and in the same year he passed the first act to combat commercial trusts and monopolies in trade and commerce. Ward was a firm Imperialist and an advocate of a strong navy. He had been a volunteer and captain of the Bluff Naval Artillery, and was always interested in defence. In 1908 he increased to £100,000 the yearly contribution of New Zealand to the cost of the Imperial Navy, and early in 1909, without consulting Parliament, he offered on behalf of New Zealand to pay for one—and if necessary two—battleships to strengthen the British Navy, as a reply to German expansion. Moreover, as the culmination of a long popular agitation, he passed the defence act, which provided for the compulsory military training of young men. In 1910 Lord Kitchener visited the Dominion to report on its part in Imperial defence and Ward's Government wholeheartedly co-operated in this direction, taking the first steps towards the system which enabled New Zealand to send an efficient expeditionary force abroad a few years later.

The Prime Minister again left the Dominion in 1911 to attend an Imperial Conference and the coronation of King George V. Accompanied on this occasion by his Attorney-general (Findlay), who conceived and prepared many of his proposals, Ward on this occasion sponsored 17 out of 36 important motions proposed at the conference. His proposal to establish an Imperial council of state comprising representatives of all the dominions and self-governing colonies was not favourably received. It was expounded somewhat precipitately, and apparently without adequate study on Ward's own part, and the Conference found no difficulty in indicating that the scheme went too far. It was accordingly withdrawn. Many of Ward's proposals were, however, destined to come to fruition in his own lifetime. The reorganisation of the colonial secretariat, the interchange of civil servants, the Imperial court of appeal, the state-owned all-red cable service and mail route, and the abolition of double income tax, all made some progress towards acceptance. The Declaration of London was adopted on his motion. During this visit to Great Britain H.M.S. New Zealand was launched by Lady Ward, and the Prime Minister received a baronetcy, the freedom of the cities of Edinburgh, London, Bristol, Manchester and Glasgow, and the honorary doctorate of the universities of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Cambridge and Trinity College, Dublin.

Ward returned to the Dominion to face a general election in which it was evident that the long supremacy of the Liberal party in the country was waning, and that the agrarian interest, which had been steadily organising the country through the New Zealand Farmers Union and in politics under the leadership of W. F. Massey, was now in a position to challenge the long-lived Liberal administration. The elections resulted in the two parties being equal. When Parliament met (on 15 Feb 1912) it was obvious that Ward could not hope to carry on. A no-confidence motion moved by Massey resulted in a tie, 39 votes on each side, and the Government remained in power by the vote of the Speaker (Guinness), cast conventionally in its favour. Ward's motion to adjourn was defeated by 40 to 38. Believing that the discontent expressed at the elections was directed against the personnel of the Ministry rather than against its policy, Ward advised the Governor (Lord Islington) to send for Sir Thomas Mackenzie, who formed a cabinet of ten untried ministers from the Liberal side of the House and took office on 28 Mar. When Parliament met at the normal time Mackenzie was immediately defeated, and Massey formed a conservative ministry (10 Jul 1912).

During the rest of that Parliament Ward led the Liberal opposition. On the outbreak of war in 1914 there was no difference of opinion as to New Zealand's duty in the crisis. The defence policy of Ward had in a large measure made possible the war co-operation which New Zealand voluntarily undertook. The general election (on 20 Nov 1914) resulted in a position almost of stalemate so far as party politics were concerned. Massey returned from the country with 40 followers; the Liberal party numbered 34; and the Labour party, which had consolidated itself in the bitter industrial strikes of 1913, appeared on the floor of the House with a following of six members, who were not unwilling to vote with the Liberals against the Government. As the difficulties of the war deepened Massey proposed the formation of a National government. Labour held aloof, but on 12 Aug 1915 Massey took office with his National ministry, in which Ward was deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Finance and Postmaster-general. In that capacity he gave wholehearted service in financing the war operations of New Zealand. He raised war loans amounting to £80,000,000 (of which £55,000,000 was raised within New Zealand) and went out of office eventually leaving accumulated surpluses of £15,000,000. He accompanied the Prime Minister to several war cabinets and conferences in London, and on a visit to the western front. When the victory of the allies was complete, Ward and Massey differed as to the methods to be adopted in settling returned soldiers on the land. The breach grew wider during Massey's absence at the Peace Conference, and on 21 Aug 1919 the National ministry came to an end. The elections at the end of the year resulted in a decisive victory for Massey, who for the first time in his political career found himself in command of a majority independent of all combinations. The state of the House was: Reform, 44; Liberal, 18; Labour, 8; Independent Labour, 3; other Independents, 7. Ward suffered his first personal defeat at an election, J. R. Hamilton winning the Awarua seat by 3,164 votes to 2,407.

Four years later, on the death of Herries, he attempted to win the Tauranga seat, but was defeated by C. E. Macmillan (by 4,360 votes to 3,235). At the following general election (1925) he won the Invercargill seat, defeating Hargest and P. W. Hickey. In that Parliament the liberals assumed the title of 'Nationalists' and Ward remained aloof, sitting as the solitary Liberal in the House. He was absent from the Dominion when the Liberal party assumed its new name of 'United' (1928). On his return he was offered the leadership and accepted. The elections resulted again in a stalemate as far as the two main parties were concerned, but the rise of the third party was now the deciding factor. The state of the House was: Reform, 28; United, 28; Labour, 19; Independent, 5.

When Parliament met Labour voted with the United party to put Reform out of office, and on 10 Dec Ward again took office as Prime Minister. In his ministry of 18 members only one besides himself had any ministerial experience, and four were even without parliamentary experience. He himself was Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, with G. W. Forbes as deputy-leader and Minister of Lands and Agriculture. The other members of the cabinet were: T. M. Wilford (Justice and Defence), A. T. Ngata (Native Affairs), H. Atmore (Education), W. A. Veitch (Labour and Mines), E. A. Ransom (Public Works), W. B. Taverner (Railways and Customs), J. B. Donald (Postmaster-general), P. A. de la Perrelle (Internal Affairs), J. G. Cobbe (Marine, Industries and Commerce and Immigration), A. J. Stallworthy (Health), and T. K. Sidey (Attorney-general). Though obviously in ill-health, Ward entered boldly upon his policy and had a triumphal reception in the country, which was then suffering in the deepening depression. He at once made money available to the Advances to Settlers office to overtake arrears of applications. He stopped the railway construction work at Palmerston North and on the Taupo-Rotorua line and resumed that on the South Island main trunk and the Napier-Gisborne lines; he wrote down the capital of the railways by £8,000,000; converted maturing loans amounting to £19,000,000 at 4 per cent, and raised a new loan of £7,000,000, of which he devoted £5,000,000 to the settlement of idle lands; established a department of transport, and increased the tax on land. These measures did not suffice, however, to alleviate the distress caused by unemployment, and before many months had elapsed the Labour party, by whose co-operation Ward was able to keep in office became restive. Ward's health had deteriorated so much that he was compelled (on 15 May 1930) to resign the premiership, and on 28 May Forbes took office as Prime Minister, with practically the same colleagues, and with Ward a member of the executive without portfolio. On 1 Jan 1930 Ward was created a G.C.M.G. His death occurred on 8 Jul 1930. Ward married in 1883 Theresa Dorothea (C.B.E. 1918), daughter of Henry Joseph de Smidt. She died on 7 Feb 1927.

Ward was a fine departmental administrator, and left the impress of his efficient methods on every department he controlled. Pleasing, genial and courteous in his personal relations, he was a good parliamentarian, but lacked the personal qualities required for continued political popularity. He was eminently progressive, with a flair for figures, great vision and inveterate buoyancy. His enterprise in matters of finance frequently laid him open to criticism, which was often belied by the success of his legislation. No statesman since Vogel had such justification in the outcome of his visions.

A son, VINCENT AUBREY WARD (1888-) succeeded his father as member for Invercargill (1930-31). He was called to the Legislative Council in 1934.

NZPD, pass; Who's Who NZ, 1908, 1924; Aust. Rev. of Rev., Mar 1907; Kelly's Peerage; Gisborne; Stewart and Rossignol; Reeves; Condliffe; Scholefield, NZ Evol.; R.A. Loughnan, Biography of Sir Joseph Ward (1929); Otago Daily Times, 9 Jul 1930.

Reference: Volume 2, page 234

🌳 Further sources

WARDELL, HERBERT SAMUEL (1830-1912), born in London, was educated privately. After working in the office of a civil engineer and surveyor, he took up the study of art, and gained a Somerset House scholarship. He exhibited sculpture at the Exhibition of 1851 and for a number of years at the Royal Academy. Arriving at Auckland in 1855 by the Merchantman, he was appointed resident magistrate for the East Coast of the North Island (1855). He was subsequently appointed to the Wellington district (1860); to Wairarapa (1863), and again to Wellington (1884-88). In 1861 he was appointed a commissioner of native reserves and district judge. Retiring on pension in 1888, Wardell served on the Stoke industrial school Commission (1890), the police commission (1898), the native schools trust land commission (1905), and the North Island representation commission (1908). He was a founder and first president of the Wellington home for the aged needy, and president of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts, and of the Wairarapa Racing Club. He married (1853) Harriet (d. 1887), daughter of Samuel Thorne, of Staines, England, and in 1890 Lucy Caroline, widow of John Sheehan (q.v.). He died on 6 May 1912.

Cycl. NZ., i; Who's Who NZ., 1908; Evening Post, 7 May 1912.

Reference: Volume 2, page 234

🌳 Further sources

WARREN, JOHN (1814-83) was born in Norfolk, England. For a few years he followed farming pursuits. Converted in early life, he joined the Wesleyan church at the age of 17, and later became a local preacher. In 1836 he was accepted on probation for the ministry and was appointed to Ipswich circuit. He was designated by the missionary committee for work in New Zealand, and sailed in the ship James with Bumby, Ironside, Creed and others on 20 Sep 1838. They reached Hobart on 31 Jan 1839. Warren was left in Tasmania for temporary service, but reached New Zealand in Jan 1840. A fortnight after his arrival he accompanied Ironside and the Hokianga chiefs to Waitangi to confer with Captain Hobson and he was present at the signing of the Treaty there, and later at Mangungu. After studying the Maori language for some months at Mangungu, he was appointed to open a mission at Waima, at the request of the chief Mohi Tawhai. There Mrs Warren planted an acorn she had brought from England. It is now known as the 'Waima Oak,' and is probably the oldest and the largest in New Zealand, its spreading branches having a circumference of 300 feet. Warren worked zealously for 16 years among the native population. His influence did much to secure the manumission of Maori slaves.

For health reasons and the education of his children he was then transferred to the European work. In 1855 he was appointed to Nelson; and in 1860 he became superintendent of the Wellington circuit. In 1865 he became a colleague of the Rev T. Buddle in Auckland, and assisted materially in carrying through the scheme for the building of Pitt Street church. In 1866 he was appointed to Manukau and mainly by his efforts the church was built at Onehunga. He was superannuated in 1869. He died on 24 Nov 1883 greatly esteemed as an able preacher, a capable administrator and a sincere philanthropist.

Morley; NZ. Herald, 26 Nov 1883; G. Smales in NZ. Herald, 6 Jan 1894.

Reference: Volume 2, page 234

🌳 Further sources

WASON, JOHN CATHCART (1848-1921), born at Corwar, South Ayrshire, the son of Rigby Wason, M.P. He was educated at Laleham and Rugby, and admitted to the Middle Temple. Coming to New Zealand in 1870, he bought the Lendon estate in Canterbury, which he renamed Corwar, and in 1878 the Craig estate. He sat in the House of Representatives as member for Coleridge (1876-79); for Wakanui (1881-82) and for Selwyn (1896-99). About 1900 he sold his property and returned to England. In the following year Wason was returned as Unionist M.P. for the Orkney and Shetland islands, and from 1902 until his death (in Apr 1921) he sat as Liberal member.

N.Z.P.D., 23 Sep 1921; H.C. Debates, 1900-21; Jane Deans, Letters to My Grandchildren; Acland; Who's Who.

Reference: Volume 2, page 236

🌳 Further sources

WASTNEY, WILLIAM (1831-1911) was born at Sheffield and came to New Zealand in the Lloyds (1842) with his mother, his father having come earlier with Captain Wakefield. He did his share of pioneer work as a boy and assisted his father as a builder. Eventually they took up a farm at Wakapuaka. Wastney's father was a member of the Provincial Council for Nelson Suburban district (1855-57) and his uncle (Edmund Wastney 1807-71), who came with Wakefield, also represented that electorate (1867-69). William himself was then member from 1869 till the abolition of the provinces. He was also a member of the road board and the education board, chairman of the suburban North school committee and chairman of the Waimea county council. He twice contested a seat in Parliament, once against A. J. Richmond and later against J. Shephard. He died on 15 Nov 1911.

Cycl. N.Z., vi (p); The Colonist, 15 Nov 1911; Nelson Examiner, 20 Sep 1871

Reference: Volume 2, page 236

🌳 Further sources

WATERHOUSE, GEORGE MARSDEN (1824-1906) was born at Penzance, Cornwall, the sixth son of the Rev John Waterhouse (d. 30 Mar 1842), afterwards general superintendent of Wesleyan missions in Australia and Polynesia. He was educated at the Wesleyan College at Kingswood, near Bristol, England, and came to Tasmania with his father in 1839. Obtaining his first post in a merchant's office in Hobart, he paid a visit to north Auckland in Mar 1842 and took note of the promise of New Zealand. In 1843 he went into business on his own account in Adelaide, and by 1851 was in a position to retire.

South Australia was faced at the moment with the duty of electing members to the first partially-representative Legislative Council. Within a few days of the poll, one of the candidates for East Torrens was suddenly called away from the colony. He introduced Waterhouse as his substitute. With a 'singularly ready delivery, without note or comment' Waterhouse expounded his political views, including abolition of state aid to religion, extended suffrage, vote by ballot, curtailment of the governor's financial prerogative, triennial elections, popular education and Bible-reading in schools - a very complete platform for a New Zealand Liberal 30 years later. He promised that when the first session was over he would call his constituents together and would not return to the Council without their approval. He was elected (Jul 1851) and sat until Jun 1854, when he resigned with the intention of going abroad. In 1852 he was for a short time a member of the central board of education but he retired when he found his views at variance with those of the majority. Waterhouse in 1855 visited the United States, where he broached in public his views on reciprocal trade between that country and the British colonies. He also visited Great Britain. He was one of the three members of the board charged with supplying drainage and water to the city of Adelaide (1856). This post he resigned when he was returned, at the first elections under responsible government, to represent East Torrens in the House of Assembly. His health, which suffered much in the heat of South Australia, caused him to resign once more (Sep 1857); but next year he was again in public service as chairman of the commission of waterworks. Unable to refrain from politics, he was again elected to the Legislative Council (Apr 1860) at the head of the poll. His main planks on this occasion were free-trade, law reform, non-payment of members and the disfranchisement of officeholders from Parliament. Waterhouse took a leading position in the Council, and in May joined the Reynolds ministry as Chief Secretary. Once more ill-health called upon him to resign. The Advertiser at this time found him 'lacking those qualities that ordinarily arouse public enthusiasm,' but distinguished by firmness, urbanity, high principle, clear-sightedness and persevering devotedness to the business of the country. He was chairman of the committee to recommend improvements in the real property acts, a matter in which he was afterwards active in New Zealand. When the Reynolds ministry was disrupted Waterhouse formed a government to carry on while a question of maladministration was being investigated. Nine days later, again as Chief Secretary, he formed his second ministry, which held office from Oct 1861 to Jul 1863. When the opposition pressed the government so hard that the Speaker's casting vote was necessary to save it from defeat, Waterhouse resigned. He seems to have left the colony soon after. In order to save expense, the resignation of his seat (dated Dec 1863) was not made known until a year later. He was still for a year or two a director of the South Australian Banking Co. In Jun 1865 he presided at a meeting of pastoralists asking for a reclassification of their runs. He again visited England during this period. Waterhouse first appears in New Zealand in Jan 1869, when he purchased for £21,000 cash the whole of the Huangarua station of 20,000 acres in south Wairarapa, with 18,000 sheep. It was originally settled by Clifford and Weld, and was worked for 20 years by Smith and Revans. After paying a deposit for a further 2,462 acres of government land (in the Wharekaka block), he sailed for England to purchase grass-seed, material for fencing, and other implements. While there he wrote much to the press on the marketing of New Zealand produce and the treatment and shipping of flax, tallow and skins. He also intervened in politics by writing to Lord Granville a dignified and carefully-worded protest against the withdrawal of British troops from New Zealand. He declared that he was 'thoroughly satisfied that, arduous as was the task before them, the Colonial forces would succeed in bringing the present conflict to a successful issue,' but the withdrawal of the troops might cause the natives to think that Britain was no longer behind the Colonial government. 'It is my duty to add,' he said, 'that if these troops be withdrawn the blood of thousands of your fellow countrymen may lie at your door, and England may witness the destruction of a thriving colony.' Granville replied that the decision, which had been anticipated by the New Zealand government for years, was not taken without due consideration. On his return to New Zealand Waterhouse brought a number of Australian birds which he hoped to acclimatise. It was an anxious time for pastoralists. No sooner had he landed than he found that the scab had invaded his flock of 25,000 sheep. In 1869 he erected works for dealing with surplus stock and tallow.

Though he was engrossed in his own affairs, the politics of the day sadly needed men of his stamp, and Waterhouse could not long refrain from participating. While he was still in England Revans (q.v.) suggested him as a suitable representative for the Wairarapa district, but he was called to the more agreeable atmosphere of the Legislative Council (May 1870) by Fox, who had met him in Australia and fully appreciated his qualities. Waterhouse took his advent to New Zealand politics with accustomed seriousness. A sagacious adviser, a clear thinker of moderate views, a champion of democratic rights and a stickler for the purity of Parliament, he very soon made a place for himself in New Zealand politics. The standard of Parliament was not high when he made his appearance. The Legislative Council was distinctly weak: and throughout his association with it he fought for its privileges and dignity. Gisborne says that he had a great reverence for forms and precedents and for the ancient ways and constitutional principles. He took a leading part in fixing the forms and privileges of the Council and defending it against encroachment, but he had no desire to usurp any of the rights of the other House. On principle he objected to the payment of members, yet when he had been a few years in New Zealand he confessed to a change of faith on finding that the Council was nominated exclusively from the propertied class. It was wrong that it should represent only one class, and if members representing other classes could not maintain themselves in proper condition they were entitled to an honorarium. Himself a man of means, he never accepted salary even when holding a portfolio; and he incurred criticism for devoting his honorarium to the establishment of a library at Greytown. As member of Parliament and of the Lower Valley board of wardens (to which he was elected in Jul 1870), he was invited to associate himself with the request for a railway into the Wairarapa. Though it could not run within 10 miles of his property, he declined to take any part in the movement, since it would be 'indecorous that it should even be said that he was influenced by local or personal considerations.' His fine punctilio disapproved of the public nomination of candidates at the hustings, and favoured the ballot election. When Waterhouse entered Parliament the country was excited and intrigued by Vogel's policy of immigration and public works. The aggressiveness of that rising politician, his overbearing methods, his disregard for the ordinary rules of administration, and his looseness in the expenditure of public moneys were alarming and distasteful to Waterhouse. He watched jealously each new assault on the rights of Parliament and fought against it with all the conviction of his experience and his political principles. Though he disliked the idea of office for himself, he moved aptly to a position of leadership in the Council. In spite of the presence of Sewell as government representative, Waterhouse took charge of measures dealing with real property, intestate estates, diseased cattle and land transfer, with all of which he was familiar in South Australia. He was chairman of the waste lands committee in 1871. Late in the session, as the position of Sewell became more strained, Fox pressed Waterhouse to join the cabinet. He had misgivings as to being able to work smoothly with Vogel, and resisted as long as he could. Eventually he agreed (30 Oct 1871) to conduct the government business in the Council as a member of the executive. That merely regularised the position which he had exercised for some time owing (as Sewell said) to his wide experience, his acumen and his lawyer-like mind. Waterhouse accepted with a protest. 'The happiest day in my short connection with ministerial affairs' he said, 'will be when I lay down the office I have assumed, and when I see the conduct of the country in the hands of gentlemen devoting all their time and energies to public business, and following a plan of conduct calculated to ensure the administration of affairs on a satisfactory basis.' The Council had never before been led in the same sense as Waterhouse led it. He not only strengthened its place in the constitution, but tightened up its standing orders, especially with regard to attendance of members. He was too wise a parliamentarian to make any undue claims for the upper house. Not only did he surrender the claim for financial authority, but when the public trust bill - one of the first socialistic measures passed in New Zealand - had been before the people and approved by them, he was not prepared to stand in the way of the public giving effect to their wishes, though he believed that this sort of legislation would destroy their self-reliance and have a bad influence on the legal profession.

The deciding factor in the political career of Waterhouse was his relationship with Vogel. To a certain extent they could work together cordially enough. Waterhouse approved the immigration and public works policy, and skilfully piloted the bill through the Council (Nov 1871). They also agreed on the abolition of the provinces. 'I detest the idea of being an inhabitant of a parish,' said Waterhouse in 1870, 'with all the narrow views of those who never look beyond the borders of a parish. I wish to be a member of the Colony, to get rid of the feeling that I am simply the inhabitant of a province. We are all parts of one great whole. Let us look at matters, therefore, from a colonial and not from a narrow provincial point of view.' As soon as the session was over Waterhouse retired from the executive to give his full attention to his own affairs. His extensive property demanded constant oversight. He had miles of fencing to carry out in subdividing the estate, and he purchased another property of over 2,000 acres on the East Coast. As a director of the Wairarapa Meat Preserving Co., he persuaded the board to adopt a system of salting meat for export, and he was personally interested in boiling-down works for the disposal of aged and cull sheep. He was constantly on guard against scab and wild dogs, both at Huangarua and Tiraumea. He imported regular consignments of stud sheep (mainly Lincolns), and in 1871 exhibited at the first show at Masterton.

His association with the Government in 1871 had not allayed Waterhouse's distrust of its methods. The next session opened (Jul 1872) without provision having been made for the leadership of the Council, and he conceived that the Government, fearing that the Council might try to tone down its policy, was determined to ignore it. When he was invited to resume his position of the previous session, he replied demanding that the position and status of ministers should be defined by statute, and he appealed personally to Hall, who was then appointed to the Council to carry through government business, to assist in remedying the loose system. He objected to the making and annulling of ministerial office at the will of the Government, and to the closing of great financial contracts without consulting Parliament. Nor was Waterhouse the only one who objected to the new way of administering the affairs of the country. Criticism culminated on 5 Sep 1872 when the Government was defeated on a want-of-confidence motion. Discussing the position a month earlier, Waterhouse had remarked to Stafford that he had an almost insuperable objection to taking office, and would only be persuaded to do so if he saw a chance of increasing the efficiency of the government and of the civil service. Now that the question arose Stafford, believing that he had agreed to join him, was astounded when Waterhouse, with great pain and not without some degree of self-reproach, declined to join the ministry. He questioned his ability to yield his views to that of his colleagues. In fact, he was no party man, and he had a rooted objection to joining any party. 'No consideration whatever will induce me,' he remarked three days later, 'to identify myself with any party or any administration. The only necessity I will ever recognise for taking an active part in the administration of the country is one which fortunately is not likely to arise as regards a member of this branch of the Legislature.' He sternly rebuked Sewell for his haste in taking office, and added: 'The character of our public men is the property of the Colony. Upon the respect in which they are held proportionately is the influence public men will possess.' Jealous always of the integrity of Parliament, and fearing a deadlock between the two houses, he introduced a motion to make the Legislative Council also elective. Within a fortnight the Government was defeated on a motion proposed by Vogel, who was naturally called upon to form a Government. Vogel appreciated the necessity for colleagues who would lend weight and stability to his administration, and accordingly invited Waterhouse to be Premier. To the amazement of the country Waterhouse accepted. He met Parliament on 11 Oct in the unique position of a Premier without portfolio, without salary and without a seat in the popular chamber. He proposed, he said, to give his whole time to the work, assisting his colleagues with their departments so as to save them loss by the neglect of their business. Having left South Australia for the express purpose of escaping from an active political life, he said, no person could be more astonished than himself to find that here in his new home he was placed in a position where responsibility could scarcely be avoided; but he felt that he would permanently injure his usefulness as a public man if he continued to decline office. 'I have not accepted the position without deliberation, and I will not resign it with rashness.' At that very moment Vogel was telling the other chamber that he, not Waterhouse, had formed the Government, thus sowing in the public mind the seeds of the insidious belief that it was only a pseudo-premiership. Sewell criticised the inconvenience of having the Premier in the Legislative Council and the invidiousness of his not receiving a salary; but the Council, fearing that Waterhouse would resign, rejected the motion. Even before the end of the session the inconvenience and the sham of his position were abundantly evident. He held the shadow of power; Vogel the substance. His position in the ministry was anomalous. 'Their political temperaments were irreconcilable with one another,' remarks a chronicler, 'They did not probably agree in many political views, and certainly they did not agree in the measures to be taken to give practical effect to their general views.' Though his objections were natural enough, Waterhouse incurred criticism for the manner in which he severed the knot while Vogel was away from New Zealand. Governor Bowen was farewelled officially on 20 Feb 1873, some days before he was to sail for England. Hall resigned his portfolio on the same day, and Waterhouse, feeling that this materially affected his position as a member of the Legislative Council and as a minister, offered his own resignation to Bowen. In the hope that the crisis would not delay his departure from the Colony, the Governor withheld the news, and summoned Fox to town to try to heal the breach. Waterhouse denied that the resignation of the whole ministry was involved: since Vogel had formed it he could quite well appoint another colonial secretary. The Governor refused to give way until Waterhouse forbade the captain of the Government steamer to sail with Bowen without his (Waterhouse's) express authority. Bowen was defeated, and had to call upon Fox to form a ministry. Fox agreed out of deference to the Governor, but on the strict understanding that he would resign as soon as Vogel returned to New Zealand. Writing to Vogel on the subject (4 Feb 1873), Waterhouse said: 'I have felt throughout that you have regarded yourself as the actual and me as the nominal Premier; and the strength of your will and the advantage arising from your having formed the ministry have given you an influence in the ministry which is fatal to my exerting the influence attached to my office as Premier. We have been cast in different moulds, and cannot with mutual satisfaction run in harness together.' Waterhouse did not at once recover from the loss of prestige due to this surprising incursion into office. He remained a private member of Parliament until 1890, attending regularly to his duties until his departure from the Colony. In the political uncertainties of 1879 it was freely suggested that he would return to office as leader of a 'rescue party'; but he had no such ideas. Except for the session of 1887 (Apr-Sep), when he was Speaker of the Legislative Council in the absence of Fitzherbert, he remained a private member. He had ample other employment for his talents. In 1872-73 he was a member of the Wellington education board. In 1873 he was elected to the committee of the Wellington benevolent institution. In 1876 he was appointed, with Travers and Hector, a governor of the New Zealand Institute. He spent more and more of his time in Wellington, and in 1878, having extended his property at Tiraumea and Whareama, he sold his Huangarua estate to the Hon. J. Martin (q.v.). He visited England again on several occasions, and in 1888 left the Colony for good to reside in Devon, where he died on 6 Aug 1906.

The significance of Waterhouse in the political history of New Zealand has not yet been appreciated. Coming to the Colony with ripe knowledge and judgment and a wide experience of the world, he soon acquired a masterly grip of its affairs. He was not the type of man to succeed at the hustings or to win honours in a democracy. He clung fondly to the older traditions of parliamentary life, and added dignity to its councils by his lofty and logical speeches. Gisborne says that he was not likely to take any course without previous careful consideration. He searched into the depths of everything, sparing no pains to become master of it. His speeches were philosophical and persuasive, 'appealing to the reason, but incapable of creating enthusiasm.' Waterhouse was one of the first premiers in New Zealand to express definite views on Imperial or foreign affairs. At the moment of his arrival in the Colony he was stirred to indignation by what he characterised as the 'cold-blooded and unnatural conduct' of the Mother country towards this Colony, and he advocated fostering closer relations with the United States since England had abrogated her position. Again he reverted to this matter in supporting the reciprocal trade bill of that session. While in South Australia he brought forward the question of reciprocal relations amongst the colonies, and it was remitted to the conference at Melbourne in 1863. Waterhouse regarded the great remoteness of New Zealand from the 'pulse and heart of civilisation' as a calamity that dwarfed ideas and tended to injure the prospects of prosperity. At the same time he saw the danger to young colonies of dissipating their energy in oversea adventures. Though he voted in favour of a resolution in 1871 regarding British sovereignty in Samoa, he warned the New Zealanders against using their skill and energy in foreign and extraneous matters.

App. H.R., 1873 A. 1a; N.Z.P.D., 17 Jun, 15 Jul, 11 Aug, 9 Sep 1870, 17 Aug, 30 Oct, 7 Nov 1871, 22 Jul, 7 Aug 1872, 10, 17, 29 Sep 1872, 18 Oct 1872, 5 Oct 1875; Archives of South Australia; South Aust. Leg. Assembly Proc.; Buller; Gisborne (p); Rusden; Saunders ii (p); Reeves; Loyau; Mennell; Cox; Independent, 16 Jan, 12 Oct 1869; Scholefield in Evening Post, 4 Aug 1934 (p); Otago Daily Times, 7 Jul 1884. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 237

🌳 Further sources

WATHEN, WILLIAM ANDERSON WADDLE (1850-1919) was a compositor by trade and was an early member and sometime president of the Otago Typographical Association. He was also in 1876 secretary-treasurer of the Dunedin Press Club. At the general election of 1884 he withdrew from the contest for the Dunedin East seat in favour of Sir Robert Stout, and stood for Taieri. He was president of the Otago Trades and Labour Council (1900-01) and in 1902 was chairman of the Workers' Political Committee. Wathen was a member of the Shakespeare Society and of various musical societies. He died in Tasmania on 18 Mar 1919.

Paul, Trades Unionism; Evening Star, 12 Apr 1919.

Reference: Volume 2, page 237

🌳 Further sources

WATTERS, FELIX JOSEPH (1851-1916) was born at Dundalk, Ireland, and educated at St Mary's College there and at the Catholic University in Dublin. He joined the Society of Mary in 1870, and graduated doctor of theology and received the diploma of S.T.D. from the College of Propaganda in Rome. Ordained in 1874, he was professor of English and classics at the Catholic University for 10 years. From this position he was invited by Bishop Redwood (q.v.), who had been a professor while he was at Dundalk, to organise St Patrick's College in Wellington (1884). Dr Watters was conspicuously successful in this task, from which he retired in 1898. After resting for a while he was appointed headmaster of the Catholic University School in Dublin. He was killed while ministering to the wounded during the rising in Dublin in 1916. He was a priest of outstanding courage, energy, honesty and independence.

Cycl. N.Z., i (p); St. Patrick's College 1885-1935 (p)

Reference: Volume 2, page 240

🌳 Further sources

WATTS-RUSSELL, JOHN CHARLES (1825-75) was the fourth son of Jesse Watts-Russell, of Ham Hall, Staffordshire, and Biggin House, Northamptonshire, who took the additional name of Watts on his marriage. After receiving the usual education in preparation for the army, he got his commission in the 17th Lancers, and was quartered chiefly in Ireland. In 1850 he married Miss Bradshaw, sold his commission and purchased orders for 500 acres of land in Canterbury. He was elected a member of the committee of settlers, and sailed with his wife in the S.S. George Seymour. He became a close friend of J. R. Godley, purchased a flock of sheep from the Deans brothers, and secured a block of 22,000 acres near Homebush. He was the first of the Canterbury settlers to go in for sheep-farming as distinct from agricultural farming.

Watts-Russell was elected to the council of the Society of Land Purchasers, but otherwise took little part in the politics of the province. He erected his house, Ilam, on land just beyond Riccarton, but lived in Lyttelton for the first year or two. Possessed of considerable means, he soon had extensive station properties, in the management of which he was associated with A. R. Creyke (q.v.). When the run system came into force he had 16,000 acres at Homebush allotted to him (1851). In 1854 he and Creyke had 2,524 sheep, and three years later the number was 6,630. Generally speaking, Watts-Russell left the management of the properties to Creyke. He only occasionally lived on them to alleviate his asthma. He was appointed a justice of the peace, and in 1854 was called to the Legislative Council in the first General Assembly. This position he resigned when he went abroad. Returning to the Colony by the Westminster from a visit to England (1858), he brought 20,000 bricks for his home at Ilam, a fine two-storeyed house on a brick foundation which is described by Lady Barker as 'the most charming place I have yet seen.' Here Watts-Russell dispensed hospitality on a lavish scale, with little desire for the hurly-burly of politics. The unvarying integrity of his private life was a fine example in the early days of the settlement. In all his relations he was inspired by a deep Christian spirit. In 1858 Watts-Russell was again called to the Legislative Council by the Stafford Government, and he continued a member for 10 years. In 1866 he sold most of his property, and left once more for England, his membership of the Council thus lapsing. When he returned in 1871, he still refrained from public life. He died on 2 Apr 1875.

Watts-Russell was a great lover of horseflesh, and was one of the committee that founded the Canterbury Jockey Club, of which he was chairman. He went to great pains to improve both land and stock. One unfortunate experience was his part in the introduction of rabbits into the province. He liberated some at Dalethorpe and sowed five acres in buckwheat for their benefit. In 1859 with H. Hirst he made an exploration of the West Coast sounds in a Maori boat. An ardent freemason, he helped to form the first lodge in Christchurch, and later he spent both energy and money in the establishment of the provincial grand lodge. He was himself the first provincial grandmaster.

Godley, Letters; Deans; Cant. O.N.; Acland; Chadwick; Jane Deans, Letters to My Grandchildren; The Press, 18 Oct 1930 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 240

🌳 Further sources

WATKIN, JAMES (1805-86) was born at Manchester in a good Methodist home. At an early age he felt the call to the ministry, and commenced preaching in the Oldham street circuit, where he profited by the ministry of Jabez Bunting and Richardson Watson. He declined an offer to defray the cost of his study at Oxford for the ministry of the Church of England, and was accepted as a candidate for the Wesleyan ministry (1830). Owing to one of the party designated for Tonga being unable to go, he joined Turner and William Woon and, having been ordained in the Sloane Terrace Chapel, Chelsea, and married (1830) to Hannah Entwistle (niece of the Rev Joseph Entwistle), he sailed from Gravesend on 7 Aug 1830 in the whaler Lloyds (owned by a Quaker). Touching at Bay of Islands, Watkin proceeded to Tonga. On his arrival there (Mar 1831) he found the people on the crest of a religious revival, due to the labours of Walter Lawry, Nathaniel Turner (q.v.) and others. Taufa-ahau became the Christian king of all the Tongan groups and Watkin was his close friend and confidant. The king being attacked by non-Christian chiefs, the missionaries removed for safety to Vavau, but Watkin returned alone to face the fury of the savage warfare. In 1838 he published the pamphlet Pity Poor Fiji. At the conclusion of seven years' successful work in Tonga, Watkin proceeded with his family to Sydney (Sep 1837) and for the next few years worked with great success in New South Wales. Having read a German translation of Watkin's appeal for Fiji, Wohlers volunteered for missionary work. He and his colleagues were sent to New Zealand by a German mission society. Watkin was designated for Kapiti by the Wesleyan conference in England (1839), but before his arrival Hadfield (q.v.) was sent there by the Church Missionary Society. Bumby, while on a visit to Sydney to confer with the missionary committee (1840), received John Jones's offer of a passage for a missionary to be appointed to Waikouaiti, where he had a whaling station. Watkin was selected for the post, and sailed with his family in the Regina, reaching his destination on 16 May, six weeks after the visit of D'Urville. Watkin found the settlement a hotbed of drunkenness, immorality and violence, from which the natives mainly suffered. He took a determined stand alike against the vices of the whites and the savage customs of the Maori, persuaded the Maori to refrain from fighting and set a new standard of life for the whites. Though the southern Maori dialect differed widely from Tongan, he preached in Maori four months after his arrival. He collected 2,000 words and phrases in Maori and sent an elementary reading book to be printed in Ngai-Tahu at Mangungu, but it was not available until Dec 1841. Schools were established at Waikouaiti and Matainaka and partly-instructed native teachers were stationed at Stewart Island and Moeraki. In Feb 1843 he held the first administration of the sacrament to native communicants. In Oct Watkin visited Wellington for a district meeting and in Mar 1844 he went to Jacobs River. Visits were paid to Otago in Nov 1840 by Bishop Pompallier; in Dec 1842 by representatives of the Anglican church; and in Jan 1843 by Matene te Whiwhi and Tamihana te Rauparaha. When Bishop Selwyn visited him early in 1844 Watkin thought of withdrawing his 26 native teachers to leave the field clear. Tuhawaiki had pleaded for a missionary, and Watkin encouraged Wohlers to establish himself at Ruapuke. The Deborah, with the preliminary expedition for the Otago settlement, brought the Rev Charles Creed to succeed Watkin (Apr 1844). When he sailed for Wellington in Jun he left 227 church members in Otago.

Watkin's last years were spent in Australia. He settled in New South Wales in 1855, and was president of the national Methodist conference of Australia at Adelaide in 1862. He retired in 1869, and died near Sydney on 14 May 1886. Watkin was a short, sturdy figure of great energy; widely read, thoughtful and witty.

Pratt (p); Morley; W. J. Williams; The Press, Jun-Jul 1931; Hoani Matiu in Otago Witness, 4 Nov 1930.

Reference: Volume 2, page 239

🌳 Further sources

WATKINS, KENNETH (1847-1933), was born at Ootacamund, India, the son of Major John Watkins, and educated at Wellington College, England, where he won the first prize for drawing three years in succession. He studied art in France, Italy and Switzerland (under Chevalier Terry and van der Velde for landscape, and P. F. Connolly for figure). When visiting Singapore he was appointed aide-de-camp to the Rajah of Johore, and three years later came to New Zealand (1873). After spending some months sketching and photographing, he was appointed instructor at the School of Art in Auckland, and was later drawing master at the Grammar and other schools. Retiring in 1915, he lived thereafter at Dannevirke and East Cape.

Art in N.Z., Sep 1933.

Reference: Volume 2, page 239

🌳 Further sources

WATSON, CLEMENT (1852-1936), a son of the Rev. Thomas Watson, chaplain to the East India Company, was born in India and educated at the High Wycombe School, Buckinghamshire. In 1867 he came to New Zealand from Tasmania, and, after teaching at the Thorndon, Gladstone, Upper Tutaenui, and Marton schools, was appointed assistant master at the Terrace school, Wellington. In 1880 he became headmaster of the Te Aro school, which during his 30 years' administration became the largest in the Dominion. In 1886 he gained his B.A. degree, and in 1898 became one of the original members of Victoria College council, on which he served for over 30 years. Watson was one of the founders of the New Zealand Educational Institute (president 1893), and from the time of its foundation until his death (on 23 Nov 1936) he was a member of the executive of the Wellington War Relief Association.

Cycl. NZ, i; Who's Who N.Z., 1932; The Dominion, 24 Nov 1936 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 239

🌳 Further sources

WATSON, JOHN, was born at Ballydarton, County Carlow, Ireland. Coming to New Zealand at the invitation of Governor FitzRoy in 1843, he was appointed in 1845 assistant police magistrate at Russell, Bay of Islands, and a justice of the peace. Early in 1846 he was sent to Akaroa as police magistrate (relieving C. B. Robinson); in 1847 he became resident magistrate, and in 1849 collector of customs. He resigned about 1870 to return to Ireland.

Cant. O.N.; Godley, Letters; Anson; J. Hay.

Reference: Volume 2, page 239

🌳 Further sources

WATSON, WILLIAM (1846-1938) was born at Achany, Sutherlandshire, educated at the Tain school and the City of London College, and in 1864 entered the service of the Caledonian Bank at Bonarbridge, Sutherlandshire. Four years later he transferred to the Oriental Bank in London. In 1873 he was sent to Ceylon, and in 1883 was appointed manager of the Bank of Shanghai. In 1886 he came to New Zealand as chief inspector of the Colonial Bank of New Zealand, with his headquarters at Dunedin. Watson in 1894 became president of the Bank of New Zealand, a position which he held until 1898 under the government reconstruction. From that date he represented the shareholders on the board of directors until his death on 12 Jul 1938. He was chairman 1931-32. He was one of the first directors of Sharland and Co. (and chairman for many years) and was a director of the Wellington Harbour Ferries Co. and the Patent Slip Co. Watson married (1879) Isabella, daughter of Robert Mackenzie.

Who's Who N.Z.; Beauchamp; Cycl. NZ, i (p); NZ Times, 4 Aug 1896; The Dominion, 13 Jul 1938 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 239

🌳 Further sources

WATT, ISAAC NEWTON (1821-86) was born in England. He studied medicine at St Bartholomew's Hospital, but did not complete his course. In Dec 1843 he arrived in Taranaki by the Himalaya, and went into business as a merchant. He also in 1844 took over the Devon hotel. In 1853 he was elected to the Provincial Council for New Plymouth, and he was speaker of the Council until 1856. He remained a member until 1861. In the following year he was elected to Parliament for New Plymouth Town, which he represented for only two sessions, retiring in Oct 1863. Watt was elected captain in the first volunteers founded in 1859, and served with them in the hostilities of 1860-61. In 1862 he was appointed resident magistrate at the Bluff, being transferred in 1868 to Dunedin, where he served as magistrate and coroner until 1880. Watt was of a scientific turn of mind and always took a professional interest in post-mortem examinations. He died on 10 Sep 1886.

Taranaki P.C. Proc. and Gaz; Cycl. N.Z., vi; Parltry Record; Evening Star, 11 Sep 1886. Portrait: Taranaki Hist. Coll.

Reference: Volume 2, page 239

🌳 Further sources

WATT, WILLIAM HOGG (1818-93) was born in Dundee, and after leaving school was apprenticed to the sea with the White Star line. While serving in one of their ships he made the acquaintance of another apprentice, T. B. Taylor (q.v.), with whom he afterwards came to Australia and sailed in intercolonial ships. Together they bought the schooner Katherine Johnstone, 14 tons, with which they inaugurated a direct service between Sydney and Wanganui. Watt in 1841 settled in Wanganui, where he established the firm as merchants and shipowners in Taupo Quay, while Taylor continued to command the Katherine Johnstone. Their first cargo of merchandise they brought down from Sydney in 1842. Later they acquired the Edward Stanley, Governor Grey, Rosebud, Venture, Seagull and Tyne, with which they maintained a regular service from Sydney, always keeping one vessel in the service with Wellington.

Taylor and Watt exercised a great influence on the prosperity of Wanganui, providing it with vital communications at a time when the settlement was struggling against depression. Their largest vessel, the brig Lady Denison, was purchased as a wreck for purposes of salvage (1867). On the death of Taylor (1871) Watt continued the business. He took a prominent part in the public affairs of the town and district. He represented Wanganui and Rangitikei in the Provincial Council (1853-65), and Wanganui for the remainder of the provincial period (1865-75), being throughout a supporter of Featherston. He represented Wanganui also in Parliament (from 1866-68). In 1872 he was elected first mayor of Wanganui and he held that office on five occasions (1872-73, 1875-78, and 1880-81). He was mainly responsible for the erection of the bridge over the Wanganui river and for the abolition of the toll gates. In 1881 Watt was again returned to Parliament (defeating Ballance), but he was defeated by Ballance at the following election (1884). He was a member of the Wanganui education board and a member and first chairman of the harbour board. He gave the water of Lake Westmere for the town supply. His death occurred on 7 Mar 1893.

Parltry Record; Wellington P.C. Proc. and Gaz; Woan; Wanganui Chronicle, 8 Mar 1893. Portrait: Parliament House

Reference: Volume 2, page 240

🌳 Further sources

WAYMOUTH, JOHN (1820-92) was born in Wales, and took an active part in temperance and social movements before coming to Auckland in the William Watson (1859). He was employed by Whitaker and Russell (solicitors), and in 1863 became Under-secretary for Defence (Russell being minister). At the close of the Waikato war he entered into business with his son as accountants. He was a member of the Auckland City Council; secretary of the regatta club and commodore of the Auckland yacht club. Waymouth designed many Auckland yachts. He died on 9 Dec 1892.

N.Z. Herald, 10 Dec 1892.

Reference: Volume 2, page 240

🌳 Further sources

WAYNE, FREDERICK (1834-1901) was the son of the Rev. W. H. Wayne, vicar of Much Wenlock, Shropshire. Educated at Bridgenorth school and Trinity College, Cambridge, he intended to study medicine, but became a partner with Colonel Kitchener (father of Lord Kitchener) in the Kerry estate, near Tralee, county Kerry, which they improved by drainage and transformed into good wheat-growing country. Having studied at the School of Mines in London the investigation of mineral lands, he came to Sydney in 1859 and to New Zealand in the following year.

In partnership with Captain James Hamilton and John Cotton Rowley, he took up the Taieri Lake station, Otago, and later the Shag Valley estate, on both of which he erected a homestead and yards. His station lay on the road from Waikouaiti inland, which was afterwards one of the main routes to the goldfields. He erected a substantial store on the Shag river in 1865. Colonel Kitchener became a partner in the station and eventually took it over, and Wayne bought Akatore, near Tokomairiro. This he held from 1871 to 1885, when he retired and became a land and estate agent. In 1865 he married Agatha Elizabeth, daughter of the Rev. George Barber (Cambridge, England). He was a justice of the peace from 1862.

Wayne represented Hampden in the House of Representatives (1863-66). He afterwards lived for many years in Milton, where he was a member of the Bruce county council. He died on 10 Apr 1901.

Family information; Cycl. N.Z., iv; Daily Times, 7 May 1901

Reference: Volume 2, page 240

🌳 Further sources

WEAVER, WILLIAM (1830-68) was born and educated in England, and was a pupil in civil engineering of Brassey and Peto, of Bristol. In 1854 he came to Australia, where he was chief engineer in New South Wales and gained first prize for a design for the Melbourne post office. He married Miss Broughton, but separated shortly afterwards and came to New Zealand. He was chief engineer for Auckland province and in 1867 made the first surveys for a dry dock at Auckland. At the end of that year he was elected to the Auckland Provincial Council for Auckland East (defeating James George), but being disqualified by holding a government appointment, he retired without taking his seat in the Council (Jan 1868). In Mar he was appointed telegraph engineer for New Zealand. He died in Geelong on 18 Dec 1868.

Southern Cross, 13, 20 Dec 1867; N.Z. Herald, 16 Jan 1869.

Reference: Volume 2, page 240

🌳 Further sources

WEBB, HENRY RICHARD (1829-1901) was born in New South Wales, where his parents arrived in the previous year. Educated at Sydney College, he entered mercantile life and became a member of the firm of Fergusson, Webb and Co. In 1851 he visited Auckland and in 1868 settled in Canterbury, having the management of Peacock's wharf until the creation of the harbour board. For 13 years he was manager of the Permanent Investment and Loan Association of Canterbury. He was M.P.C. for Lyttelton (1869-75), and a member of the executive as provincial secretary in the winding-up period; and M.H.R. for Lyttelton (1873-75). Webb interested himself actively in education, was chairman of the Lyttelton school committee, for 18 years a school commissioner of Canterbury, a member and chairman of the North Canterbury education board, a governor of Canterbury College from its inception (and chairman 1893-1901). He was president of the photographic section of the Philosophical Institute and a fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society of London (1880). In church matters he was a member of the diocesan synod and chairman of committees and a member of the general synod. He married (1857) a daughter of J. J. Peacock (Sydney). He was a keen horticulturist in New South Wales and chairman of the Christchurch society. Webb died on 12 Feb 1901. (See J. T. PEACOCK.)

Family information; Cycl. NZ., iii (p); Hight and Candy (p); Lyttelton Times, 13 Feb 1901.

Reference: Volume 2, page 241

🌳 Further sources

WEBER, KARL HERMANN (1830-87) was born in Bavaria, Germany, of good family, educated there and trained as a surveyor and engineer. Like many other German students, he was involved in the popular rising in 1848 and had to flee the country. He worked for some time in the United States and on harbour works in South America, and then came to Australia. In 1864-77 he was appointed chief surveyor and provincial engineer in Hawke's Bay. Appointed in 1877 engineer to the Napier harbour board, he carried out important works - drainage and swamp reclamation. He was then for some time engaged in private practice and in 1886, while on an exploration survey between Eketahuna and Pahiatua, he disappeared. Weber laid out many of the principal roads of Hawke's Bay and gave his name to a town and county. Remains were found in 1889, which were supposed to be his.

N.Z. Surveyor, 1897, p. 215; Jourdain.

Reference: Volume 2, page 241

🌳 Further sources

WEBSTER, FREDERICK LEWIS (1839-1903) arrived in New Zealand by the Amelia Thompson (1841) with his father, afterwards collector of customs at New Plymouth. He was educated in New Plymouth, and after gaining experience in a merchant's office commenced business with his brother as commission and shipping agents. He served in the Taranaki war with the volunteers and distinguished himself at Waireka (1860), rising to captain in 1861 and receiving the medal. He married (1863) Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Dr Dugald McKellar. Some time later he established the Egmont flour mill, of which he was part owner until his death. Webster represented New Plymouth in the Provincial Council (1869-73). He was a prominent mason and churchman and a member of the Egmont reserve board. He died on 15 Apr 1903.

Cycl. NZ., vi; Taranaki Herald, 16 Apr 1903.

Reference: Volume 2, page 241

🌳 Further sources

WEBSTER, GEORGE (1821-71) was born at Montrose, Scotland. He came to New Zealand in the Jane Gifford (1842), and engaged with his brothers in sawmilling at Horeke, Hokianga. He lived for some years in Auckland and was chairman of the board of city commissioners (1868). Shortly afterwards he left for Hokianga, where he had an extensive business. He was M.P.C. for Bay of Islands (1863-67). Webster died on 11 Apr 1871. (See JOHN WEBSTER)

Auckland P.C. Proc.; Webster; N.Z. Herald, 21 Apr 1871.

Reference: Volume 2, page 241

🌳 Further sources

WEBSTER, GEORGE MURRAY (1818-78) was a medical practitioner, but did not practice after his arrival in New Zealand in the late 1860s. He took up land in north Otago, imported some of the best Romney marsh sheep into New Zealand, did much to promote agricultural and pastoral interests, and was also interested in racing. He was a member of the Oamaru dock trust (1871) and represented Oamaru Country district in the Provincial Council (1871-75) and was a member of the executive in the last year. Webster was a deputy inspector-general of hospitals. He died on 11 Nov 1878. (See J. LITTLE)

Fulton, 215-6; North Otago Times, 12 Nov 1878.

Reference: Volume 2, page 241

🌳 Further sources

WEBSTER, GEORGE, was a trustee of the Bank of Melbourne. He came to New Zealand from Victoria about 1863, and invested in sheep country in Southland, taking up the Benmore station and later the Dome. Webster was a member of the Southland Provincial Council for Invercargill (1869-70), and was member of Parliament for Wallace from 1869 to 1875. He died on 15 Jul 1875.

Parltry Record; Southland Times, 16 Jul 1875.

Reference: Volume 2, page 241

🌳 Further sources

WEBSTER, JOHN (1818-1912), the son of a merchant, Andrew Webster, was born in Montrose and educated at the Montrose Academy. At the age of 15 he entered a chemical manufacturing company in Glasgow and took lectures in chemistry and drawing. His personal wish was to go to the West Indies, but his mother advised Australia, and he sailed in the Portland on 23 Aug 1838. Arriving at Sydney in Dec, he took employment with Howe brothers, of Glenlee station, 250 miles from Sydney. In Oct 1839 he started with 800 of the firm's cattle overland for Adelaide to escape the drought and reached his destination with the loss of 9 per cent. At their camp at the Gawler river the Governor of South Australia visited the drovers. Webster made another overland journey, and returned by paddle steamer to Melbourne and thence overland to a new station formed by Howe at Broken river, 200 miles up country. From here he helped Howe to drive his cattle down to Melbourne.

In Apr 1841 Webster crossed to New Zealand in the Jupiter, and joined his brother William in a sawmill at Hokianga. William (1816-95) came in the Bengal Merchant to Wellington (1839), bringing sawmill machinery. Finding no suitable forests there, he went north and settled early in 1840 at Wairere creek. He chose this site, a few miles higher than Te Horeke, to be free of sand, which injured the saws. A third brother, George (q.v.), who arrived in the Jane Gifford, was engaged in the venture. All three frequently visited the family of the missionary Hobbs on Sundays.

In company with Frederick Maning (q.v.), John saw a considerable amount of the fighting in Heke's war. For a few years he acted as agent for Brown and Campbell, trading with the native tribes, and in 1849, on the discovery of gold in California, he sailed as their supercargo in the barque Noble to San Francisco. There he joined company with Benjamin Boyd, the owner of the armed yacht Wanderer, 240 tons, 12 guns, in which he cruised amongst the Pacific islands, trading and making water colour sketches. Boyd was murdered at Guadalcanar, in the Solomons, on 15 Oct 1851; the Wanderer was wrecked at Port Macquarie; and Webster found his way back to Sydney. From there he went to the Turon goldfields, and then to the Victorian diggings. At Mount Alexander he discovered a reef which could not be worked without machinery. While visiting London to raise capital for the venture he showed his pictures, attended meetings of the Royal Society and met Sir George Grey (who had been recalled from the Cape). Returning to New Zealand in 1855, Webster married a daughter of G. F. Russell (Kohukohu). He was engaged for many years in the timber trade in partnership with his brother, A. S. Webster. They had an office in Sydney and during the years 1855-74 had ships trading in many parts of the world carrying timber and tea. When they sold out, Webster retired to a property of 700 acres which he had acquired at Opononi, near Hokianga heads. Planted with trees as protection against the bleak winds, it became a model farm and homestead which was seen by many prominent visitors.

Webster took a keen interest in cultural studies, and was an active member of such societies as the New Zealand Institute, the Polynesian Society, and the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science. His knowledge of Maori and sympathy for the race were recognised by his election as a member of the district runanga (3 Mar 1863). He died on 30 May 1912. Amongst his writings were the story of the Wanderer (published in 1858) and Reminiscences of an Old Settler.

Morton; Webster, op. cit. (p); Cycl. NZ, ii (p); NZ Herald, 30 Apr, 7 May 1892, 31 May 1912

Reference: Volume 2, page 241

🌳 Further sources

WELCH, ROBERT PORTER, was born in England and studied medicine in London. (M.R.C.S.) He was surgeon in the Somerset county hospital before he came to New Zealand and settled in Wellington. In 1857 he stood for the superintendency against Featherston, but was defeated by 830 votes to 404. In 1858 he became clerk of the Provincial Council, resigning in 1859. He represented Wairarapa in the Council (1865-66), thereafter retiring from public life. Welch published several popular books on medicine.

Carter; Wakelin; Ward; Wellington Independent, 6, 9 Sep 1859.

Reference: Volume 2, page 241

🌳 Further sources

WELD, FREDERICK ALOYSIUS (1823-91) was the third son of Humphrey Weld, of Chideock, and his wife, Maria Christina, daughter of Charles, Lord Clifford of Chudleigh, both being of old English Catholic families. The Welds held land in Dorset, Lancashire and Hampshire. The grandfather, Thomas Weld, high-minded, patriotic and generous, gave hospitality to many monks driven from France after the Revolution; founded convents and missions, established at his own cost Stonyhurst College; and received into his home (Lulworth Castle) the fugitive Charles X, whom young Frederick had seen as a boy in Versailles. Frederick was delicate from infancy, and his residence in Paris with his parents was mainly for health and education. He then went to Stonyhurst; enjoyed his poetry and English; became fond of games and of fishing. Then to Fribourg University (Switzerland) with many relatives-Vavasours, Cliffords and Welds, mainly for languages. He became proficient in French, Italian and German; but the principal influence of Fribourg upon him was the personal friendship of Father Freudenfeldt. This teacher of the philosophy of history had once been tutor in the royal household of Prussia and professor at Gottingen, and had fought at Ligny and Waterloo as aide-de-camp to General Blucher.

Weld left Fribourg in 1843, still anxious to enter the army, but unable to afford it. A nomination to the Austrian army he rejected; he was determined to remain under the British flag. His relatives Petre, Clifford and Vavasour had already gone to New Zealand; and Jerningham was recruiting emigrants in the west of England. In the end Weld bought an order from the New Zealand Company for 100 acres of country land and a town lot; and sailed by the Theresa in Nov 1843. Calling at Nelson, which was still despondent after the Wairau conflict, he landed in Wellington in Apr 1844. His cousins had entered into negotiations with Wairarapa chiefs for the use of pastoral areas, and he helped them get their Australian sheep round to Wharekaka, on the shores of Palliser Bay. There he remained for months shepherding the flock and growing the first crops of English vegetables. When hostilities broke out in the Hutt valley (1846) Weld volunteered as guide and interpreter to the force crossing the hills from the Hutt to Porirua. In this service he showed great courage and resource. Later he made a hazardous journey round the rocks to Wellington on behalf of the Wairarapa settlers to ascertain what steps the government proposed to take for their defence.

The unsuitable climate of the lower valley, the constant exposure and the impossibility of expansion prompted Weld to look for new pastures. Early in 1847 he began his explorations in the South Island. He found suitable country near Cape Campbell, and established his Flaxbourne station. There were no neighbours, white or native, within 40 miles, but Weld, an expert yachtsman, was now closer to Wellington than at Wharekaka. In Aug he and Clifford took down 2,000 sheep in partnership and another 500 on a share arrangement. Weld delighted in every stage of breaking in the country and building his home, planting English trees and even erecting a Roman Catholic chapel. He also became prominent in the politics of the colony, and complained of Grey's obstruction of the demand for self-government. The Governor offered Weld a seat in his Legislative Council at this date. This he declined in the belief that the Council, as then constituted, was a mere sop to prevent the full realisation of self-government, and Weld joined the newly formed Settlers' Constitutional Association.

In 1850-51 Weld spent some weeks (at the time of the arrival of the first four ships in Lyttelton) exploring on foot the approaches to Canterbury from the north, and examining the sites of Lyttelton and Christchurch. He had already discovered the fine country which he and Clifford took up late in 1850 as Stonyhurst. The shepherds whom Weld sent off to Stonyhurst with the first mob of sheep abandoned their charges owing to shortage of tucker. Early in 1852 Alfonso Clifford safely drove there 1,500 sheep, losing only one. Another of Weld's expeditions disclosed a pass through the Kaikoura mountains, giving access between Canterbury and the Wairau plain. Then he paid a visit to England. He divided his time between his old pastime of yachting, visiting relatives and collaborating with Sewell, Fox and Wakefield in the debates at Hams Hall which led up to the New Zealand constitution. He also published an interesting pamphlet Hints to Intending Sheepfarmers in New Zealand. It was during this visit to England that his father died (Jan 1852). Weld offered later to return to live with his mother, but she refused the filial sacrifice and spent her closing years as an oblate in a convent.

Weld reached New Zealand again in 1852. He was in time to see the new constitution proclaimed by Grey (17 Jan 1853) just before his departure from the Colony. In the first House of Representatives Weld himself was elected member for Wairau. When Parliament met (May 1854) Clifford was elected Speaker. Immediately an acute controversy arose over the opening prayer. Roman Catholic members were not alone in resisting any measure that might suggest the predominance of one religion, and since then prayers have always been said by the Speaker. Weld was a member of the first administration (with FitzGerald, Sewell and Bell), which resigned when it became apparent that the Administrator, Wynyard (q.v.) would not accept full responsible government. Parliament was prorogued, and in the recess instructions from the Colonial Office made it clear that the wishes of the colonists must be acceded to. Weld took the opportunity of this release to make extensive explorations. With the Hon James Stuart Wortley he travelled widely in the North Island. In Aug 1854, on hearing of the eruption in Hawaii, they chartered a sailing vessel, and made an adventurous examination of the volcano of Mauna Loa. The description which he wrote, for Sir Charles Lyell, was published in the journal of the Geological Society in London. Having resigned his seat in Parliament, Weld proceeded to England. He returned to New Zealand in 1857, and in Jun 1858 was again elected member for Wairau. Later that year he left for England, where in Mar 1859 he was married to Filumena, daughter of de Lisle Phillips, of Leicestershire (who was also connected with the Cliffords).

A serious illness prolonged his absence, and Weld did not reach New Zealand again until Jan 1860. The dark cloud of war now hung over the Colony. Weld's counsel was wanted. His opinions on the Maori war were clear cut. His principle of treating natives was always the same: "At all risks be just; at all risks be firm." Almost at the moment of his return to the Colony the tragic Waitara war broke out. A few months later Stafford invited his help as a member of the executive. With his experience of active service with the militia, Weld was mainly instrumental in the passing of the new militia act. Late in 1860 the portfolio of Native Affairs was entrusted to him, and Stafford relied upon his advice in the attempt to bring about peace at Waitara. The ministry went out of office in Jul 1861. For the next few years Weld was merely a private member (for the electorate of Cheviot), and he was free to live the life of a country gentleman and to look after the improvement of his estate. But his views on the war policy of the Government were always a factor in the political situation. He believed that the Colony would never see an end of its troubles until it accepted full responsibility for Maori as for pakeha affairs. The difficulties of the Waikato campaign strengthened this belief and when (late in 1864) Sir George Grey sent for him to form a ministry he laid down firmly the conditions upon which alone he could assume the task. They were, in short, real responsibility for native and European affairs; an amnesty to natives who had resisted the government; the confiscation of the lands of rebel tribes; and the immediate removal of the seat of government to Wellington.

Grey accepted the terms cordially, and Weld took office (Nov 1864) with Sewell, Fitzherbert Richardson and Atkinson as his colleagues. Mantell, FitzGerald and J. C. Richmond joined him later. Though in power for less than a year, the Weld ministry changed materially the face of New Zealand affairs and inspired the country with fresh confidence. Military posts were established between Wanganui and New Plymouth; the Waikato lands were confiscated; steps were taken towards the parliamentary representation of the Maori people; resolutions were passed terminating with the utmost goodwill the employment of British troops in the Colony, and thus putting an end to the unseemly friction that had existed between the Governor and the general officer commanding. The self-reliant policy was auspiciously inaugurated with a series of brilliant successes by the volunteers and militia on the West Coast. The opposition that gathered against the Government had to do with such subjects as Otago reserves and stamp duties. Weld suffered in health under the burden of office, and when the Government was defeated (Oct 1865) he gladly advised that Stafford be sent for. When he withdrew from Parliament (Jan 1866) Bell said of him: "He held, perhaps alone among the public of New Zealand, the place of a man whose word was never doubted, whose honour was never questioned, whose advice was always sought and whose counsel was never refused in cases of public difficulty." In May 1867 Weld left for England with health only slightly improved, and spent many months there resting. When Granville showed the confidence of the Colonial Office in his character by offering him (Mar 1869) the governorship of the colony of West Australia, he dared not accept the pressing invitations that were extended to him to return to New Zealand politics. With his family he sailed for Australia, reached his new jurisdiction at King George's Sound in Sep 1869, and rode or drove the 260 miles to the capital, Perth. Weld found West Australia in a very backward state. The development of communications had his first care. Week after week he spent in the saddle visiting the farthest settlements. He appointed a geologist, who assured him that there was some gold in the territory. He exercised a jealous watch over the treatment of the natives, and at one time was out of favour with the public for his persistence in prosecuting a prominent settler for the murder of a black. He strongly advocated complete equality for all denominations in educational matters. Finally he promoted the movement for representative and responsible government, feeling confident that when he had persuaded his council (by a single vote) to accept one instalment (1870) they must go forward and not backward. Again he incurred unpopularity for financing from public funds the expedition of John Forrest (afterwards Sir John) to explore the means of land communication with South Australia.

Early in 1874 Weld visited New Zealand to arrange partnership matters with Clifford. He then accepted the governorship of Tasmania, which he entered upon in very stormy political times (1875). War clouds in Europe were ominous, and Weld devoted his whole energy to fostering the volunteer movement in the colony. He formed the rifle association, and had the satisfaction of seeing the volunteers increase threefold. Imperial federation also he put forward more than tentatively as a political project, but it was not very warmly taken up. On leaving West Australia Weld received the honour of C.M.G., and the end of his term in Tasmania was marked by a full knighthood in the same order (1880). The Colonial Office now offered him a post of quite a new type, the governorship of the Straits Settlements. Here again his sympathy with native races was a factor of great weight in his administration. He devoted himself mainly to improving relations with the various native states, and before his term expired he carried through a treaty with the Sultan of Pahang which led up naturally to a protectorate. In 1887 he went to Borneo as a commissioner to report on the claims of certain native chiefs against the British North Borneo Company.

While in England in 1885 he was again advanced in his order, being invested with the G.C.M.G. by Her Majesty. In 1887, his term being up, he went on pension and lived at Chideock. He became a member of the county council, a magistrate and president of the Bridport Conservative Club. In 1890, with two sons, he made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. As a director of the Pahang Exploration and Development Co., he visited the Straits Settlements once more. There he contracted a severe illness, from which he died (20 Jul 1891) shortly after reaching England. Like his mother, his widow became an oblate of the Order of St Benedict in the convent at Fort Augusta, of which her daughter was prioress. She died on 9 Apr 1903.

Weld stands out in the public life of New Zealand as a chevalier sans peur et sans reproche. In his Passages in a Wandering Life Thomas Arnold, who saw him in 1848, says: "Frederick Weld, with his clear blue eyes, curly light brown hair, lithe well-knit figure, and honest, resolute expression of face, was a fine sample of the best type of Catholic aristocrat." Gisborne found him a man of ability, culture and fine feeling, whose straightforwardness inspired confidence; thoroughly genuine, with an attractive manner which was frank and outspoken almost to a fault. "He was the soul of honour and he had a chivalrous sense of duty." His political opinions were moderate and his administrative ability was considerable. All that could ever be said against him was that he was wanting in tact. He was inclined to go too straight for political goals which he considered desirable. Weld was a devout Catholic, his services to his church were numerous and consistent, and the Pope made him a knight of the Order of St Pius.

Canterbury Gaz, ji, p. 53; N.Z.P.D., 1854-66; Lovat; Buick, Marlborough; Bidwill; Cox; Rusden; Gisborne; Saunders; Reeves; Arnold; Godley, Letters; The Times, 21 Jul 1891; Evening Post, 11 Aug 1934.

Reference: Volume 2, page 242

🌳 Further sources

WELLER, EDWARD, was in Bay of Islands and Hauraki Gulf about 1832. He and his brothers (Joseph and George), all of Sydney, founded the first whaling station in Otago in 1831. In that year they bought the Lucy Ann. They had some trouble with unfriendly Maoris and difficulties in sending their products to England, as New Zealand was not a British possession. In 1835 they established a shore station at Timaru. By 1839 they had purchased a large area of land from Otago chiefs, and Weller drew up a scheme to settle about 50 families on it. In 1840 they investigated the prospect for a station at Port Levy. When the competition of whalers in the southern part of New Zealand increased, the Wellers reduced their establishments and Edward returned to Sydney, where he died.

McNab, Murihiku and Whaling Days; Woodhouse; Hocken, Otago.

Reference: Volume 2, page 242

🌳 Further sources

WELLS, ADA (1863-1933) was born in England, and came to New Zealand in the Merope at the age of 10. She was educated at Avonside school for girls, Christchurch, where she profited much by the influence of Mrs Alfred Hill and Miss Gresson. Proceeding to the West Christchurch school, she gained a junior university scholarship, and entered Canterbury College to train for the teaching profession. From there she passed to a position on the staff of the Girls' High School. Influenced in life by the teachers mentioned, by Mrs T. Foster and Professor Macmillan Brown, she resisted the extreme materialism of modern education, and sought to inculcate a love of language and literature. She was associated with Kate Sheppard in the women's movement, being for some years first secretary of the National Council, and assisted in the formation of the Children's Aid Society which developed into the Society for the Protection of Women and Children. She took a leading part in the foundation by Professor Bickerton of the Canterbury Institute, of which she was president for many years. Miss Wells was the first woman member of the Christchurch City Council (1917), being a colleague of H. G. Ell. During 1914-18 she was actively associated with the peace council, resisting the conscription of young boys for military service. Miss Wells died on 22 Mar 1933.

Woman To-day, Jun 1937.

Reference: Volume 2, page 242

🌳 Further sources

WELLS, BENJAMIN (1824-81) was born at Plumstead, Kent, his father being employed in the Ordnance Department at Woolwich. As a youth he was much interested in natural history, and had a good knowledge of botany, besides being a competent classical scholar with a facility in languages. Before leaving England he contributed to the natural history of Woolwich. He came to New Zealand in the Cornwall in 1849 and took up land in Taranaki (appearing on the roll as a cordwainer). On the outbreak of the Maori war the family withdrew to New Plymouth, and eventually to Nelson, while he served in the militia. Belonging to a strong dissenting family, Wells conformed in early life to the doctrines of the Church of Scotland; but in 1854 he was accepted as a lay preacher by the Primitive Methodist Society. He continued acting until his death, having by this time become almost undenominational, and he conducted services in the backblocks whenever they were required. For a short while he acted as schoolmaster in Nelson, and he was always thereafter closely identified with education. He was chairman of the first Taranaki education board (under a provincial ordinance) and afterwards under the national system (1877-81); and until his death was chairman of the school commissioners. In 1874, after revisiting England, he became editor of the Taranaki News. He was a member and afterwards treasurer of the harbour board.

Wells in 1878 published a History of Taranaki. He died on 7 Jun 1881.

Cycl. N.Z., vi; Taranaki News, 8 Jun 1881; Wells. Portrait: Taranaki Hist. Coll.

Reference: Volume 2, page 242

🌳 Further sources

WELLS, WILLIAM, who was born in 1810, arrived by the Eden in 1850 and farmed at Wakapuaka. He was M.P.C. for Suburbs of Nelson 1856-57 and for Suburban North 1857-61; and sat in Parliament for 12 years (for Wairau 1855-58; for Suburbs North 1861-70).

Cycl. N.Z., vi; Wakelin.

Reference: Volume 2, page 242

🌳 Further sources

WEMYSS, JAMES BALFOUR, was a son of Major James Wemyss (1799-1871), of Wemyss Hall, Fifeshire. He came to Canterbury in the Agra (1852), held a portion of the Broadlands run (1851-54), and in 1853 took up the Rokeby run. About 1854 he moved to Nelson, and took up land at the Wairau. He represented Wairau in the Nelson Provincial Council (1857-59) and was a member of the executive (1859-62). He was elected to Parliament for Nelson Suburbs (1861), but resigned before the session. After the separation of Marlborough he represented Wairau Valley in the Marlborough Provincial Council (1865-69). In 1865 he was appointed commissioner of crown lands, and he held this post till 1871, and was in office as provincial secretary almost continuously from 1868 to 1871. He lived in Nelson until 1871, when he inherited Wemyss Castle, and returned to Scotland.

Nelson and Marlborough P.C. Proc.; Cycl. N.Z., iv; Buick, Marlborough; Acland; Marlborough Express, 13 Dec 1871.

Reference: Volume 2, page 244

🌳 Further sources

WEST, LUDOLPH GEORG (1846-1919) was born in Denmark, and educated at a college on the island of Falster and at the Agricultural College in Copenhagen. He came to New Zealand in the Matoaka (1868), and shortly afterwards settled in Manawatu. In 1878 he married a daughter of E. Bannister (Johnsonville). After her death (1891) he married a daughter of C. W. Greenwood (Akaroa). As an architect he designed many of the private dwellings and public buildings in early Palmerston North. During the Hauhau war he served in the cavalry volunteers, returning to his home in 1869. He was mayor of the borough (1886-87) and a member of the Wanganui hospital board. He contested the Manawatu seat in parliament (1885).

Cycl. N.Z., ii (p)

Reference: Volume 2, page 244

🌳 Further sources

WEST, WILLIAM HENRY (1841-89) was born at Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Ireland, and came to Melbourne with his parents as a child. He studied at Melbourne University and gained his B.A., and was ordained at the Congregational Church in Collins Street (1870). In the following year he was appointed to Wellington, where he was largely responsible for the erection of the Congregational Church. In 1883 he graduated LL.B. and in 1888 LL.D. He took a great interest in education, and was himself a fine scholar with broad catholic interests. He died on 9 Jul 1889.

N.Z. Times, 9 Jul 1889; Evening Post, 10 Jul.

Reference: Volume 2, page 244

🌳 Further sources

WESTENRA, RICHARD (1794-1880) was a grandson of Lord Rossmore. He entered the army as an ensign in the 7th Regiment (Royal Fusiliers), and saw a good deal of service in the later stage of the Peninsular war. The active battalions of his regiment then went in turn to North America, the Ionian islands, the West Indies, and Ireland. In the early thirties Westenra was stationed in the south of Ireland, where he married (1831) Isabella M., daughter of Parker Rock, of Kilpurnam, Carberry, county Cork.

In the early forties he retired from the army and went to live with his family in southern Germany, where the elder children were educated for the most part at Mannheim. While there Captain Wilkinson, R.N., persuaded Westenra to come to New Zealand, and they sailed in the Midlothian, arriving in Lyttelton in Oct 1851. Surrounded by sons approaching manhood, Westenra took up a run on the Selwyn river, to which he gave the name of one of Lord Rossmore's seats, Camla. At first he had a place farther south, but he disliked the dangerous river crossings and exchanged it for Camla. The original homestead was on the riverbed, but the flood of 1868 washed most of the flat away and drowned 3,000 sheep. A new house was built on the site of the present homestead at Dunsandel. Westenra was disposed to live quietly, but in 1855 was persuaded to stand for the City of Christchurch, which he represented in the Provincial Council 1855-57 and again 1860-66. For part of this time he was chairman of committees. He was a justice of the peace and often sat on the bench. A soldier and a gentleman of the old school, his unimpeachable integrity shone in all his doings. His wife died in 1865 and himself on 2 Feb 1880.

War Office records; Canterbury P.C. Proc; Godley, Letters; The Press, 20 Sep 1930 (P)

Reference: Volume 2, page 244

🌳 Further sources

WESTENRA, RICHARD (1832-1903) was born in southern Ireland, and received most of his education in Germany. On arriving in New Zealand he took part in the management of his father's property. He was a member of the Provincial Council for Akaroa from 1870 till the abolition of the provinces and a member of the executive under Kennaway (1871-74). He was for some years a member of the Rakaia road board, and when the Selwyn county council was formed (1881) he was elected a member and continued to serve until his death. From 1896 he was chairman. He was an original member of the charitable aid board (1885) and chairman (1886-98). He was also on the hospital board (1885-92, and 1895-98); a member of the domain board, and of the Lyttelton harbour board. From 1885-1903 he was a governor of Canterbury College (being re-elected in 1897 and 1898), and he was also on the education board, of which he was for some years chairman. He was long a local trustee of the Trust and Agency Co.

Westenra married Selina (1833-1902), daughter of the Rev W. J. Aylmer.

Canterbury P.C. Proc.; The Press, 7 Apr 1903.

Reference: Volume 2, page 244

🌳 Further sources

WESTON, THOMAS SHAILER (1836-1912) was the son of John James Weston (1806-57), a printer, who came to Taranaki in the Mariner in 1850 intending to start a newspaper. Educated privately in London, the youth completed his studies in New Zealand and became a barrister and solicitor (1861), practising in New Plymouth till 1863, then at Invercargill and at Auckland from 1864 till 1873, when he was appointed district judge at Napier. He held the same post on the West Coast from 1874 till his retirement in 1880, when he practised again in Christchurch.

He married (1867) Maria Cracroft, daughter of Henry Hill (Auckland). Weston represented Grey Valley in Parliament (1881) and Inangahua (1881-83), when he resigned. He was twice chairman of the North Canterbury education board, and was a governor of Canterbury College (1894-1902) and sometime chairman. In 1875 he acted, with Richmond Beetham, as a commission to inquire into the West Coast colliery reserves, and he was a member of the commission on the salaries of primary school teachers. Weston was retained by the Government in 1863 to defend the Maori murderers of Lieut Tragett and Dr Hope, and in 1865 to defend the murderer of Hamlin. He died on 15 Oct 1912.

Who's Who N.Z., 1908. Portrait: Taranaki Hist.

Reference: Volume 2, page 245

🌳 Further sources

WESTON, THOMAS SHAILER (1868-1931) was born in Auckland, the son of T. S. Weston (q.v.), and was educated at Christ's College, Christchurch (1881-85), where he was head prefect, provincial government scholar (1881-83), and senior Somes scholar (1884). He graduated at Canterbury College (B.A., 1888; M.A., 1st cl. hons political science, 1889; LL.B., 1892). He practised law for many years in Wellington. Weston took a keen interest in political and international matters. He was at different times president of the New Zealand Employers' Federation, and of the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce. During the war of 1914-18 he was a member of the repatriation board and he acted on the taxation commissions of 1922 and 1924. In 1926 he was called to the Legislative Council, of which he was a member till his death (on 20 Jan 1931). He was an employers' representative at the International Labour Conference (1930). Weston was interested in art, and was president of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. He was a member of the New Zealand Law Council, and some time a governor of the New Plymouth High School.

N.Z.P.D., 1926-31; Christ's Coll. School List; The Dominion, 21 Jan 1931 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 245

🌳 Further sources

WESTON, WARWICK (1838-95) was born in England, the son of John James Weston, who came to Taranaki in the Mariner in 1850. Warwick was educated at Christ's Hospital. On coming to New Zealand he entered into commercial life, and represented New Plymouth in the Provincial Council (1864-66). He went to Thames on the outbreak of the goldfields there, and a few years later was appointed an inspector of the New Zealand Insurance Co., of which he became general manager on the death of G. P. Pierce (1891). He died in Dec 1895.

N.Z. Herald, 21 Jan 1896; Taranaki Herald, 9 Jun 1891.

Reference: Volume 2, page 245

🌳 Further sources

WESTRUP, CHARLES, who was born in England, joined the Forest Rangers in 1863, and as ensign (and lieutenant from 1864) served in the Waikato war under Jackson and von Tempsky. In 1865, as captain, he took a company of Forest Rangers to the East Coast, where he took part under Fraser and Biggs in the fighting at Pukemaire, Hungahungatoroa, Waerangahika and Wairoa (1866-67). On the murder of Biggs he took command of Poverty Bay, and ordered the Hawke's Bay contingent to pursue Te Kooti, which led to the battle of Manga-karetu. He was a cool, intrepid officer. Shortly after he was promoted to major he retired and took up sheep farming in Poverty Bay.

Gudgeon; Cowan; Lambert; Gascoyne (p); Whitmore.

Reference: Volume 2, page 245

🌳 Further sources

WEYERGANG, OTTO PHILIP AUGUST (1828-1905) came to New Zealand from Germany in the early forties and settled in Nelson. He was a teacher at the Waimea East School till 1851, when he was naturalised and appointed a master at Nelson College. In 1860 he was made an ensign in the Nelson militia, and in the following year he resigned from teaching, and went to New Plymouth, where for many years he was engaged as a wine and spirits merchant. He sat in the Provincial Council for New Plymouth (1872-73), and was a member of the New Plymouth borough council (1878-79). He later engaged in farming at Eltham, where he died on 1 Jan 1905.

Taranaki Herald, 3 Jan 1906. Portrait: Taranaki Hist. Coll.

Reference: Volume 2, page 245

🌳 Further sources

WHAANGA, IHAKA (? 1795-1875), a leading chief of the Ngati-Rakaipaka hapu of Ngati-Kahungunu, resided at Mahia. He was the son of Ratau, who was prominent in the later wars against the invading Ngapuhi, and about 1819 was killed with seven of his sons by the Whakatohea. Whaanga was a firm friend of the pakeha from the earliest days of their intercourse, and protected the first whaling stations in his district. He was early converted to Christianity and the missions owed much to his benevolence. A mild, amiable man, he deprecated violence in his tribal relations and advised friendly arbitration. In June 1863 he strongly opposed receiving King emissaries. In 1864 he helped McLean to purchase the Wairoa and Mahia blocks. On the outbreak of the Hauhau rebellion Ihaka showed great energy on the side of the government, and though not a young man led his tribe against the enemy. He showed signal gallantry at the battle of Te Kopane, on the road from Wairoa to Waikaremoana (18 Jan 1866), where he called upon his men to charge the enemy concealed in the fern. Though shot through the body he continued firing and encouraging his men from a prostrate position. Wounded again in the leg, he was carried off the field, and Ropata, by burning the fern, put the enemy to flight. On recovering, Whaanga insisted on rejoining the friendlies. In the action at Te Koneke (Jul 1868) he scouted successfully, but did not reach the scene of the engagement in time to participate. He was present at the engagement at Makaretu (10 Nov), and tried to relieve Hiruharama in Apr 1869, arriving about noon with 100 men and taking up a position on a ridge overlooking Mohaka. Te Kooti sent a party which took him in the rear. Some of his men fled; others who took cover were captured and shot, and Whaanga was left behind in the bush for some days and narrowly escaped capture. Feeble from wounds and age and no longer fit for active service, Whaanga busied himself in the construction of roads in the Mahia and Poverty Bay districts. In Aug 1872 he received a sword of honour for his services. He died at Mahia on 14 Dec 1875. The Government erected a monument over his grave.

Lambert (p); Cowan (p); G. C. Ormond (information).

Reference: Volume 2, page 245

🌳 Further sources

WHALL, JOHN ARTHUR, represented Greymouth in the Canterbury Provincial Council from 1866-67, and in 1869 was appointed the first town clerk of Greymouth.

Canterbury P.C. Proc.; Harrop, Westland.

Reference: Volume 2, page 245

🌳 Further sources

WHITAKER, FREDERICK (1812-91) was born at the Manor House, Bampton, Oxfordshire, on 23 Apr 1812, of an old county family. His father was deputy-lieutenant. Whitaker had a legal education, and in 1839 was admitted to practice as a solicitor and attorney. At the end of that year he sailed for Australia in the Earl Grey (arriving in Sydney on 25 Feb 1840). Sailing for New Zealand on 3 May, he landed at Kaipara from the schooner Hannah Watson, Edwin Mitchelson being a fellow passenger. He returned to Sydney by the City of Delhi in Jun and was admitted an attorney, solicitor and proctor on 15 Jul. After visiting Hobart he returned to Bay of Islands, and again visited Sydney in Oct.

Whitaker commenced to practise law at Kororareka, but followed the government when it moved to Auckland in 1841. Next year he was appointed a Judge of the county court. When this court was abolished (in 1844) he returned to practice, and soon became leading counsel in the little community. He was one of the three first non-official members appointed to the Legislative Council by FitzRoy (Mar 1845), and he resigned with Donnelly and Heale to make way for reforms of the Council (Feb 1846). During the fighting in the north (1845-46) Whitaker strongly urged the arming of the people of Auckland. He served in the militia with the rank of major, and was on garrison duty in Auckland when the natives came as far as the Whau portage and threatened the city. About this time he was interested, in partnership with Heale (q.v.), in an attempt to develop copper-mining at Kawau and the Great Barrier, but without financial success. He paid a visit to England in 1846, and returned to the Colony in 1847. Throughout these years the question of a constitution for the Colony was under discussion, and Whitaker took his part in the controversy. When the elections for the Legislative Council of New Ulster were held (in Sep 1852) he was returned as one of the three members for Auckland City. The Council was not convened owing to the promulgation within a few months of the new constitution. When the various chambers were constituted under this act, Whitaker played a very prominent part. In May 1853 he was nominated a member of the Legislative Council. In Mar 1854 he was appointed by the Superintendent of Auckland (Wynyard) as provincial law officer and member of the executive of the province, and he served in that capacity until Jan 1855. He was not actually a member of the Provincial Council until Oct 1854, when he was elected for Suburbs of Auckland. Within a few months several political opportunities presented themselves to Whitaker's acceptance. In Mar 1855 the superintendency of the province fell vacant owing to the resignation of Wynyard, and Whitaker contested it against William Brown. Brown was elected, but retired before the end of the year. Again Whitaker was in the lists (against Logan Campbell), and again without success. Thus for the time he severed his connection with provincial politics.

Meanwhile he attended the first session of the General Assembly (May-Aug 1854). In the session of 1855 Swainson relinquished the Attorney-generalship and the speakership of the Legislative Council and Whitaker was nominated in his place. He took a strong attitude on the question of responsible government, and when it was brought into force (in May 1856) Whitaker was Attorney-general in Sewell's shortlived first ministry. This, of course, involved his resignation of the speakership. Within a fortnight he was back on the treasury benches as Attorney-general and leader of the Council in Stafford's ministry, which held office for the next five years. Whitaker's legal reputation advanced apace. For 30 years he was the only alternative Attorney-general. When the Government was defeated on its native policy in 1861 he resigned from the Council and entered into partnership with Thomas Russell; and they quickly acquired a flourishing legal practice. In 1863 he was again called in by Domett as Attorney-general, but not in a ministerial capacity. In Oct, however, Domett was defeated, and Whitaker was called upon to form a cabinet in coalition with Fox. Whitaker was Premier and Attorney-general, Fox Treasurer, and Russell Minister of Defence. This was a stormy period in New Zealand history. The Colony was in financial difficulties owing to the extravagance of the provinces, and faced with a Maori war of which none could foresee the limits. Whitaker's measures for dealing with the native question were far-reaching, and the association of Russell with the government was a grave embarrassment. The ministry fell in Nov 1864 owing to differences of opinion with Governor Grey as to the conduct of the war and the confiscation of native lands. Whitaker resigned from the Legislative Council, and was out of office for the next 12 years. He was in Parliament for just over one year, as member for Parnell (1866-67), but his hands were full in his own province.

In Oct 1865 he was elected unopposed as Superintendent of Auckland. Williamson's views on the war made his election impossible, and Whitaker stated that he would come forward only if accepted by all parties, to fight the common enemy and extricate the country from the confusion in which the Weld Government had landed it. The war was going on in six different places. The fight between the provinces and the central government was steadily becoming more intense and Auckland was angry, too, at losing the seat of government. Whitaker demanded a separate civil government for the province, with a lieutenant-governor appointed by the Queen. He seized the opportunity (in Feb 1866) of entering the House of Representatives as member for Parnell (again unopposed), and at once set himself to get the 1856 compact with the provinces rescinded. His private interests suffered by his devotion to public affairs. He had invested heavily in Waikato land and Thames mining enterprises, which were embarrassed. He was also at different times a director of the New Zealand Sugar Co., of the Bank of New Zealand, of the New Zealand and River Plate Mortgage Co., and of the Equitable Life Assurance Co. of New York, and chairman from the beginning of the Auckland Gas Co. Early in 1867 he retired from the superintendency of Auckland and from the House to give his whole attention to his own affairs. This partial withdrawal lasted for about nine years.

When at last (in 1876) he was able to think of re-entering politics he was returned unopposed for the Waikato seat. Towards the end of that year Atkinson came into office and appointed Whitaker his Attorney-general. On the reconstruction of the ministry a week or two later, Whitaker was designated as the minister with precedence, and allowed to remain in Auckland. His land bill was strongly opposed, and eventually withdrawn. The ministry went out of office in Oct 1877. At the general election (1879) Whitaker abandoned Waikato and offered himself at Eden, but was defeated by Tole. When Hall took office in succession to Grey (1879) he wanted Whitaker as Attorney-general, and accordingly had him called again to the Legislative Council, where he acted as leader for the remainder of Hall's term. Once more a native measure (the West Coast settlement bill) brought him into conflict, this time with the Southern Maori member, Taiaroa. When Hall resigned, Whitaker reconstructed the ministry and he held office as Premier until Sep 1883, when he resigned to devote himself once more to his private affairs. This withdrawal from the leadership, which appeared to be final, was marked by the honour of K.C.M.G. being conferred upon the veteran politician (30 Jan 1884). Three years later, however, Atkinson again demanded his assistance, and once more he became Attorney-general and leader of the upper house. The end of that Parliament found him in failing health, and he resigned the leadership of the Council (Dec 1890). He had leave of absence next year, and died on 4 Dec 1891. Gisborne says that Whitaker was not a man of high culture, but he was shrewd, cautious, far-sighted, watchful, and very industrious. He always did the lion's share of the work of a ministry. He was an expert at drawing bills, was a sound and practical speaker, without any particular grace of style. Gisborne considers he was probably the most remarkable man in New Zealand, not because he was most in the foreground but because in the background he exercised great influence on the political affairs of the country. 'He has been the rudder more than the figurehead of the state vessel.' For 40 years he was an appreciable factor in the history of New Zealand; yet he was never prominent in the popular sense, even when he was premier. He has no taste for public performance. He sits in seclusion and invisibly weaves the warp and the woof for public use. In the Whitaker-Fox combination his superior mind dominated that of Fox and led him to adopt measures of wide scope which were alien to his political sentiments, especially in regard to the native question. Whitaker was at one time president of the Auckland law society and a member of the council of Auckland University College. He was the first provincial grandmaster of freemasons under the English Constitution. He married in 1843 Jane Augusta, step-daughter of Alexander Shepherd (q.v.). She died on 3 Sep 1884.

Parltry Record; Auckland P.C. Proc.; N.Z.P.D. pass; Col. Gent.; Cycl. N.Z., ii (p); Gisborne (p); Rusden; Morton; Reeves; Saunders (p); Cox; Southern Cross, 25 Oct 1865; N.Z. Herald, 30 Apr 1881, 9 Jan, 4 Feb 1884, 5 Dec 1891 (p), 8 Dec 1891; N.Z. Graphic, 19 Dec 1891 (p); Evening Post, 28 Jul 1934.

Reference: Volume 2, page 250

🌳 Further sources

WHITAKER, FREDERICK ALEXANDER (1847-87), the eldest son of Sir Frederick Whitaker (q.v.) was born at Pernambuco (Brazil). He was educated at Marlborough College and Westminster School, read for the bar at the Inner Temple, and was called in 1868. He practised at Thames, Coromandel and Waikato. In Hamilton he owned the Waikato Times, became interested in politics and sat for Waipa (1879-84). An able and fluent speaker, witty, genial and popular, he was one of the best Whips Parliament ever knew. Whitaker married a daughter of Alfred Cox. He died on 9 Jun 1887.

Waikato Times, Jun 1878; Nov-Dec 1879; N.Z. Herald, 10, 23 Jun 1887. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 250

🌳 Further sources

WHITCOMBE, CHARLES DOUGLAS (1836-1904) was born at Rochester, the son of Captain D. T. Whitcombe, and grandson of Sir Samuel Whitcombe, K.C.B. Educated at Plymouth and St Brieuc, Brittany, he joined the audit department at Somerset House (1853). In 1861 he resigned to enter the service of Garibaldi, in which he rose to the rank of sergeant, but had to retire owing to ill-health. In 1864 he emigrated to New Zealand and took up land as a military settler at Lepperton. He was one of the volunteers who brought in the body of Whiteley (q.v.). For some years he was secretary to the Taranaki Provincial Council and in 1869 he became a member (for Grey and Bell). That constituency he represented until 1873, and thereafter New Plymouth until his retirement (Apr 1874). He was a member of the executive the whole of the time and for a month or two in 1870 was deputy-superintendent. Whitcombe had a caustic pen and his later days in the Council were marked by heated political controversies, as a result of which he was found guilty of libelling Atkinson. In Apr 1874 he was appointed commissioner of crown lands, with several positions of minor importance, sheriff and manager of the cemetery. Retiring in 1885, he went to Auckland, where he was for some time private secretary to Sir George Grey and secretary of the Auckland Society of Arts. He visited the Pacific islands on behalf of an Auckland newspaper and made a special report on Tonga. Afterwards he became sub-editor of the Auckland Bell. In 1890 he went to live in Tonga as foreign secretary to the King, a position in which his caustic pen again made difficulties. In 1897 he returned to Taranaki, but three years later went back to Tonga and thence to Rotuma. In May 1901, on the death of his son-in-law (Mr Leafe), he became assistant editor of the Polynesian Gazette in Fiji. He was an accomplished linguist.

Whitcombe married (1871) a daughter of B. Wells (q.v.). He died on 4 Jan 1904.

Cycl. NZ, vi (p); NZ Herald, 6-8 Aug 1885; Taranaki Herald, 5 Jan 1904.

Reference: Volume 2, page 250

🌳 Further sources

WHITCOMBE, JOHN HENRY (d. 1863) came from Devonshire. He was trained as a civil engineer in the Great Western railway under Isambard K. Brunel, and in 1854 went to India to take up an appointment. In 1857 he came to New Zealand in the Blue Jacket, and was appointed provincial surveyor for Canterbury. In May 1863, with Jacob Lauper (q.v.), he crossed what was named Whitcombe's pass, from the head of the Rakaia to the west coast. Encountering bad weather, and weakened by cold and hunger, he was drowned in crossing the flooding Teremakau river.

Cant. Gaz., vol. x, No. 10; Cycl. N.Z., i, 1023; Dobson; Harrop, Westland; Lyttelton Times, 11 Jul 1863.

Reference: Volume 2, page 250

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, DAVID RENFREW (1847-1937), born in Edinburgh, was educated at Chalmers Academy, Hobart, and in 1862 came to New Zealand. For some years he taught at the St Leonard's, Union Street and High Street schools in Dunedin. He graduated at Otago University (B.A. 1883; M.A. 1884). In 1885 he was appointed headmaster of the Normal School and lecturer at the Training College, of which he was later principal till his retirement in 1893. For 35 years White was a member of the Otago Education Board; he was an original member of the Dunedin Technical Classes Association and a member of the New Zealand Educational Institute, the Otago University Council (1892-1904), and the Dunedin Kindergarten Association. From 1904-12 he was professor of education at Otago University. White died on 28 Oct 1937.

Cycl. N.Z., iv; Who's Who N.Z., 1908, 1924, 1932; Otago Daily Times, 29 Oct 1937.

Reference: Volume 2, page 250

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, FRANCIS (1800-77), a brother of the Rev. William White (q.v.), arrived in New Zealand in 1835 and settled at Hokianga, where he engaged in the spar trade. From 1860-61 he represented the Bay of Islands in the Auckland Provincial Council. He then moved to Auckland, where for 13 years he followed his calling as a blacksmith. He died on 26 Jan 1877.

Cycl. NZ, ii; Webster; Ramsden; N.Z. Herald, 12 Feb 1877.

Reference: Volume 2, page 250

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, JOHN (1826-91) was born at Cockfield, Durham, the third son of Francis White (1800-77) and nephew of William White (q.v.).

He sailed from England with his parents in the Fortune (1834), and after being wrecked in the schooner Friendship at Norfolk Island, came to Bay of Islands in 1835. He spent the next 45 years at Hokianga, and as a young man he was present at the operations at Ruapekapeka.

Going then to Auckland, he joined the Government service first under Ligar (Surveyor-general) and afterwards in the Native Land Purchase department. He had a competent knowledge of the Maori language and by his friendship with tohungas and others acquired a great store of Maori lore and traditions. In 1850 he was appointed interpreter to the native land office, and in this capacity acted as interpreter to Grey and Browne, as well as to Wynyard when he visited the new goldfields at Coromandel (1852). White did much work in the extinguishment of native titles in Auckland province, assisting to purchase the Waitakerei block and the land for the railway line to Helensville. When the Taranaki war broke out he was field interpreter to General Pratt, and was present at the battle of Puketakauere. He was afterwards resident magistrate on the upper Whanganui river, where he exercised great influence in restraining the Hauhau emissaries and warned the Hauhau up the river against approaching Whanganui (1865). In 1867 he returned to Auckland to deal with native land claims. He was transferred to Napier (1874) and for some time was in charge of the Maori newspaper Te Wananga. Two years later White was engaged by the Government at a salary of £450 a year to translate Maori manuscripts which should become the property of the Government. Seven volumes of his Ancient History of the Maori were published between 1887 and 1891. His earlier works included Maori Superstitions (1856 and 1861); Te Rou, or the Maori at Home (1874); Plan of the Maori Mythology (1878) and Legendary History of the Maoris (1880). Several of his papers on native superstitions and customs were laid before Parliament and printed.

White was transferred to Wellington (1885) and died on 13 Jan 1891. He married (1854) Mary E. Bagnall (Parnell). He had an untarnished reputation as a public man and was highly respected in his private life. (See W. B. White).

White, op. cit., and MS. in Alexander Turnbull Library; Hocken; Gudgeon (p); Webster; N.Z. Herald, 14 Jan 1891.

Reference: Volume 2, page 251

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, JOHN (1830-76) was born in England. He came to New Zealand as purser in the Panama Steamship Co., and acted as its agent at Hokitika to 1867. After its failure he was agent for the Anchor line. He was a good writer and public speaker and first held public office as a member of the Hokitika borough council. In 1869 he was elected to the county council, and from 1870-75 he represented Hokitika in Parliament. He also from 1874-75 represented that constituency in the Westland Provincial Council, of which he was speaker and a member of the executive (as provincial secretary). He died on 4 Sep 1876.

Cycl. NZ, v; Harrop, Westland; West Coast Times, 6 Sep 1876. Portrait: Parliament House

Reference: Volume 2, page 251

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, JOHN WILLIAM (1838-1927) was born near Limerick, Ireland, educated privately in Hobart, and spent three years in a solicitor's office in Sydney. After three more years in an office in Auckland, he was admitted to the bar (1868) and began to practise in Timaru. In 1870 he was appointed crown prosecutor and crown solicitor, and from 1874 to the abolition he represented Timaru in the Canterbury Provincial Council. White died in Timaru on 8 Nov 1927.

Cycl. NZ., iii; Who's Who N.Z., 1908, 1924; Andersen (B)

Reference: Volume 2, page 251

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, THEOPHILUS (1817-1901) was born and educated in England and served the East India Company on a sugar plantation. Disliking this life, he returned to England and was for several years in the Bank of England in London, from which he had retired on a pension. He lived for a short time at Newcastle-on-Tyne (1849) and in 1853 sailed for New Zealand in the Sir Edward Paget. White took up land at Omata, and during the war served in the commissariat department. He was a member of the Provincial Council for Omata (1861-63) and was provincial treasurer in 1863 and afterwards provincial auditor. For many years he managed the New Plymouth Savings Bank. He died on 30 Dec 1901.

Taranaki P.C. minutes and Gaz.; Taranaki Herald, 30 Dec 1901. Portrait: Taranaki Hist.

Reference: Volume 2, page 251

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, THOMAS WOOLLASTON (1829-87), son of the Rev. Taylor White, vicar of Norton Cuckney, Nottinghamshire, received his commission as ensign in the 48th Bengal Native Infantry (1846). Retiring in 1850, he visited the Australian diggings, and later came to New Zealand. Settling in Canterbury, he took up the Warren station on the Eyre river (1855), which he held to 1866, when he bought a share in Sherwood (Otaio). White commanded the Canterbury militia (1861-67). He represented the Oxford electorate in the Provincial Council (1862-67).

After losing his money he went to Fiji and became a planter. In the political troubles of 1873 he organised the British Subjects' Mutual Protection Society to oust the existing government. White and other leaders were deported to Sydney in H.M.S. Dido. He returned to New Zealand, was for a while a stock inspector in the North Island, and eventually settled in Hawkes Bay. White was a keen sportsman and rode his own horses at race meetings in Canterbury. He was in later life clerk of the course for the Hawkes Bay Jockey club. He married (1858) Charlotte Letitia, daughter of the Rev. F. A. Jackson. (See F. R. JACKSON) He died at Napier on 8 Apr 1887.

India Office records; Canterbury P.C. Proc.; F. J. Moss Atolls; Col. Gent.; Acland; Hawkes Bay Herald, 11, 12 Apr 1887; Otago Daily Times, 9 Apr 1887

Reference: Volume 2, page 251

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, WILLIAM (1831-1917) was born in England and came to Nelson in the Olympus (1842). After working at his trade as a miller for a few years, he visited the Australian goldfields. On returning he bought a flourmill at Brightwater which he operated for 40 years, together with a brewery for the last few years. He was M.P.C. for Waimea South (1867-69) and chairman of the Waimea road board and some time clerk to the court there. He died in Dec 1917.

Parltry Record; The Colonist, 19 Dec 1917.

Reference: Volume 2, page 251

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, WILLIAM (1848-1900) was born in Macclesfield, England, and emigrated to New Zealand with his parents in 1851 by the William Hyde. Residing in Christchurch, he was educated at public schools, after which he entered the office of the Christchurch Gas Co. He later undertook contracts to build the Southbridge and Pleasant Point railways, and after 1885 managed his father's coal and timber business. From 1878-92 White was a member of the Sydenham borough council, and he was mayor from 1883-85. He was M.H.R. for Sydenham (1881-86) and was also a member of the hospital and charitable aid board (1886-89), the drainage board (chairman 1890), the board of health, and the Waimakariri river board, and a lieutenant in the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry. He died at New Brighton in 1900.

Cycl. NZ, iii (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 251

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, WILLIAM, was ordained in London with N. Turner (q.v.) on 23 Jan 1822, and sailed with him in the Deveron for Australia a few weeks later. In May 1823 he came from Sydney to New Zealand to join the Rev. Leigh in the new mission at Kaeo. Leigh was found to be in such a poor state of health that Marsden insisted he should return to Sydney, and White became chairman and superintendent in New Zealand. He showed great courage and resource on several occasions in disputes with the natives. In 1824 he quelled those who had seized the Endeavour, and in Mar 1825 he regained possession of the brig Mercury, which had been captured and pillaged. When the Kaeo station was sacked (1827) he was visiting England, and while there (1829) married Eliza, daughter of Thomas Leigh (Huntingdonshire). They returned to New Zealand together in The Sisters (arriving Jan 1830) and White took up his duty as superintendent of the mission at Mangungu, being senior missionary for five years.

Before long his commercial dealings in timber and his personal conduct caused uneasiness in Sydney. Whiteley, who joined him in 1833, complained of his chief, and the Rev Joseph Orton (visiting the district in the same year) reported adversely to the committee in London. A committee of Europeans and Maoris (presided over by McDonnell) found White guilty on charges of immorality with native women, and Busby reported the finding to the Governor of New South Wales (1836). No action was taken as the matter was being dealt with by the missionary committee in London. In 1834 he visited Waikato. In 1836 White was dismissed from the mission and forbidden to return to New Zealand. Turner was sent to succeed him. White's commercial undertakings had been profitable, and he claimed vast areas of land by right of purchase. His influence with the natives was still considerable, and the missionaries feared his hostility. In 1840, when the New Zealand Company's expedition was endeavouring to purchase land for settlements on the West Coast, White appeared in the cutter Acquilla and placed difficulties in their way. He claimed to have bought the whole coast from Mokau to Whanganui, and threatened to summon the Waikato and Ngati-Maniapoto tribes to oppose the Company.

Mrs White retired to Auckland for refuge during Heke's war and remained there. She was prominent in religious and charitable movements in the city, and was for some time president of the Auckland Young Women's Christian Association. She died on 27 Feb 1883.

Marsden, L. and J. and Lieutenants, Turner; Ramsden; Webster; E. J. Wakefield; Markham.

Reference: Volume 2, page 251

🌳 Further sources

WHITE, WILLIAM BAGNALL (1855-1930) was born in Auckland, the son of John White (q.v.), and was educated at Wesley College. He was first employed in a seed merchant's business in Auckland and then in a mining company. In 1877, with his father-in-law, he acquired a half share in the Shortland Sawmill Co., which they afterwards sold to the Kauri Timber Co. After spending two years in Waikato, he returned to Auckland (to Bycroft and Co.). In 1896 he commenced sawmilling. White was a member of the Auckland City Council (1895-1900), and the hospital board (1895-97). As a volunteer he served in the engineer cadets from 1871. (Sub-lieut, 1872; lieut, 1874; captain, 1875). In 1882 he became a sergeant in the Auckland City Guards; three years later captain in the Gordon Rifles; in 1895 lieutenant in the Victoria Rifles. (Captain, 1895; major, 1st battalion Auckland infantry, 1899; lieut-colonel, 1900.) In 1901 for a few months he commanded the Auckland district. He was rifle champion in 1886. White married Amy, daughter of C. J. Stone. He died on 22 Feb 1930.

Scholefield, Who's Who N.Z., 1908; N.Z. Herald, 24 Feb 1930

Reference: Volume 2, page 252

🌳 Further sources

WHITEFOORD, CALEB (1839-91) was born in Tasmania, the son of John Whitefoord, formerly recorder and commissioner in bankruptcy, and grandson of the celebrated wit and littérateur Caleb Whitefoord (secretary to the British embassy in Paris 1782-92). Having received a liberal and practical education, Whitefoord accepted a cadetship in the Victorian police, was transferred to the mounted police, and became an inspector. On retrenchment being applied to the force, he came to the West Coast and was appointed warden in 1867 and magistrate for the Grey valley two years later. He married (1869) a daughter of R. H. Willis (of Launceston, Tasmania, and Canterbury). In 1875 he was transferred to Kaiapoi and Rangiora, where he purchased a property upon which to reside. Besides his magisterial duties, Whitefoord acted as royal commissioner on occasions (notably inquiring into the Jackson's Bay settlement and the Dunedin gaol). He was a prominent churchman, a churchwarden of St Bartholomew's, Kaiapoi, a lay reader and member of the diocesan synod from 1879 and of the standing committee. He was an active freemason. On the formation of the Kaiapoi Rifles (1885) he was appointed captain, and he promoted cadet corps in the town. Whitefoord died on 13 Feb 1891.

Westport Times and Star, 28 Dec 1926 (p); Lyttelton Times and The Press, 14 Feb 1891.

Reference: Volume 2, page 252

🌳 Further sources

WHITELEY, JOHN (1806-69) was born at Edingley, Kneesall, Nottinghamshire, on 20 Jul 1806. He early evinced a religious disposition, and at the age of 20 was an accepted Christian. He was in the first instance a member of an independent church, but on removal to Newark he threw in his lot with the Wesleyans and became a local preacher. In 1831 he was accepted as a candidate for missionary work, and he was ordained to the Wesleyan ministry in Lambeth Chapel on 27 Sep 1832. He married, and took his wife to the old mission house in Hatton Garden, London. Two months later (5 Nov) they sailed in the Caroline to join the Wesleyan Mission Society's establishment at Hokianga. They reached Sydney in Mar 1833. Sailing again in the schooner New Zealander with the Rev Joseph Orton, they landed at Bay of Islands on 21 May and proceeded overland to Mangungu.

There Whiteley made a conscientious study of the Maori language, which he was soon able to speak fluently, thereby gaining considerable influence with the natives. In pursuance of a decision to open stations to the southward he left in Feb 1834, with White, and established a mission at Kawhia, where the natives had already erected a chapel and obtained books. Assisted by the influence of the convert Te Awaitaia (q.v.), this mission promised great results until, in accordance with an agreement entered into by the Wesleyan and Church Missionary Societies in London, it was decided in 1835 to close the stations in the south. With deep regret Whiteley retraced his steps to the Hokianga (Jun 1836), to open a new station (which he called Newark) at Pakanae, near the mouth of the river. During the next two years he made journeys with Turner and other missionaries amongst the northern tribes. He was strong and active, a fine walker, a good preacher and an exemplary Christian, who gained the confidence of the northern Maori as he had done of those of the Waikato. In Dec 1838 with his wife and four children, he reopened the station at Kawhia, where for the next 16 years he worked with conspicuous success. On various dates between 28 Apr and 3 Sep 1840 Whiteley and Wallis witnessed the signatures of the 10 Kawhia chiefs to the Treaty of Waitangi. In 1844, at the request of FitzRoy, Whiteley exercised his influence to soothe the hostility between the settlers of Taranaki and the NgatiAwa natives who had been manumitted by their Waikato conquerors through his influence and that of Wallis.

In 1855 he was chairman of the Auckland district. In the following year he was removed to Taranaki, where he laboured successfully for both races. He did much to smooth tribal feelings in connection with the Puketapu feud, and took a great interest in native education, especially in connection with the Grey Institution at Ngamotu. It was he who baptised Te Ua (q.v.) with the name of 'Horopapera.' Whiteley established the native chapel at Kawau pa (New Plymouth), and when that was taken over for war purposes he had another built at the Henui. For some time he was an unsalaried commissioner for native lands (with Parris and Cutfield), and in the early stages of the war he did conspicuous service to the government by reason of his great influence with the natives. He covered a very wide district on horseback to hold services for the natives; and it was while thus engaged, at the height of the Hauhau rising, that he met his death. On 13 Feb 1869 he rode out from New Plymouth to White Cliffs, where he intended to hold a service for military settlers on the following day. Disregarding the warning of friendly natives, who knew that some settlers had already been murdered and that the redoubt was in the hands of the enemy, he insisted on proceeding, and fell a victim to an ambush. His death practically ended the war in this district. Whiteley left a widow and several daughters.

G.B.O.P., 1847/837; Cycl. N.Z., vi (p); W. Brown, p. 264-74; Buller; Wells; Turner; Pratt, Minutes Conf. 1938; Wesleyan Record (Sydney), 9 Mar 1869.

Reference: Volume 2, page 252

🌳 Further sources

WHITMORE, SIR GEORGE STODDART (1830-1903) was born at Malta, the son of Major George St Vincent Whitmore, R.E., and grandson of General Sir George Whitmore, K.C.H. (colonel-commandant R.E.). His mother was a daughter of Sir J. Stoddart, chief justice of Malta. Educated at the Edinburgh Academy and the Staff College, he received his first commission (23 Jan 1847) as ensign in the Cape Mounted Rifles, with which regiment he first saw active service in the Kaffir wars of 1847 and 1851-53, and in the Boer rising of 1848. In the latter he was present at every engagement and commanded the escort of Sir Harry Smith (Mar-Nov 1851). Promoted lieutenant (21 May 1850), he was appointed brigade-major to the division (1852) and continued to serve under Sir G. Cathcart until the end of the operations. In 1853 he was major of brigade to cavalry. He had two horses shot under him and was repeatedly thanked for his intrepidity, resource and courage.

Promoted captain (7 Jul 1854), he was appointed to the 62nd Foot. In 1855 he proceeded to the Crimea as aide-de-camp to Sir Henry Storks. In the early part of the campaign he was detached on special service in connection with remounts in Hungary, Austria and the principalities, and then with the cavalry of the Turkish contingent in Crimea and Kertch. He was with his own regiment, the 62nd, before Sebastopol. On the termination of the campaign Whitmore was chosen to remain in the Crimea to help wind up the affairs of the army. The methodical and businesslike manner in which his accounts were returned evoked a flattering testimonial from the auditor-general. For his services in the war he received the brevet of major (6 Jun 1856), the Turkish medal, the Medjidieh (4th class) and three British medals. On his return to England he took command of the regimental depot in Ireland, but was shortly appointed aide-de-camp to Sir W. Eyre, commander-in-chief in Canada. In 1860 he was admitted to the staff college, and at the end of the following year he passed out first.

In Jan 1861 Whitmore sailed for New Zealand as military secretary to Sir Duncan Cameron. When as a result of interference by the political authority Cameron resigned, Whitmore also proffered his resignation. Cameron's offer was declined by the War Office, but that of Whitmore was accepted as a matter of course. He accordingly retired by selling his commission (7 Nov 1862) and became a landowner in Hawkes Bay. In Dec 1862 he was appointed to the commission of the peace, and in Mar 1863 he became civil commissioner for the Ahuriri district in succession to Lieut-colonel A. H. Russell. A few months later he was appointed major commanding the military district of Napier, and then chief inspector of the Colonial Defence Force. Almost immediately fighting broke out again in Taranaki in consequence of the murder of Lieut Tragett and Dr Hope. Whitmore volunteered to serve under Cameron, and took part in all the operations up to the action at Katikara (4 Jun 1863). He accompanied Cameron to Waikato, and was present at the battle of Orakau. He then returned to Hawkes Bay. He was appointed commandant of the Colonial Defence Force in Jul 1863, and two months later was called to the Legislative Council.

During most of the year 1865 Whitmore was on a visit to England, and so missed the operations of that period. Not long after his return to Hawkes Bay the province was threatened by a Hauhau invasion from the Taupo country, and Whitmore was called upon to command the local defence force. Hurriedly raising a force, he marched out of Napier on the night of 17 Oct 1866 with 200 volunteers and a strong body of friendly natives under Locke, Tareha and Renata Kawepo, and took up a position on the Tutaekuri river. Early next morning the Hauhau position at Omarunui was surrounded and attacked, and after a sharp fight practically the whole of the enemy were killed or captured, including amongst the former the Hauhau preacher Panapa. Colonel Fraser had meanwhile surprised the small mounted force under Te Rangihiroa which threatened Napier from the direction of Petane. Thus the invasion ended.

Whitmore now entered into local politics, being elected in Apr 1867 to represent Wairoa in the Provincial Council. Towards the end of the year he was appointed commandant of the newly organised Armed Constabulary force. In the middle of 1868 alarm was caused by the escape of Te Kooti and his followers from the Chatham islands and the invasion of Poverty Bay. With the permission of the Government, Whitmore raised in Napier a small force of 30 paid volunteers. They arrived in H.M.S. Rosario too late to assist the settlers in their fight at Paparata, and the raiders made good their escape with a large number of captured horses and camp equipage. Having suffered considerable hardship and reached the limits of the district in which they could be called upon to fight, the local settlers refused to continue the pursuit, and Whitmore was compelled to await reinforcements. An overbearing manner and inconsiderate demands on this and other occasions were responsible for much resentment on the part of the militia and volunteers, to whom the rigid discipline of the regular army was distasteful. The pause in the pursuit allowed Te Kooti to inflict another reverse upon the Wairoa contingent and to make his escape to the bush some days ahead of Whitmore. Though weakened by the departure of the Poverty Bay settlers, Whitmore followed with great intrepidity and came up with the rearguard in the rugged bed of the Ruakiture river in the afternoon of 8 Aug. With his force of only 118 (of whom 76 were Europeans) he maintained the pursuit until dusk, crossing the river no less than eight times. The retreating enemy fought fiercely, and inflicted such losses that Whitmore prudently broke off the engagement at dusk and with great difficulty brought off his wounded. Te Kooti himself was borne into the bush wounded. Lack of provisions compelled a retirement of the exhausted column, leaving its dead behind. Whitmore hastened to Poverty Bay and thence by sea to Wellington to consult the Government. Meanwhile a severe reverse had been sustained by the Colonial forces at Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu, on the West Coast. Whitmore offered, in view of the shortage of officers, to serve under McDonnell; but the Defence Minister (Haultain) found the force so disorganised by the reverse that he ordered its retirement to Patea and entrusted to Whitmore the command of the whole of the troops between the Wanganui and Hangatahua rivers. The Wellington and Nelson men took their discharge, and von Tempsky's Forest Rangers were disbanded, openly disaffected after the loss of their leader. The only unit fit for service was the No. 1 (Hawkes Bay) division of the Armed Constabulary. Whitmore took it with him to the West Coast, and set to work reorganising and drilling, while the Government with great energy recruited in distant provinces and in Australia for regular enlistment in the Constabulary. Whitmore's experience in irregular warfare in South Africa was of great value to the Colony, enabling him to create a new force which was eminently suitable for the work ahead of it. Meanwhile Titokowaru was actively harassing the countryside, and Whitmore considered it advisable to withdraw his headquarters to Wairoa (Waverley), whence with the help of native kupapas, he obstructed the advance of the enemy towards the settlements at Wanganui. Titokowaru had fixed his headquarters at Moturoa, four miles to the northward, and Whitmore decided to attack him without delay. The assault was launched on the morning of 7 Nov 1868. The fighting was very hot. As it developed Whitmore conceived that the position was too strong for the force at his disposal, and decided to draw off. Though he did so in good order and effected his retreat to Wairoa, he had made one of his worst military blunders. Had he continued the attack he must have succeeded. The reverse at Moturoa, one of the most desperate actions in the war, dealt another blow at the confidence of the Colonial forces. Whitmore fell back to the Waitotara river and then to Nukumaru in the hope of covering Wanganui. The garrisons at Wairoa and Patea were now the only posts held by the colonists between the Wanganui front and the Waingongoro river in Taranaki.

The position was obviously critical, and Whitmore offered to resign. Fortunately he still enjoyed the confidence of the Defence Minister. Titokowaru advanced further, and constructed elaborate works at Taurangaika, only 18 miles from Wanganui. At this juncture news was received of the massacre in Poverty Bay on 10 Nov. Reinforcements in the circumstances could not be spared for the West Coast, so after consultation with Haultain Whitmore destroyed what stores he could not carry off and withdrew his troops to the Kai-iwi river. This front would have to maintain itself as well as possible, with the help of the incomparable cavalry troops of Bryce and Finnimore, while Whitmore hastened with his most reliable troops to succour Poverty Bay. On 12 Dec he sailed with 212 of the Armed Constabulary. A few days later he met at Patutahi, Poverty Bay, a force under Preece and Ropata returning from an unsuccessful assault on Te Kooti's stronghold at Ngatapa. Ropata was too prudent to accede to Whitmore's exhortation to renew the attack at once, and the troops camped at Makaraka to await reinforcements. On 24 Dec Whitmore advanced with four divisions of Armed Constabulary (400 strong) and 350 of the Ngati-Porou commanded by Ropata. By the 31st he was entrenched on a hill half a mile from the enemy position, which had been greatly strengthened. On the following day he completed the investment. The Coehorn mortar was brought into action, and a three-days' siege commenced. The outer and second lines of defence were carried, but on the night of 4 Jan 1869 the main body of the enemy made their escape by an unguarded precipice. Many were captured in the hot pursuit. Every male prisoner was shot, 120 out of 136 killed being thus executed after capture; and 150 were wounded in the fighting. The Government losses were 7 killed and 11 wounded. Te Kooti with a few followers fled into the Urewera country.

No sooner was the defeat of the enemy accomplished, than Whitmore embarked with the Armed Constabulary and a new division of Arawa, landing at Wanganui on 18 Jan. He now advanced rapidly with his whole force of 800 Armed Constabulary, the Wanganui and Kai-iwi Cavalry troops and about 200 Whanganuis under Major Keepa. On 1 Feb they were at Nukumaru, and on the following day they advanced to Taurangaika and dug in without enveloping the position. The men, in good heart, sang in the trenches at night. The defenders replied, but during the night evacuated their position. A clever rearguard protected the retreat. At the crossing of the Waitotara river Keepa was ambushed with heavy loss. Whitmore rested a day or two at Patea. Not far off, at Otautu, on the east bank of the river, Titokowaru had established himself fairly strongly. He was surprised on a foggy morning, but made good his escape up the river into the depths of the forest, and thence to Whakamara. In the forest fighting all the prisoners captured by Keepa's men were decapitated in revenge for the mutilation of a kinsman of the Whanganui chief. The enemy having scattered, the troops now made for the open country and emerged from the bush at Taiporohenui. Whitmore heard that Titokowaru was hiding in the security of Te Ngaere swamp. Hurriedly preparing hurdles and fascines, he crossed the swamp during the night of 24 Mar, only to find that Whanganui friendlies were in the pa, temporising with the defenders, and that Titokowaru had escaped towards the upper Waitara. Thus ended a rising which had begun so disastrously for the troops. Having embarked most of the Armed Constabulary, Whitmore visited Waitara to ascertain whether operations were advisable in revenge for the massacre at White Cliffs. The murderers having returned to their own country (Waikato), Whitmore re-embarked and proceeded to Bay of Plenty.

Te Kooti and his sympathisers being still active, it was decided to organise three expeditions into the heart of the Urewera to destroy their food and strongholds. Whitmore accompanied the first column, which advanced up the Rangitaiki river with little opposition and junctioned with the Whakatane column at Ruatahuna on 14 May. Discarding the idea of a further advance to join up at Waikaremoana with Herrick's column from Wairoa, Whitmore withdrew with his wounded to Galatea, and left the district to Colonel St John, with instructions to throw an advance post forward towards Taupo to cut off Te Kooti's retreat to the interior. Crippled with rheumatism, he visited Wellington and Auckland to consult the Government, and was returning to resume his command when a new Government came into office and instructed him to go on sick leave. Thus to his great chagrin the operations were never brought to a final issue. Te Kooti remained in the field for many months longer and was finally pardoned. Whitmore received the C.M.G. (15 Jan 1870) for services which had been of immense value to the Colony, especially in demonstrating the fitness of the New Zealand settlers for guerilla warfare and their ability to end the war under the self-reliant policy. Whitmore was brave, tenacious and intrepid to the point of rashness. Inured to hardships himself, he took his full share of the rigours of the campaign and was apt to push his men beyond their endurance. In his relations with the militia and volunteers he was not happy. Indeed he could scarcely have carried the war to a successful conclusion if he had not adopted the principle of recruiting the Constabulary on a regular basis. His position was not improved by the animosities which naturally arose from his dual position as a commander in the field and a politician.

In 1869 Whitmore withdrew from the Provincial Council, but he remained a member of the Legislative Council until his death. In his earlier years he generally supported Stafford. In 1877 he was sworn in as a member of the Grey ministry, and held the portfolio of Colonial Secretary until its defeat in 1879. He accompanied Sir George Grey on a visit to Te Whiti, in the vain hope of breaking down his policy of isolation. On 24 May 1882 Whitmore was created K.C.M.G. In 1884 he held office as a member of executive in the short-lived Stout-Vogel Government. At the time of the Russian war scare (Apr 1885) he was appointed commandant of the Colonial Defence Force and commissioner of the Armed Constabulary; and in 1886 he was advanced to the rank of major-general (then for the first time conferred on an officer of the Colonial forces). He resigned the command in 1888.

Whitmore had considerable literary attainments. His despatches, even when written in different conditions in the field, showed great facility and literary charm, and his book, The Last Maori War in New Zealand under the Self-Reliant Policy (1902), is refreshingly impartial and pleasantly written. He established a herd book for shorthorn cattle, which he published 1867-70. Whitmore first took up land at Rissington with Major Neale, and afterwards owned the Clive Grange estate. He also, with Beck, held a run at Tokomaru. He married in 1865 Isabel, daughter of William Smith (Rugby, England). He died on 16 Mar 1903.

Hawke's Bay P.C. Proc.; N.Z.P.D., pass. (notably 30 Jun 1903); Brett's Almanac, 1879; D.N.B.; Philpott; Gorton; Gudgeon (p); Gisborne (p); Saunders; Reeves; Rusden; Bryce v. Rusden (report of trial); Cowan; Whitmore, op. cit. (p); Lyttelton Times, 22 May 1885; Evening Post, 17 Mar 1934 (p). Portraits: Gudgeon; Cowan; Whitmore; Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 254

🌳 Further sources

WHYTE, JOHN BLAIR (1840-1914) was for many years from 1868 farming in the Waikato. For two years he was mayor of Hamilton. From 1879-90 he was member for Waikato in the House of Representatives, and in 1891 he was called to the Legislative Council, retiring in 1897. Whyte was appointed by the Bank of New Zealand as referee to determine land values. After a trip to England on banking business, he returned to Auckland as representative of an English syndicate to report on goldmining in the province. After a visit to New South Wales in the same capacity, he returned to England, where he died in July 1914.

N.Z.P.D., 26 Aug 1914; Cycl. N.Z., ii; Otago Daily Times, 27 Jul 1914.

Reference: Volume 2, page 254

🌳 Further sources

WICKES, EDMUND (1836-1913) was born in London, educated there and brought up to the timber trade. He worked on the building of the Great Exhibition in 1851, and two years later came to Australia in the Strathfieldsaye. He was mining at Ballarat and Queensland and was present at the Eureka stockade. In 1863 he came to Auckland and worked as a builder. Two years later he moved to the West Coast, and in 1865 established himself at Greymouth as an ironmonger, auctioneer and commission agent. He married (1866) Eliza Hinchey. Wickes was a promoter of the Wealth of Nations mines and was associated with the flotation of the Wallsend mine. He established a sawmill at Coal Creek, and began in 1878 to ship red and white pine to Canterbury. He was chairman of the first town improvement committee in Greymouth; a member of the first borough council, and mayor of Greymouth (1871-72). He represented the town in the Westland Provincial Council (1874-75). He died on 20 Aug 1913.

Cycl. NZ, v; Harrop (p); Grey Star, 25 Feb 1928 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 254

🌳 Further sources

WICKSTEED, JOHN TYLSTON (1806-60) was at one time associated with the literary staff of the London Spectator under Rintoul, and was a friend of E. G. Wakefield and Molesworth. In Dec 1840 he came to New Zealand (in the London) as agent for the Church of England Society, to select 4,000 acres of land in anticipation of Selwyn's arrival. In May 1842 he was sent to New Plymouth to take Liardet's place as resident agent. He found the settlement in considerable confusion and experienced great difficulty in finding land for the settlers, owing to the obstruction of the natives. He persuaded the Maori to allow a track to be cut towards Wellington east of Mount Egmont, but nearer New Plymouth had repeatedly to remove fencing erected by the natives on land which was supposed to have been acquired for settlement. His reports to the directors of the New Zealand Company showed a clear appreciation of the needs of the settlers, but he was constantly harassed by the encroachments of the natives. He was superseded by Bell as resident agent in 1847, and then took up land at Omata and became editor of the Taranaki Herald.

In 1852 Wicksteed was elected as an independent member to the Legislative Council of New Ulster (Wicksteed, 108; J. C. Richmond, 30; Scotland, 6). When a year later he contested the superintendency his popularity had noticeably waned. The result was: Brown, 173; W. Halse, 138; Wicksteed, 12. About 1853 he moved to Wanganui and took up land at Kai Iwi. He was for some time editor of the Wanganui Chronicle, and died on 15 Jan 1860.

NZ.C.; Col. Gent.; Wells; Seffern; Woon; Taranaki Herald, 20 Jul 1853; Wanganui Chronicle, 19 Jan 1860.

Reference: Volume 2, page 256

🌳 Further sources

WIGLEY, THOMAS HENRY (1825-95) was born in England, the son of Henry Rudolph Wigley (1794-1876), afterwards a magistrate in South Australia. Educated at Christ's Hospital, he accompanied his parents to South Australia (1838), completed his primary education, gained experience on sheep stations and took up land on the Murray. In 1860 he came to Nelson and took up Balmoral station (Amuri). He was a member of the Nelson Provincial Council for Amuri (1867-69). For 20 years he was associated with Studholme and Banks in Kakahu and Opuha Gorge stations. When the partnership was dissolved (1892) he took the latter property. In 1870 Wigley was called to the Legislative Council, of which he was a member until 1891. He married first (1862), a sister of W. S. Moorhouse, and second (1879) a daughter of James Lysaght (Hawera). He died on 17 Jun 1895.

Nelson P.C. Proc.; Loyau; Acland; The Press and Lyttelton Times, 19 Jun 1895.

Reference: Volume 2, page 256

🌳 Further sources

WIGRAM, SIR HENRY FRANCIS (1857-1934) was the son of a London barrister, William Knox Wigram, and the Hon Mary Ann Pomeroy, daughter of Viscount Harberton. He was educated at Harrow, and had spent a few years in the service of the Bank of England and one year with a shipping firm when his health failed and he emigrated to New Zealand. After spending some years in various places he settled in Christchurch in 1883, and two years later established the business of Wigram Brothers, maltsters and brick makers, with kilns at Heathcote and Woolston. He also founded in 1887 the Canterbury Seed Co. (of which he was 30 years chairman). He was a director also of the New Zealand Refrigerating Co., the Christchurch Brick Co., Ward and Co., and the Lyttelton Times Co. (of which he was for 30 years chairman).

Devoting himself closely to his business and taking for the time no part in public life or local government, he acquired a leading position in the city and in 1900 was elected chairman of the committee to arrange the celebration of the jubilee of the province. In 1901 he was a commissioner for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, and during the Boer war he was prominently associated with various patriotic movements in Canterbury. In May 1902 he was invited to stand for the mayoralty of Christchurch and elected unopposed. There were at that time three privately owned tramway systems in the city, most of the tramcars being horse-drawn. Wigram was a member and deputy chairman of the first tramway board elected under the act of 1902, which defined a wide area for the operation of the projected electrical system. As mayor he took an active part in unifying the administrative boroughs included in the tramway area. Sydenham and St Albans were the first to amalgamate (Apr 1903), and Wigram became the first mayor of greater Christchurch (1903-04). In 1903 he was called to the Legislative Council, and in order to devote himself freely to his heavy public duties he retired from active business.

Wigram was one of the earliest public men in New Zealand to appreciate the possibilities of aviation, and before 1914 he urged in the Legislative Council the advisability of an adequate air defence for the Dominion. Having obtained official sanction, he promoted the Canterbury Aviation Co. with a capital of £30,000. The company during the war of 1914-18 sent to England for service 180 pilots. After the war it continued to receive a government subsidy. In 1923 Wigram promoted a fund for the purchase of the aerodrome to which he himself contributed £10,000, besides giving an area of 81 acres of land adjoining the field. He assisted in the formation of the Canterbury Aero club (to which he presented the Wigram cup); fostered the establishment of other private clubs throughout the country, and was patron of the Aero Club of New Zealand. For his services to aviation he was knighted (1926). He was also one of the first motorists in Canterbury and was first president of the Canterbury Automobile association. For many years he was president of the Canterbury head-centre of the Royal Life Saving society. His benefactions included gifts to the coal and blanket fund, and the coping wall surrounding Christchurch cathedral. In 1916 he published The Story of Christchurch. Sir Wigram in 1920 retired from the Legislative Council and from many public positions for reasons of health, but continued to take a keen interest in aviation until his death on 6 May 1934. He married in 1885 Agnes Vernon (daughter of Harry Eden Sullivan), who survived him.

N.Z.P.D., 29 Jun 1934; Who's Who N.Z., 1908; Wigram, op. cit.; Lyttelton Times and The Press, 7 May 1934.

Reference: Volume 2, page 256

🌳 Further sources

WILDING, ANTHONY FREDERICK (1883-1915) was born in Christchurch, the eldest son of Frederick Wilding, K.C., who had been a well-known athlete in the west of England. His mother, Julia Wilding, was a daughter of Alderman Charles Anthony, mayor of Hereford, and was an outstanding personality in the social life of Christchurch. Anthony attended Wilson's school in Christchurch, and at the age of 17 won the Canterbury lawn tennis championship. After some months at Canterbury College, he entered Trinity College, Cambridge, to study law. An all-round athlete, he concentrated on lawn tennis, and in 1910 won the world's championship at Wimbledon, which he retained until 1913. In 1911 he entered the firm of Henderson, Craig and Co., wood pulp merchants. When the war broke out in 1914, he went to France as a driver of an armoured car, and was killed on 9 May 1915.

A.W. Myers, Captain Anthony Wilding (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 256

🌳 Further sources

WILFORD, SIR THOMAS MASON (1870-1939) was born at Lower Hutt of Quaker parentage. His mother was a daughter of Thomas Mason (q.v.) and his father was Dr J. G. F. Wilford (also a Yorkshireman). Educated at Wellington College and Christ's College (1886-87), he joined the legal firm of Brandon and Son, Wellington, passed his solicitor's examination at 18, and on attaining the age of 21 was admitted to practise. After three years with W. T. L. Travers he practised alone, being joined later by Phineas Levi and P. W. Jackson.

Wilford contested the Wellington Suburbs seat against Newman in 1893. Three years later he was elected to Parliament for Hutt, but unseated on petition. In 1903 he won the Hutt seat, which he held until his retirement in 1929. In the National Government Wilford was Minister of Justice and Marine (1917-19). When Sir Joseph Ward lost his seat in Parliament (1919) he was elected leader of the Liberal Opposition and he was responsible for changing the name of the Liberal Party a few years later to 'United'. Ill-health compelled him to withdraw for a time, and he was re-elected to Parliament in 1925 during his absence from the Dominion. When the United Party was returned to office in 1929, Wilford assumed the portfolios of Defence and Justice. In the following year he was made King's Counsel, and later resigned to become High Commissioner for New Zealand in London. In that position he attended assemblies and other meetings of the League of Nations and the Mandates commission; was chairman of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce of the Empire, a delegate at the Disarmament conference and the Egyptian conference, and represented New Zealand on the Imperial Defence committee, the London Naval conference and the Imperial Economic conference. (K.C.M.G. 1930.) In 1931 he was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn. Relinquishing the post of High Commissioner in 1934, he became a director in London of the National Bank of New Zealand and of the Vacuum Packed Produce Co.

Wilford was a member of the Wellington harbour board (1900-11) and chairman (1908-09). In 1909 he was elected mayor of Wellington, and on his retirement (1911) he was appointed a sinking fund commissioner. He was a permanent trustee of the St John Ambulance association. As a young man he played Rugby football for his province in 1888, and was champion tennis player for the Hutt. He was associated with most forms of sport and was a keen supporter of the turf, racing his own horses for 40 years, first as 'Mr Lancewood' and later in his own name. He was also a prominent acting member of the Wellington Amateur Operatic Society, and took leading roles in many of its productions.

Wilford married (1892) Georgina Constance, daughter of Sir George McLean (q.v.). He returned to New Zealand in 1938 and died on 22 Jun 1939.

N.Z.P.D., 1903-30 and 30 Jun 1939; Who's Who N.Z., 1908, 1924, 1932; Evening Post, 22 Jun, The Dominion, 23 Jun 1939.

Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 257

🌳 Further sources

WILKIE, JAMES (1844-99) was born at Nelson. His father, William Wilkie (1814-91) was born in Scotland. He arrived in Nelson from New South Wales (1842) and was a storekeeper and the principal founder of The Colonist. James Wilkie imbibed radical notions from his father and A. Saunders (q.v.), and had a distinguished career at Nelson College (where he was one of the first pupils enrolled). Intending to follow a business career, he gained a knowledge of book-keeping and accountancy. In 1865 he went to the West Coast goldfields and opened a store at Cobden, but returned to take charge of his father's business. As mineowner on the West Coast he was one of the first to employ steam power. He leased the Brunner mine, and conveyed coal in barges to Greymouth. At this time he had several stores and engaged in gold buying. Wilkie was elected M.P.C. for Motueka in the sixties, but did not take his seat. When quartz was discovered he conveyed machinery to Reefton; he engaged in the timber business, and finally was an overseer on railway contracts. He represented Grey in the Nelson Provincial Council (1870-72). Moving to Canterbury, he was surveyor to the Oxford road board and then to the Ashburton county council. He carried out the drainage on Longbeach station and advocated the construction of water races. For a while he edited the Ashburton Guardian. Later Wilkie was engaged constructing bridges on the Masterton-Opaki railway and the Gear Co.'s wharf at Petone. While again on the West Coast store-keeping and mining he was invited to run an independent newspaper at Reefton to oppose the activities of the sharebrokers. Several law cases followed.

Wilkie afterwards joined the Evening Press (Wellington), of which he was editor when it ceased publication (1894). He then became a political correspondent at Wellington. He was a vigorous writer, with a fine grasp of colonial politics. For some time he was a member of the conciliation board in Wellington. He died on 8 Feb 1899.

Nelson Coll. Reg.; Parlry Record; The Press, 9 May 1896; Evening Post, 9 Feb 1899.

Reference: Volume 2, page 257

🌳 Further sources

WILKIN, ROBERT (1820-86) was born at Tinwald Downs, Dumfriesshire, his father being a farmer and his mother, Rachel Douglas Laurie, a daughter of the parish minister. Wilkin received the usual education of a Scots boy. Then he went for seven years to Dumfries Academy, a well-managed school under the town council; and finally proceeded to Edinburgh University, where he attended lectures which he considered would be of service to him as a farmer.

At the age of 19 he sailed for Melbourne in the Midlothian. Passing on to Sydney, he went as far as the Namoi river, and inspected the Liverpool plains. There he spent some years managing grazing stations for George Hobler. With two partners he took up several stations in the Richmond river district. He then went farther north and settled as a runholder in the Burnett district of Queensland. Apparently he moved south again before coming to New Zealand, for he was a magistrate for the Port Phillip district of Victoria. In 1858 Wilkin came to New Zealand, and purchased the Avon Park estate in Canterbury. He was uniformly successful in his choice and management of land. At different times he was interested in various important properties, sometimes alone, sometimes with Robert Heaton Rhodes and sometimes with his wife's uncle, Archibald Thomson, with whom he took up Maronan. He was interested also in Racecourse Hill, Carleton, and St Leonard's (Amuri). About 1871 he commenced business in Hereford street as a general merchant and stock and station agent. Wilkin took a great interest in importing and breeding purebred stock, especially horses. He was one of the founders of the Middle Park Stud Co., and shortly before his death he imported on his own account the American trotting sire Berlin, who made his mark upon the trotting history of the Colony. He took a keen interest in agricultural shows. The first of these, held the year after his arrival in the Colony at Benjamin Moorhouse's Shepherd's Bush property, Rangitata, was practically confined to merino sheep.

Next year it was held where Ashburton now is. In 1862 a general show was held in Judge Gresson's paddock in Latimer square. Wilkin was president, and he took steps to organise an association, of which he became the first president. He was, in fact, its founder, and just before his death was elected a patron. At his suggestion the New Zealand Country Journal was founded in 1877, and its pages show constant evidence of his interest. He promoted the publication of the Canterbury herd books and the New Zealand draft horse stud book. He presented to the Association some of its first paintings and a complete set of the transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland (1812-81).

Wilkin had not been long in New Zealand before he was led into public life. In Aug 1860 he was elected member for Timaru in the Provincial Council. Though he did not reside in the district, and his views on the new provinces bill were at variance with those of the electors, they re-elected him in 1861. He was a strong champion of the out-districts, and got many things done for the Timaru locality. It was due to him that the district was divided into four electorates. He was then elected for Waitangi (1864). Wilkin strongly supported Moorhouse, and was a member of his executive for three years (first under Blakiston, and then as president of the executive for two years). In 1862 he was for a while deputy-superintendent, and when Moorhouse resigned (1863) he was invited to stand for the superintendency. He had no such ambitions, and was glad to see the election of Bealey, under whom he continued to serve as president of the executive, with Moorhouse as an occasional colleague. He retired from the Council in 1866, but served in several executives later. He was also for three years (1863-66) member of Parliament for Kaiapoi.

Wilkin was neither a good speaker nor a brilliant parliamentarian. The Lyttelton Times pictures him as 'a wealthy stockowner and a portly-built Scot getting into the sere leaf' who was chiefly to be found seconding the motions of his colleagues with so much diffidence as scarcely to be audible. He had a high sense of probity in business and in the relations of men. Hall once remarked, 'We might ask what public institution there is to which Mr Wilkin was not willing to lend a helping hand; what movement did not receive his cheerful aid.' He was a governor of Canterbury College (1875-76), and first president of the Timaru Mechanics' Institute and public library (1862), for which he obtained a handsome grant from the Provincial Council. In 1874 he was a provisional director of the Timaru Woollen Co. He took a great interest in acclimatisation. Late in the sixties he presented to the Canterbury Society some black swans, and in 1881 he introduced hedgehogs into south Canterbury. Wilkin died on 20 Jun 1886.

Canterbury P.C. Proc.; Andersen; Cox, Men of Mark; Acland; Woodhouse; The Press, 31 May 1930 (p). Portrait: A. and P. Association, Christchurch; Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 257

🌳 Further sources

WILKINSON, GEORGE THOMAS (1844-1906) was born in England, and arrived in New Zealand in 1864. While employed under Heaphy surveying the confiscated lands in the Waikato, he was fired on by natives who were erecting the fortified position at Orakau. He penetrated as far as Kopua and withdrew to Tauranga. Wilkinson took up land at Waioeka, but was driven off by Hauhau and joined the survey company of engineers under Skeet and Gundry, taking part in the actions at Te Meake, Taumata, Irihanga and Whakamarama. While interpreter to the magistrate on the Hauraki goldfields, he was sent to Te Kuiti to ascertain the feeling of the King natives. In 1878 he was appointed assistant land purchase officer (for Coromandel and Thames), and later principal native officer in Waikato. He had great influence with the disaffected natives, twice prevented Te Kooti from visiting Poverty Bay and assisted materially to pacify the King country, through which he made a tour with Bryce, the Native Minister. Wilkinson was native agent at Alexandra and president of the Maori council at Otorohanga. He died on 4 Feb 1906.

App. H.L.R., reports on native affairs; Gudgeon; Featon; N.Z. Herald and N.Z. Times, 6 Feb 1906.

Reference: Volume 2, page 258

🌳 Further sources

WILL, WILLIAM (1825-1912) was born at Collace, Perthshire, and educated in the parish school, the grammar school at Dundee, Edinburgh University and the Free Church College. Meanwhile he taught in the mission school of the Free Church at Edinburgh. He was licensed and ordained by the presbytery of Irvine, and offered his services to the colonial committee of the Free Church. When two new ministers were required for Otago Will was appointed, and he arrived at Port Chalmers in the Stately in Feb 1854. He was appointed to look after East Taieri, and had a wide district for some years until new charges were formed. He was many years convenor of the sustentation fund committee and was moderator of the synod in the year of the provincial jubilee (1898). He resigned the East Taieri charge in the following year. Will died on 26 Oct 1912. His son DR WILLIAM JOHNSTON WILL (1858-1930) was assistant director of medical services in the war of 1914-18, and a Knight of the Order of St John of Jerusalem.

Otago Daily Times, 4 Nov; Chisholm

Reference: Volume 2, page 258

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, EDWARD MARSH (1818-1909), the eldest son of Archdeacon Henry Williams (q.v.), was born at Hampstead, London, and in 1823 with his parents arrived at Bay of Islands by the Brampton. Ill-health later interrupted his medical studies in England. Becoming a proficient Maori linguist, he helped to translate the Treaty of Waitangi into Maori, and later acted as native interpreter to Major Bunbury (q.v.), who was commissioned to obtain signatures to the Treaty in the south. Williams was made government interpreter in 1840, and clerk of the court and postmaster at Auckland. Retiring in 1842, he took up farming at Pakaraka. In 1861 he was appointed resident magistrate for Bay of Islands and northern districts, and in 1880 judge of the native land court, from which he retired in 1891. He married (1843) Jane Davis, and died on 11 Oct 1909.

Cycl. N.Z., ii (p); Who's Who N.Z., 1908; Buick, Waitangi.

Reference: Volume 2, page 258

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, GEORGE PHIPPS (1847-1909) was born in London, and graduated B.A. at Cambridge University. He joined the London metropolitan board of works and later became a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers. Coming to New Zealand in 1869, he was appointed resident engineer to the Rakaia railway in 1870, and to the General Government in 1871. He was engaged on the construction of the Midland Railway to the West Coast until it was completed, and subsequently became engineer and secretary to the Waimakariri and Ashley water supply board. Williams published a number of poems, including Colonial Couplets (1889) and (with W. P. Reeves) In Double Harness (1891), and New Chum's Letters Home and Other Poems (1904). Examples of his verse appear in Alpers's Jubilee Book of Canterbury Rhymes. In 1875 Williams married Edith Jane, daughter of Sir Thomas Tancred. He died on 18 May 1909.

Annals N.Z. Lit.; Hocken, Bibliog.; Cycl. NZ., iii; The Press, 19 May 1909.

Reference: Volume 2, page 258

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, HAROLD WHITMORE (1876-1928) was born in Auckland, a son of the Rev. W. J. Williams (q.v.). He attended schools in different parts of the country, including the Christchurch and Timaru Boys' High Schools. At the age of 14 he showed an extraordinary gift for languages by constructing a Dobu vocabulary from the New Testament translated into that language. He spent three years in the Wesleyan ministry but, realising that he was unsuited for it, left for Europe, where he gained his degree of Ph.D. at Munich University. By studying the Slav languages he became interested in Russian affairs, and in 1903 he was appointed special correspondent in Russia of The Times, and later of the Manchester Guardian, the Morning Post and the Daily Chronicle. His sympathies were with the constitutional Democrat party (the Cadets), and he married one of its prominent members, Ariadna Tyrkova. In 1921 Williams became a leader writer on The Times, and in 1922 director of the foreign department, which position he held until his death on 18 Nov 1928. As a linguist he had command of more than 26 languages. In 1914 he published Russia of the Russians. He was interested in the London University school of Slavonic studies and was for a time editor of the Slavonic Review.

Tyrkova-Williams, Cheerful Giver (p); The Times, 19 Nov 1928 (p); The Press, 20 Nov 1928.

Reference: Volume 2, page 258

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, HENRY (1782-1867) was born at Nottingham, the son of Thomas Williams (1754-1804) of Plumptre Hall. In 1806 he entered the Navy as midshipman. He served in the Barfleur, Christian VII, Maida, Galatea, Racehorse, Saturn, Endymion and Thames. At Copenhagen (1807) he served at the land batteries, and was told off for a forlorn hope on the eve of the capitulation. In 1810 he took part in the attack by boats on nine French gunboats in the Basque Roads. While in the Galatea he was present at the engagement off Tamatave (20 May 1811), between three English frigates under Sir Charles Schomberg and three French vessels of superior force, and received a wound from which he never completely recovered. He was in the action between the Endymion and the United States frigate President (which took place actually after the conclusion of peace). Placed on board the President with a prize crew, he nearly perished in a gale while carrying her to Bermuda. This peril changed the course of his life when he retired on half pay (with the rank of lieutenant) on 30 Aug 1815. In 1818 Williams married Marianne, daughter of Wright Coldham. He decided to become a missionary and was especially attracted to New Zealand. Ordained in 1822, he sailed in the Lord Sidmouth with his wife and children, reaching Hobart on 10 Feb 1823. With Samuel Marsden (q.v.) Williams reached the Bay of Islands on 3 Aug. Finding that his intended station (Whangaroa) was occupied by the Wesleyans, he established the Church Mission station at Paihia, where he laboured for over 40 years. The work of the Society in New Zealand, which commenced in 1814, had failed through the faithlessness of some of the missionaries, who were all laymen and were primarily concerned with the teaching of civilised arts. After the advent of Williams religious teaching was regarded as preliminary to other instruction. During the first part of his sojourn Williams was protected by Hongi. After Hongi's death (Mar 1828) the missionaries underwent a period of great anxiety, expecting every day that the stations would be sacked. An intrepid act of Williams improved their position. Hearing of the death of Whareumu at Hokianga, he hastened to the scene of hostilities, and on 24 Mar succeeded in making peace. This greatly enhanced his mana and thereafter the mission made good progress. Quick conversions were not sought, but troublesome Maori customs were gradually abolished and the barbarity of tribal wars was much softened. The mission was reinforced by fresh missionaries, and extended to Tauranga, Waikato, Rotorua and Poverty Bay. Williams made many voyages in mission vessels, which were sometimes unseaworthy and in the Herald, a schooner built by himself at Paihia, and long foot journeys to make peace between tribes. In 1839 he visited Port Nicholson, and a few weeks later established Hadfield (q.v.) at Otaki. In 1835 Darwin visited the station during his voyage in the Beagle and expressed in his Journal high admiration for the missionaries and their work. In 1841 Selwyn (q.v.) was appointed first Bishop of New Zealand, a step strongly urged by the brothers Williams, and in 1844 he appointed Henry Williams Archdeacon of Waimate.

The Treaty of Waitangi, concluded on 6 Feb 1840, was only signed by the Maori chiefs at the earnest instance of Williams, who viewed with apprehension the establishment of a protectorate, but yet realised clearly the possible danger of annexation by France. Williams was mainly responsible for translating the Treaty and for explaining it to the Maori chiefs, and he afterwards, at the request of Captain Hobson, helped to obtain the signatures of distant chiefs. He negotiated the matter in the region of Cook Strait and, against the opposition of the New Zealand Company, obtained the signatures of the chiefs there. After the inauguration of British rule the missionaries were confronted with a new class of difficulties arising from the rapid influx of colonists, and from the unscrupulous dealings of some of the immigrants with the natives. On the outbreak of Heke's war (1845) Williams found his position very difficult. Refusing to abandon his native converts, he incurred much ill-will and obloquy. His loyalty was unquestioned, and the Governor (FitzRoy) spoke of him as 'the tried, the proved, the loyal, and the indefatigable.' His influence was constantly used to restore tranquillity and to restrain chiefs who at one time had the white settlements almost at their mercy. It was largely due to his persuasion that other northern tribes were prevented from engaging in the war. When the natives stormed Kororareka (Mar 1845) Williams brought off the wounded, including the captain of H.M.S. Hazard, at considerable risk. These services received no immediate recognition. FitzRoy was superseded as Governor by Grey, who soon showed himself hostile to the missionaries. In Jun 1846, in a secret despatch to Gladstone, then Colonial Secretary, he accused them, and especially Williams, of being the real cause of the conflict. This was the prelude to a more serious controversy in connection with the acquisition of land. New Zealand being a country with a climate suited for Europeans, many of the missionaries' descendants became farmers, and acquired land before the annexation of the colony. In 1843 their claims were determined and sanctioned by a court of land claims. Grey in his secret despatch unwarrantably stated that these acquisitions had been unjustly made, and would require to be enforced by troops. In reality a relatively high price had been paid, the native method of transfer had been carefully followed, and the settlers were in peaceable possession. Williams indignantly demanded an inquiry into Grey's charges, which was refused, and Selwyn, who was opposed to the acquisition of property, directed that the title deeds should be surrendered unconditionally. Fearing that compliance would be regarded as an acknowledgment of previous misconduct, Williams refused to obey unless Grey's charges were examined. The Church Missionary Society in consequence reluctantly severed their connection with him (20 Nov 1849). His brother William visited England in 1851, and convinced the committee that they had been misled, and they passed a resolution entirely exonerating the missionaries from Grey's charges. Considering, however, that Williams had done wrong in refusing obedience, they declined to rescind their resolution in regard to him. They were beset from all sides with appeals on his behalf, and on 18 Jul 1854 he was reinstated at the personal request of Selwyn and of Sir George Grey, who by that time had largely modified his previous opinions. On 27 Sep 1939, in view of the centennial of the Dominion, the committee of the Church Missionary Society passed a resolution recording its appreciation of the mission fulfilled by Williams 'both as a founder of the Maori Church and of the colony of New Zealand.' It admitted that the Society was mistaken in its judgment owing to misrepresentation of the facts, and that 'the charges made against Williams were without foundation. They affirm their complete confidence in his integrity and sterling character .... and wish to place on record their conviction that New Zealand owes more to him than to any other individual missionary, and that his life and service call for the gratitude of the whole Church as well as of the Church Missionary Society, in whose annals his name will always have an honoured place.' The closing years of Williams's life were somewhat saddened by the declension of the Maori church from its first fervour, and by bitter warfare between the settlers and the natives. During the war of 1860 he lived quietly at Pakaraka with some of his descendants, using his influence to preserve the loyalty of the neighbouring tribes. As the infirmities of age grew upon him he performed his journeys by sea in a small vessel named the Rainbow. He died at Pakaraka on 16 Jul 1867, leaving a high reputation for Christian zeal. His influence with the Maoris was very great, and was due to his upright character and to his perfect comprehension of native ceremonies and customs. In 1876 the Maori community erected a stone cross to his memory in the churchyard at Paihia, the scene of his longest labours. (See E. M., Henry, J. W., and T. C. WILLIAMS, and BISHOP W. WILLIAMS)

G.B.O.P., 1838-63, pass.; D.N.B.; Stock; Marsden, L. and J.; Buller; S. P. Smith, Wars; Cowan, Wars; Buick, First N.Z. War (p); Carleton (p); A. S. Thomson; Morton; E. J. Wakefield; E. Wilson.

Reference: Volume 2, page 259

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, HENRY (1823-1907) was born at Paihia, Bay of Islands, the third son of Archdeacon Henry Williams (q.v.). He was educated at the mission school under Bishop W. Williams (q.v.) and in 1842 joined his brothers farming at Pakaraka. There they remained undisturbed through Heke's war. Williams was a justice of the peace from 1858. He was chairman of the Bay of Islands county council continuously from 1877 to 1899, when he voluntarily retired. He was called to the Legislative Council by Whitaker in 1882, and remained a member until resigning in 1905. He died on 6 Dec 1907. Williams married in 1849 Jane Elizabeth, daughter of Bishop W. Williams.

Cycl. NZ., ii (p); NZ Herald, 7 Dec 1907.

Reference: Volume 2, page 259

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, HERBERT WILLIAM (? - 1937), a son of W. L. Williams (q.v.), and grandson of William Williams (q.v.), Bishop of Waiapu, was born at Waerenga-ahika, Poverty Bay. He was educated at Christ's College, Christchurch, and at Canterbury College, where he was a University scholar. (B.A. 1884; M.A. 1886.) At Jesus College, Cambridge, he was a Rustat scholar. (B.A. 1884; M.A. 1887). After teaching for two years at Haileybury College, he was ordained and returned to New Zealand in 1889 as vice-principal of Te Rau Native Theological College, Gisborne, of which he became principal in 1894. He retired in 1902 to superintend the Maori missions on the East Coast, and was appointed Archdeacon of Waiapu in 1907. In 1929 he was elected Bishop of Waiapu (in succession to Dr W.W. Sedgwick). A profound Maori scholar, Williams edited the fifth edition of Williams's Maori Dictionary (1917) for which he was awarded a doctorate of literature by the University of New Zealand (1924) and by Cambridge University (1925). He published First Lessons in Maori (1924, 1930) and a bibliography of printed Maori. Williams was a fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society (1904), and of the New Zealand Institute (1923); president of the Polynesian Society (1929), and of the Royal Society of New Zealand (1935). He was also a member of the National Historical Committee for the New Zealand Centennial. In 1888 he married Bertha Louisa Gertrude, daughter of S. L. Mason, of Edinburgh. He died on 6 Dec 1937.

Who's Who N.Z., 1908, 1924, 1932; Polyn. Jour. pass.; Trans. N.Z. Institute and N.Z. Royal Society; Hight and Candy; The Dominion, 11 Oct 1929 (p), 7 Dec 1937; Evening Post, 6 Dec 1937.

Reference: Volume 2, page 259

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, JAMES NELSON (1837-1915), a son of Bishop William Williams (q.v.) was born at Waimate North, and in the fifties went to Hawke's Bay to take up sheep-farming. He opened up much of the land around his station, Frimley, and was a pioneer of the fruit-growing and canning industry. Williams was prominently associated with the development of Napier, and was a member of the first harbour board (1875), the land board, the education board, the county council and the Agricultural and Pastoral association. He presented a park to the people of Hastings and a ward to the Napier hospital. He died on 11 Jun 1915.

Col. Gent.; Hawkes Bay Herald, 11 Jun 1915

Reference: Volume 2, page 260

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, JOHN WILLIAM (1827-1904) was a son of Archdeacon Henry Williams (q.v.). From 1863 to 1865 he represented Bay of Islands in the Provincial Council and he sat as member for Mangonui and Bay of Islands in the House of Representatives (1873-79). Williams died on 27 Apr 1904.

Reference: Volume 2, page 260

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, KENNETH STUART (1870-1935), son of J. W. Williams (q.v.), was born in the Bay of Islands and educated at Heretaunga school, Hastings, and at Christ's College, Christchurch, where he was captain of the first XV. In 1894 he took up sheep-farming at Matahiia, on the East Coast, and became chairman of the Waiapu county council, and a member of the Tokomaru Bay harbour board and the Waiapu hospital board, and promoted the freezing industry in the district. In 1920 he was elected M.P. for the Bay of Plenty in succession to W. D. S. Macdonald (q.v.). He held the seat until his death (on 25 Nov 1935), and was Minister of Public Works in the Coates Government (1926-28). A successful racehorse owner, he represented Hawkes Bay district clubs on the New Zealand Racing conference, and was founder and president of the Waiapu Racing club. In 1919 he was elected president of the Christ's College old boys association. With other members of the Williams family, he helped to buy and establish the Waiapu soldiers' settlement. Williams married in 1898 Lilian Mary Ludbrooke.

N.Z.P.D., 1920-35 (notably 31 Mar 1936); Who's Who N.Z., 1924, 1932; Christ's Coll. School List; Evening Post, 11 Jun 1926 (p); The Dominion, 26 Nov 1935.

Reference: Volume 2, page 260

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, SAMUEL (1822-1907) was born in England, the son of Archdeacon Henry Williams (q.v.), and came to New Zealand in 1823. Educated at St John's College, Waimate, he was later a teacher on the staff of the Maori College, with which he moved to Auckland (1845). In 1847 Bishop Selwyn appointed him to the charge of the Otaki district, which had been founded by Hadfield (q.v.). Making Otaki his headquarters, he assisted in pacifying the natives and had charge of eight village schools and a central school.

In 1852 Governor Grey, fearing the effect on the Maori of a rapid influx of whites into Hawkes Bay, appointed Williams to that district and promised a land endowment for Maori education. Arriving there in 1853 to meet Selwyn and Grey, he chose Te Aute as the school site, the natives giving an additional 4,000 acres for the purpose. In 1854 the Church Missionary Society agreed to his transfer to Hawkes Bay, where for six years he lived in a native hut. Governor Gore Browne being less interested in native education, Williams had to suspend the school and lease the land, which was for some years unoccupied, and on which he spent much of his own money. The school was reopened in 1872 and made steady progress, educating many of the later leaders of the Maori race. Williams had great influence with the natives, and on several occasions composed their differences with the whites and saved the district from the inroads of the Hauhau invaders. He had a flair for farming, and encouraged the natives to clear land and utilise it to the best advantage. Many settlers also learned the management of fern and scrub from him. He was a noted breeder of cattle and at many shows from 1863 onward took prizes.

In addition to large gifts to the Te Aute and Hukarere schools, Williams maintained district nurses in some native settlements and contributed largely to missions all over the world. He was ordained priest in 1853; was rural dean of Hawkes Bay (1854-88); archdeacon in 1888, and canon of the Napier Cathedral (1889). He married (1846) Mary, daughter of Bishop William Williams (q.v.). His death occurred on 14 Mar 1907.

William Temple Williams, Pioneering in New Zealand (1929) (p); Williams papers; Stock.; Jacobs; Selwyn; Morton; Cycl. N.Z. vi (p): Hawkes Bay Herald, 15 Mar 1907.

Reference: Volume 2, page 260

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, SIR JOSHUA STRANGE (1837-1915) was born in London, the son of Joshua William, Q.C., author of a book on real and personal property. He was educated at Harrow under Dr Vaughan, and had as tutor B. F. Westcott (afterwards Bishop of Durham). Williams then went on to Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was second in the first class of the law tripos (1858), and in the following year was Junior optime in the mathematical tripos, and was awarded the chancellor's gold medal for legal studies. Having taken his B.A., he left Cambridge, entered at Lincoln's Inn in 1857, and read law in the chambers of his father and of Hobhouse. He was then called to the bar in Nov 1859. He afterwards graduated M.A. and M.L. His health being poor, Williams was advised to go on a sea voyage and in Jul 1861 sailed from London in the emigrant ship Derwentwater. The vessel arrived off Otago Heads to learn that gold had been discovered, and the captain, fearing that he would lose his crew, declined to enter the port and landed his emigrants in the ship's boats.

Williams was admitted by Gresson without delay and in Mar 1862 entered into partnership with T.S. Duncan, who was provincial solicitor, as a crown prosecutor. In Oct he was elected to the Provincial Council for Heathcote. A few months later Moorhouse resigned the superintendency, and Duncan relinquishing the provincial solicitorship, Williams was appointed. He remained in the executive under Wilkin and Cass, and in Dec witnessed the opening of the first railway in the province. In 1864, with the intention of visiting England, he resigned from the Provincial government, and dissolved his partnership with Duncan. This vacancy gave W. Rolleston the opportunity of entering public life. After his return to the Colony, Williams practised on his own account, until accepting office under the General Government (1876). In 1865 he married Caroline Helen, daughter of Thomas Sanctuary, of Horsham, Sussex.

In 1866 Moorhouse was re-elected Superintendent, and Williams re-entered the Provincial Council for Heathcote. He became provincial solicitor in the Jollie executive, which lasted for only a few weeks. When Stewart came into office (Mar 1867), he called Williams in as a colleague. This association lasted until Mar 1868. Williams retired from the Council at the dissolution of 1870. He was a sagacious adviser, well versed in the forms of the Council. He spoke seldom and briefly, but exercised a great influence on the deliberations of the Council. In 1870 he was appointed district land registrar for Canterbury, and in 1872 Registrar-general of Lands. While thus employed, Williams wrote his handbook on the land transfer act. In 1873, on the foundation of Canterbury College, he was elected chairman of the board of governors.

In Mar 1875 Williams was appointed to the Supreme Court bench, and posted to Otago to replace H. S. Chapman (q.v.). There he worked for the next 39 years with great distinction, lending lustre to the bench, and gathering much credit for his sound law. He presided at many famous criminal trials and at the investigation of the Colonial Bank's affairs (1897). Never an orator or a fluent speaker, he said what he intended in simple English, easily understood. He had a fund of wit and humour, was well versed in French and Italian literature, and made some good translations from Dante. When the Arbitration Court was established, Williams was chosen as its first president (1895), in the belief that he would establish its proceedings and found its traditions on a basis of sound law. He vacated the post in 1898 to return to the Supreme Court. In 1911 he was created a knight bachelor, and two years later was appointed to represent New Zealand on the judicial committee of the Privy Council. He left for London in Feb 1914, and in the short time that still remained to him his sound judgment gained recognition in the highest court of the Empire. While in Dunedin Williams was appointed a member of the council of Otago University (1877). Two years later he became vice-chancellor, and in 1894 he succeeded Dr Stuart as chancellor. He resigned in 1909. In social and philanthropic societies he took an active interest. He was president for many years of the Shipwreck Relief society, the Patients' and Prisoners' Aid society and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. In the Dunedin Philharmonic society he held the highest position. Williams's first wife having died while he lived in Christchurch, he married (1877) Amelia Durant (d. 1936), daughter of John Wesley Jago (Dunedin). He died on 22 Dec 1915.

Canterbury P.C. Proc.; Cycl. N.Z., iv (p); Col. Gent.; Cox; The Press, 23 Dec 1915, 13 Sep 1930 (p); Otago Daily Times, 29 Dec 1915, p. 2

Reference: Volume 2, page 260

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, THOMAS COLDHAM (1825-1912), the fourth son of Archdeacon Henry Williams (q.v.), was born at Paihia and educated at the mission schools at Paihia and Waimate. He was brought up in Bay of Islands; farmed there, and lived in Auckland for some years. In 1864 he was elected to represent Bay of Islands in the Auckland Provincial Council, but did not take his seat. In 1865 he removed to Wellington and acquired large pastoral properties in Wairarapa, including Brancepeth station (49,000 acres), Annedale (15,000 acres) and the Lansdowne estate, near Masterton (2,000 acres). He devoted himself entirely to his properties, taking no part at all in public life. Williams married in 1858 Annie, daughter of William Beetham, Wairarapa. He died on 19 May 1912, leaving a large family.

N.Z. Herald, 20 May 1912; Cycl. N.Z. i (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 260

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, TOM BOSWELL (1851-1931), born in Newport, Monmouthshire, came to Victoria in 1852 with his parents and to New Zealand in 1862. He tried his luck at goldmining on the West Coast, and in 1878 established a brewery in Wanganui. He later took up farming near Wanganui and in 1898 went into business as an auctioneer. Williams was elected to the Wanganui borough council in 1885 and was some years mayor (1913-15 and 1920-24). He was a member of the hospital board, the river trust, and the hydro-electric league, chairman of the patriotic association and repatriation committee, president of the chamber of commerce and a director of the Wanganui Herald. He was a past master of freemasons. His death occurred on 16 Jun 1931.

Who's Who N.Z., 1924; Wanganui Herald, 16 Jun 1931; Who's Who in Wanganui, 1915 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 260

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, WILLIAM (1800-78) was born in Nottingham, the youngest son of Thomas Williams and brother of Henry Williams (q.v.). He was educated for the medical profession, but changed his mind and went to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. (1825). Having decided later to follow his brother Henry to the mission field in New Zealand, he read for holy orders and resumed his studies in medicine, walking the hospitals in London. He was ordained by the Bishop of London in 1825, and appointed to New Zealand by the Church Missionary Society. He arrived in Bay of Islands on 25 Mar 1826.

The next eight years Williams spent at Paihia. His first duty was as a philologist to study the Maori language and reduce it to grammatical forms, as a prelude to the translation of the Scripture. He compiled A Dictionary of the New Zealand Language and a Concise Grammar which was published at Paihia in 1844, and afterwards revised by Maunsell and W. L. Williams (q.v.). When it was decided to expand the mission in New Zealand, he volunteered to open the new station on the Thames; and after establishing the station at Mangapouri he returned to take charge of the school at Waimate, where he taught classics to many of the children of the elder missionaries. He also took his part in the practical work of building and construction which was so important a feature of native education. In 1833 Williams went in the Active to return some Ngati-Porou people to East Cape. They were foiled by contrary winds. In Dec he went again in the Fortitude, and after calling at the Thames landed his charges at Hicks Bay (8 Jan 1834). He held a service at Rangitukia and Whakawhitira, and noted the desire of the people for a mission to be opened. In Jan 1838 he visited the district with Colenso, Stack and Matthews, landing at Hicks Bay and travelling overland to Poverty Bay. In Nov Henry Williams stationed native teachers at Waiapu and Poverty Bay. The arrival of Richard Taylor (q.v.) freed W. Williams to form a new station at Poverty Bay, and he paid another visit in Apr 1839, fixing the site for the mission. Eventually he brought his family from Waimate and landed at Poverty Bay in Jan 1840, taking charge of the East Coast from Hicks Bay to Cape Palliser. He found the natives well prepared by native teachers placed amongst them since 1834, and the mission made immediate and rapid progress. In Jun 1842 Williams met Bishop Selwyn at Bay of Islands, and he returned to his station reinforced by the Rev W. C. Dudley. Shortly afterwards Williams was appointed an archdeacon (1843). In the Historical Records is a graphic account of the progress of Williams's mission in these years. Following the charges made against his brother Henry and the decision of the C.M.S. dismissing him from the service, Williams went to England in the Wesleyan schooner John Wesley to vindicate the mission. He was in England from Apr 1851 to Oct 1852, and was successful in causing the Society to pass an exculpatory resolution. He also published his Maori translation of the New Testament and Prayer Book, and had conferred upon him by Oxford University, in recognition of his services and attainments, the degree of D.C.L. (1851).

Returning to New Zealand, he devoted his attention rather more to literary work and produced in 1867 his Christianity among the New Zealanders. Williams was soon faced with the necessity of removing the mission from Tauranga to Waerenga-a-hika (1856-57). When the diocese of New Zealand was divided, Selwyn invited him to assume the bishopric of Waiapu, and he was consecrated to it in Apr 1859. Keeping his headquarters at Poverty Bay, he gathered about him a large establishment consisting of divinity students' and boys' and girls' schools (the personnel numbering about 130). Here he pursued his labours with success until Hauhau agents entered the district (1865). The arrival of troops to suppress the rising was the signal for an outbreak which necessitated the closing of the schools; the premises were sacked by the Hauhau and the library destroyed (1865). Williams retired to Paihia with many of his students and remained there two years. In 1867, with the permission of Bishop Abraham, he took up his quarters in Napier, which was about to be severed from the Wellington diocese and made the Cathedral city. On the fiftieth anniversary of his arrival in New Zealand, he suffered a stroke from which he did not recover (1876). He accordingly resigned the see and lived in retirement in Napier until 9 Feb 1878.

Williams married in 1825 Jane Nelson. Their family of nine included Bishop W. L. Williams (q.v.).

Carleton; Jacobs, Colonial Church Histories; New Zealand; N.Z. Herald, 11 Feb 1878; Hawkes Bay Herald, 12 Feb 1878.

Reference: Volume 2, page 261

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, WILLIAM HENRY WYNN (1828-1913) was a son of the Rev. P. L. Williams, vicar of Llansannan, Denbighshire. Educated for the Indian army, and subsequently for the law, he was admitted a solicitor in 1853. In 1857 he came to New Zealand, and after working on sheep stations in different parts of the colony settled in Christchurch in 1860 to practise his profession. Williams represented Heathcote in the Provincial Council (1865-66), City of Christchurch (1866-70) and Papanui (1871-75). He was several times in the executive (under Jollie, 1868-69, 1869-70; under Knight, 1869, and under Wilson, 1875-76). He also represented Heathcote in Parliament (1881-84). He died on 27 Oct 1913.

Cycl. N.Z., iii; Cox; Who's Who N.Z., 1908; The Press, 28 Oct 1913.

Reference: Volume 2, page 261

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, WILLIAM JAMES (1847-1936) was born at Redruth, Cornwall, and began to preach at the age of 17. Trained at Richmond College, he was associated with Dr Stephenson, the founder of the national children's homes and orphanages controlled by the Methodist Church of Great Britain. He arrived in New Zealand in 1870 (being a fellow passenger with W. F. Massey, q.v., and the Rev F. W. Isitt). He did pioneering work amongst the gold miners at Thames.

Williams was a fearless and effective speaker and writer on social reform. He was for many years editor of the Methodist church paper and of the prohibition journal The Vanguard. He held some of the most important pastoral charges. He had a broad sympathy with progressive movements within the Church, and helped to secure an improved status for laymen in the principal courts of the Church. He led the movement to secure Methodist union in New Zealand and separation from Australia for the New Zealand Methodist Church, and to set up a self-governing conference for the Dominion. His interest in the history of the Church is evidenced by his book Centenary Sketches of New Zealand Methodism (1922). He attended the first New Zealand Methodist conference at Christchurch (1874). His competence in church affairs led to his appointment as secretary for home missions (1895-98), secretary of the board of examiners (1882-84), and secretary of synod and conference. He was chairman of several synods, principal of Wesley College (1893-94), and in 1888 was elected president of the New Zealand conference.

Williams married first (1875) Alice Hosking (d. 1905), and second (1908) Alice Jeffry. He died at Auckland on 11 May 1936. One of his sons was Dr Harold Williams (q.v.).

Who's Who N.Z., 1908, 1924, 1932; Morley; Williams, op. cit.

Reference: Volume 2, page 261

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, WILLIAM LEONARD (1820-1916), the eldest son of Bishop W. Williams (q.v.), was born at Paihia and educated at the mission school, at St John's College, Auckland, and afterwards at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, where he graduated B.A. (3rd class lit. hum.) in 1852. He was admitted a deacon by the Bishop of London and in the following year he returned to New Zealand and commenced his missionary life under his father in Poverty Bay. In 1862 he became archdeacon.

Three years later his labours amongst the Maori were interrupted by the Hauhau rising. Having removed his family to Auckland, he returned to Poverty Bay and remained throughout the trouble, being within a few miles of the massacre by Te Kooti on 10 Nov 1868. In 1877 he made Gisborne his headquarters. On the resignation of his father in that year, Williams declined an invitation to be nominated as bishop on the ground that work amongst the native population had the first claim upon him. In 1883 he assumed control of the Te Rau Maori Theological College, of which he was principal until 1894. He was appointed canon of Napier Cathedral in 1889. In 1894 he was elected to succeed Bishop Stuart, and he was consecrated in the following year to the see of which his father was the first bishop.

Williams's scholastic work in Maori is of a high order. In 1862 his First Lessons in the Maori Language appeared; and in 1871 he published a revised edition of his father's dictionary. His East Coast Historical Records was published some years after his death. He contributed many papers to the proceedings of the New Zealand Institute. In 1897 Oxford University conferred on him the degree of D.D.

Williams married in 1853 Sarah, daughter of John Bradshaw Wanklyn, of Halecat, Westmoreland. He died on 24 Aug 1916.

Who's Who NZ., 1908; Cycl. NZ., vi; D.N.B.; Hawkes Bay Herald, 25 Aug 1916; Jacobs.

Reference: Volume 2, page 261

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMS, WILLIAM ROBERT (1832-90) was born at Gravesend, educated there and went to sea at the age of 12. In 1856 he went to Australia, and for five years was trading between Melbourne and South Australia. He was chief officer when the rush occurred to Otago and, purchasing an interest in the barque Anne Melhuish, he traded between Newcastle and Auckland, carrying coal one way and timber, kauri gum and other produce the other. At the conclusion of the Waikato war he carried troops back to Australia, and continued to trade with New Zealand. The first ship he bought for himself was the Heversham, followed by the Cyrus, Edwin Bassett, Carlotta, Neptune, Robin Hood and G. M. Tucker. With these he formed the nucleus of the Black Diamond line. In 1876 he purchased in Sydney the steamer Grafton, which he used in the coal trade to the West Coast. In 1881 he bought the new steamer Westport in Great Britain, and brought her out direct to Westport. Next year his son (W. H. Williams) superintended in England the building of two steamers (the Koranui and Mawhera), and the Moa, Manawatu and Maitai were also acquired. Williams in 1885 leased some coal measures near Westport, and formed a company which acquired this and later the Coal Pit Heath mine at Greymouth. In 1886 he sold his interests to the Westport Coal Co. and his ships to the Union Steamship Co. For many years Williams had a ship-repairing yard at Te Aro. He was a government nominee on the Wellington harbour board (1880-88), a justice of the peace, and a member of committee of the old men's home. To this and the Congregational Church he made liberal gifts; and the Sailors' Friend Society in Wellington benefited from his estate. He died on 17 Mar 1890.

Evening Post, 17 Mar 1890. Portraits: Ward; Missions to Seamen Institute, Wellington.

Reference: Volume 2, page 262

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMSON, JAMES (1814-88), a native of Belfast, Ireland, was the son of a shipowner and first went to sea in his father's vessels on the coast of Scotland. Coming to Australia as chief officer, he arrived at Bay of Islands in the Achilles in 1839, and went into business with Thomas Crummer as merchants. After the sack of Kororareka they moved to Auckland and established themselves in Fort Street, where they also started a public-house. In 1842 they built on the edge of the beach the Victoria hotel, which stood until 1863, and for many years was managed by Hardington (q.v.). In the early fifties Crummer went to San Francisco, making speculations by which the firm lost rather heavily, but it soon recovered and the partnership lasted until Crummer's death (1861).

Williamson now came more into public life, and during the Waikato war carried out profitable contracts for the commissariat department. Williamson was a founder of the New Zealand Insurance Co. and a lifelong director; was first president of the Bank of New Zealand and for some years chairman. In 1862, on the retirement of Firth, he became M.H.R. for City West (John Williamson being the other member). He spoke very seldom in Parliament and retired in 1866. In 1870 he was called to the Legislative Council, of which he was a member till his death (22 Mar 1888). He owned the Surrey Hills estate, which he cut up and sold.

Cycl. NZ., ii (p); Auckland Star and N.Z. Herald, 23, 28 Mar 1888.

Reference: Volume 2, page 262

🌳 Further sources

WILLIAMSON, JOHN (1815-75) was born at Newry, County Down, Ireland, educated there and apprenticed to a printer. In 1840 he arrived at Sydney, and in 1841 came to Auckland under engagement to the Auckland Printing Co., and worked at his profession till 1845. He then purchased a printing plant from the Rev H. H. Lawry, and on 7 Jun established the New Zealander, in which he was joined in Jan 1848 by W. C. Wilson (q.v.). Williamson held strong views on politics, being a consistent Liberal, and on the inauguration of the constitution (1853) he was elected by the Pensioner Settlements to the Provincial Council, in which he sat until 1856. In Oct of that year he was elected Superintendent of the province, defeating J. A. Gilfillan by 162 votes. After working with a hostile council for a year, he was re-elected unopposed (1857). He carried through his 40 acre land settlement proposals to encourage immigration. At the elections in 1861 he retained the superintendency against Dr Stratford by a narrow majority (1,166 votes to 1,117). The Council was again hostile, and on the passing of the native lands act he felt that his power for carrying out what he considered a good policy was neutralised. He accordingly retired (18 Oct 1862) and Robert Graham, then the most popular man in the province, was nominated. Williamson was nominated at the last moment and defeated (1,625 votes to 1,141). His strong advocacy of a peaceful policy towards the Maori was very unpopular at the time. Had he desired he could have retired wealthy at this period. He did, in fact, remain out of provincial politics for three years. Meanwhile he had been a member of Parliament continuously (for Pensioner Settlements, 1855-60; City of Auckland West, 1861-75). He was a private member throughout, except for three weeks in Fox's executive (1861). He intended to contest the superintendency in 1865, but agreed with Graham to withdraw in favour of Whitaker, as the strongest man to defend provincial privileges against the central government. He re-entered the Council, however, at the head of the poll (Nov 1865); became a member of Whitaker's executive as commissioner of waste lands; and carried the election of O'Rorke to be speaker.

Whitaker resigned the superintendency in Mar 1867 and Williamson was elected unopposed. Financial depression lay heavily on the province which the courageous policy of Williamson was powerless to ameliorate. Meanwhile he coped vigorously with the demands of the new mining population on the Thames fields. At the dissolution of 1869 he was opposed by Gillies, and after one of the severest contests defeated by 52 votes. He was, however, again elected to the highest post in the province in Nov 1873 (defeating Dargaville and Lusk), and held it until his death (on 16 Feb 1875). In 1870 he was commissioner of crown lands for a few months. Williamson was a man of high character, strong will and great determination, with advanced Liberal views. His partnership with Wilson terminated in 1863, when the New Zealand Herald was established.

Auckland P.C. Proc.; Cycl. N.Z., ii (p); Morton; Cox; N.Z. Herald, 19 Feb 1875, 7 Jul 1876, 15 Jul 1929. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 262

🌳 Further sources

WILLIS, ALEXANDER JAMES (1827-1910) was born in Cape Colony. He moved with his parents to Tasmania (1831), and was educated at Hobart. In 1840 he was appointed clerk in the Office of the Controller-General of Convicts. The Victorian diggings in 1852 attracted him, and he was afterwards for two years superintendent of the convict hulk at Melbourne. Coming to Otago in 1861, he entered the office of the provincial secretary and became resident magistrate and goldfields warden, residing at Dunedin. In 1878 he joined the Land Tax department of the General Government, transferring to Wellington in 1881. He was secretary to the cabinet from 1885 to 1909. Willis married (1871) Amelia Anne, daughter of the Rev T. D. Nicholson (Nelson). He died on 28 Sep 1910.

Cycl. N.Z., i (p); Who's Who N.Z., 1908; N.Z. Times, 29 Sep 1910.

Reference: Volume 2, page 262

🌳 Further sources

WILLIS, ARCHIBALD DUDINGSTON (1842-1908) was born in Middlesex, England, and in 1857 worked his way to New Zealand in the Dinapore. He followed the trade of printer in various parts of New Zealand, spent some months on the Gabriel's Gully goldfield, and later was associated with the Hawkes Bay Herald. He subsequently joined John Ballance in the Wanganui Herald (1868) and established himself as a bookseller, stationer and printer in Wanganui. In public life Willis was chairman of the harbour board, and a member of the Wanganui borough council, the river trust, the chamber of commerce and the school committee. In 1893 he succeeded Ballance as member for Wanganui in the House of Representatives. In 1896 he was defeated by G. Carson. He regained the seat in 1899 and sat till 1905, when he was defeated by J. T. Hogan. Willis died on 27 Aug 1908.

N.Z.P.D., pass. (notably 4 Sep 1908); Cycl. N.Z., i (p); Wanganui Herald and Chronicle, 28 Aug 1908; Who's Who N.Z., 1908. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 262

🌳 Further sources

WILLIS, WILLIAM JARVIS (1840-84) was born in Sussex, educated at Eton, and received a commission as ensign in the 14th Regiment. He came to New Zealand in 1861 as lieutenant and adjutant of the 2nd battalion, with which he served until the end of the war. Having married (1864) Amelia, daughter of D. Riddiford, he sold out and settled here. Willis was appointed resident magistrate in Wairarapa and on taking up a farm at Marton continued to act as chairman of petty sessions for Rangitikei. During the Maori troubles he was a major in command of the militia and volunteers in Rangitikei and Manawatu. Later he was appointed resident magistrate for that district. In 1864 he purchased Woodendean, near Marton, and soon afterwards introduced the first Romneys into the district. In 1879 Willis resigned from the bench to contest the Rangitikei seat as a supporter of Hall. He defeated C. L. McLean; but owing to indifferent health he resigned early in the following year. He was chairman of the Upper Rangitikei highway board, a member of the Rangitikei county council and in later years chairman of the Porewa, Marton and Paraekaretu licensing benches. He died on 1 Mar 1884.

Parlty Records; J. G. Wilson; Rangitikei Advocate, 3 Mar 1884.

Reference: Volume 2, page 263

🌳 Further sources

WILLS, WILLIAM ROBERT (1837-96) was born at Bath, England, came to Auckland by the Assaye (1874) and lived at Onehunga to 1877, and thereafter at Otahuhu. He earned his livelihood as a journalist and local correspondent and wrote a good deal of verse. His published volumes include A Bunch of Wild Pansies (1885), and God's Splendid Son (1901). Many of his songs were set to music. Wills was an ardent Liberal in politics. He married Martha, daughter of Thomas Nield, and died on 8 May 1896.

Alexander and Currie; Annals N.Z. Lit.; Evening Herald (Dunedin), 28 Mar, 6 Jun 1885; Auckland Star, 8 May 1896; N.Z. Herald, 9 May.

Reference: Volume 2, page 263

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, ALEXANDER (1849-1929) was born near Inverness, Scotland, and was educated at the Aberdeen Grammar School and University (graduating M.A. in 1869). He spent a year in Germany, and, arriving in New Zealand in 1874, was appointed English master at the Otago Boys' High School. From 1885 to 1895 he was rector of the Otago Girls' High School and from 1896 to 1906 of the Otago Boys' High School. He was president of the Otago Institute, and the Dunedin Shakespeare Club (1889-1906), and published short studies in Shakespeare. In 1907 Wilson was appointed editor of the New Zealand Times, but in the following year returned to Scotland, where he died on 24 May 1929. In 1931 a memorial tablet to Wilson was presented by the old boys to the Otago Boys' High School.

Cycl. N.Z., iv; Otago B.H.S. Reg.; Who's Who N.Z., 1908, 1924; Otago Witness, 15 Dec 1931; Otago Daily Times, 5 Jul 1929, 12 Dec 1932, 3 Aug 1933 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 263

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, ANNE (1848-1930) was born at Greenvale, Victoria, the daughter of Robert Adams, St Enoch; educated at Geelong College, and married (1874) James Glenny Wilson (q.v.). She wrote (mostly under the pseudonym 'Austral'): Themes and Variations (1889); Alice Lauder (1893); Two Summers (1900) and A Book of Verses (1901). Lady Wilson died on 11 Feb 1930.

Who's Who N.Z., 1924; Annals N.Z. Lit.

Reference: Volume 2, page 263

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, CHARLES (1857-1932) was born at Harrogate, Yorkshire, the son of John Wilson of West Park, and educated at Harrogate College. He gained experience in the woollen trade in Bradford, and in commerce in Paris, and in 1880 he arrived at Port Chalmers. After teaching for a year at Te Aro school, Wellington, and for three years at Wanganui Collegiate School, he took up journalism as sub-editor of the Wanganui Chronicle. He subsequently edited the Gisborne Standard and the Napier Evening News; founded and edited the Marton Mercury, and in 1892 was appointed editor of the New Zealand Mail. He sat as member of Parliament for Wellington Suburbs (1898-99) and in 1901 was appointed chief parliamentary librarian, a position from which he retired in 1926. Wilson was an original member and for two years chairman of the Victoria College council, a founder of the Savage Club in Wellington and of the Yorkshire Society, and a member of the council of the Academy of Fine Arts (and sometime president). For many years he conducted in The Dominion a weekly literary column. He also published City of Wellington (1921), Rambles in Bookland (1922) and New Rambles (1923). He died on 10 Feb 1932.

Cycl. NZ., i (p); Who's Who NZ., 1908, 1924; The Dominion, 11 Feb 1932 (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 263

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, CHARLES KENDALL (1862-1934) was born in Sydney and came to New Zealand in 1878, to work for some time on Dr Grace's station on the Wanganui river. After completing a timber contract for Bartholomews, he took up a section at Horowhenua (under the Rolleston system) in 1889 and farmed there for many years, besides acting as auctioneer for Abraham and Williams. He was a member of the Horowhenua county council. He was a keen sportsman and fisherman, and at the age of 45 was still playing representative football. In 1909 Wilson took up land at Piopio, King Country. He strongly advocated the cause of the backblocks settlers and represented the Taumarunui electorate in Parliament from 1911 to 1914. He served for 20 years on the Waitomo county council, and was a member of the Wairere power board, the No 6 main highways board and of the Meat Export Control board (1923-31). Wilson died on 18 Nov 1934.

Reference: Volume 2, page 263

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, ISAAC (1840-1901), who was born at Ambleside, Westmoreland, England, arrived in Lyttelton in 1854, and with his brother Thomas took up farming at Kaiapoi. In 1862 he started a passenger coach service between Kaiapoi and Christchurch, and in 1879 he was one of the 12 purchasers of the Kaiapoi woollen mills, of which he was chairman of directors until 1883. Wilson sat as member for Mandeville in the Canterbury Provincial Council (1874-75) and as member for Kaiapoi in the House of Representatives (1881-84). He was chairman of the Eyreton road board and a member of the Kaiapoi borough council. He acquired a large farming property in Taranaki in the seventies. He died on 9 Nov 1901.

Cycl. N.Z., iii, vi, 214.

Reference: Volume 2, page 263

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, JAMES (1813-86) was born at Edinburgh and educated in the Academy there and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. Ordained deacon in 1836, he was curate of Preston, Lancashire, and Solihull, Warwickshire. Having purchased land in the Canterbury settlement, he came out as chaplain in the Isabella Hercus (1851) and commenced farming at Heathcote, where 'Wilson's road' was afterwards constructed. Later he moved to Broomfield, upper Riccarton. He was a progressive farmer, but was mainly noteworthy for his services in the adjustment of the arrangements between the Canterbury Association, the Government, the Bishop of New Zealand and the Provincial Council regarding the bishopric of Christchurch and Christ's College. With Tancred he attended the church conference in 1857 and helped to draft the constitution. He was for many years a member of the diocesan and general synods. In 1866 he was appointed a canon, and in 1871 archdeacon of Akaroa. He died on 16 Jan 1886.

Lyttelton Times, 19 Jan 1886.

Reference: Volume 2, page 263

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, JAMES (1814-98) was born at Ayr, Scotland, educated at the Wallacetown Academy, and brought up to country life. About 1842 he arrived in Sydney by the Earl Grey, and was appointed overseer at a government agricultural station near Bathurst. He remained in the government service till 1851, when he visited the goldfields in Victoria. In 1856 he came to New Zealand in the brig Thomas and Henry. With John Robertson he rode through south Otago and selected a run on the Oreti river, which became known as Waianiwa. He transported his family and belongings in the schooner Star, which sailed up the river to the Waikiwi, and then by a smaller boat to the Makarewa stream. He made several explorations and discovered the first gold in the Oteramika district.

Wilson was a member of the Southland Provincial Council (for Waihopai 1861-67 and 1869-70, and for Waianiwa 1867-69). In 1865-70 he was speaker of the Council. He was provincial treasurer and a member of the executive 1869-70 and deputy-superintendent in 1870. After the reunion with Otago, he sat in the Otago Council (for Southland 1870, for Makarewa 1873-77). For 30 years Wilson was chairman of the school committee at Waianiwa. He married a daughter of Samuel Benson (New South Wales). Wilson died on 19 Aug 1898.

Southland and Otago P.C. Proc.; Cycl. N.Z., iv; Southland Times, 23 Aug 1898.

Reference: Volume 2, page 263

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, JAMES IRWIN (1832-1913) was born in County Tyrone. On the death of his father, who was a surveyor and engineer, he came to Victoria (1852) and practised the same profession. He was engaged in the survey of Geelong and Ballarat. In 1855 he came to New Zealand and was appointed by Ligar to the survey staff, being employed for some time in the Mahurangi, Wade and Waiwera districts. In 1862 he was appointed provincial surveyor and in 1864 was sent to take charge of military surveys in the Waikato, following Heaphy's breakdown in health. In the following year, in consequence of retrenchment by the General Government, Wilson resigned and went into private practice with his two brothers. In 1866 he rejoined the Government service, being appointed district surveyor for north Auckland. Transport being very imperfect, he had to make several voyages round North Cape and across the Kaipara bar. In 1876 he again went into private practice. Wilson married Johanna (1837-1906), daughter of John Munro (q.v.). He died on 4 Oct 1913.

N.Z. Surveyor, Dec 1913; N. R. McKenzie

Reference: Volume 2, page 264

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, JAMES, of Mary Bank, Turakina, represented Wanganui and Rangitikei in the Provincial Council (1856-57). In 1864 he sold his property and in 1866 left for England.

Reference: Volume 2, page 263

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, JOHN ALEXANDER (1809-87) was born at Ipswich, the second son of Captain J. A. Wilson, of the 2nd Regiment (Queen's Own). At the age of 13 he entered the Royal Navy as a gentleman volunteer (Apr 1822), and saw considerable foreign service. He was at the capture of a pirate in the Gulf of Campeche, and in the ship which rescued the King of Portugal at Lisbon.

In 1828 Wilson married the daughter of Major Francis Hawker. Four years later he retired from the Navy with the rank of lieutenant to offer his services as a lay missionary to the Church Missionary Society. On 5 Oct 1832 he sailed with his family in the convict ship Camden for Port Jackson, and on 11 Apr 1833 arrived at Bay of Islands in the schooner Byron. He entered at once upon his duties as a catechist, mastered the Maori language, and in Dec proceeded with Preece to the station just opened at Puriri (Thames), where they were joined later by Fairburn and Morgan. In 1835 Wilson assisted Brown to open the station at Matamata, and in 1836 he went with Wade to Te Papa. When Waharoa raided Tauranga in Mar 1836 the missionary families were sent for safety to Puriri, but Wilson remained at his post. He was ordained deacon in 1852. In the Taranaki war, with the approval of the Government, Wilson accompanied the Waikato taua to Waitara, with the object of lessening their ferocity and protecting the wounded. He was at the battle of Puketakauere (Jun 1860), at Pukerangiora (Jan 1861) and at Huirangi (Dec). He persuaded them to accept a code of humane treatment, and to attend to the wounded day by day. Wilson died on 5 Jun 1887. His book Missionary Life and Work in New Zealand was published in 1889. His fourth son, Major-general George Alfred Wilson, died on 21 Jan 1889. (See J. A. WILSON, H. T. KEMP)

J. A. Wilson, op. cit; Wells; Gudgeon; Cowan; Sherrin and Wallace; Grace; Davis

Reference: Volume 2, page 264

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, JOHN ALEXANDER (1829-1909) was the eldest son of the Rev. J. A. Wilson (q.v.), and was born at Conde, France. He arrived in New Zealand with his parents in 1833 in the schooner Byron, and was educated mainly at the Waimate grammar school, the King's school at Parramatta, N.S.W., and St John's College, Auckland. His early years were spent at Bay of Islands and Bay of Plenty, and he was then engaged for some years farming at Opotiki and Tamaki. In 1857 he was elected to represent the Pensioner Settlements in the Auckland Provincial Council, of which he was a member until 1861. In that year he joined Nixon's cavalry, and two years later, on the outbreak of the Waikato war, he raised a company of the 3rd Waikato Regiment, and was appointed to command it with the rank of captain. He greatly distinguished himself at Rangiaohia (21 Feb 1864), when Nixon was killed. In 1866, at the conclusion of hostilities, Wilson was appointed special commissioner and crown agent for the settlement of confiscated lands in Bay of Plenty; in 1868 general native agent for the northern district, and in 1873 native land purchase officer for the East Coast. He became a judge of the native land court (1878-80) and from 1886 for 30 years was occupied with the duties of that court, the appellate court and the validation court and as a trust commissioner.

He had a profound knowledge of Maori language and lore, and published two important books, The Story of Te Waharoa (1866) and Sketches of Ancient Maori Life (1894), as well as pamphlets on The Immortality of the Universe (1875) and other subjects. He died on 28 Apr 1909.

Who's Who N.Z., 1908; Gudgeon (p); J. A. Wilson, op. cit., The Modus Operandi (1884); R. Cooper, Land Purchase on the East Coast (1877); N.Z. Herald, 29 Apr 1909.

Reference: Volume 2, page 264

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, JOHN NATHANIEL, an English solicitor, settled in Napier in the late fifties. He was crown prosecutor from 1860 and provincial solicitor from 1861. He was called to the Legislative Council (1877), and from Nov 1878 he was a member of Grey's executive. In 1893 he resigned to go to England. Wilson's appointment to the cabinet was recommended to Lord Normanby on the ground that more legal talent was required in the Council on the resignation of Sewell. He had taken no part in politics, but stood very high in his profession, having been leader of the bar in Napier for 12 years. Normanby declined to make the appointment unless Wilson was to take office in the Government and he was appointed accordingly, after some argument.

N.Z.P.D., 1877-93; App. H.R., 1877, A4; Lyttelton Times, 6 Jun 1878; Hawkes Bay Herald, 8 Jun

Reference: Volume 2, page 265

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, KENNETH (1842-1920) was born in Leeds, England, and educated at St John's College, Cambridge, where he graduated M.A. and was a minor scholar. He was selected in 1873 by Dr Vaughan, of the Temple, as headmaster of Wellington College, of which he had charge till 1881. Wilson was a man of high ideals, quiet, studious and dignified. Soon after his arrival he organised a centre in Wellington for holding Cambridge local examinations, and he was responsible for getting the University interested. After retiring from Wellington College, he managed the Thorndon classical school, and eventually lived in Palmerston North for 30 years. He died on 10 Oct 1920.

Leckie (p); The Dominion, 12 Oct 1920.

Reference: Volume 2, page 265

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, NATHANIEL (1836-1919) was born in Glasgow, the son of a blacksmith, and with his parents came to New Zealand in the Duchess of Argyle in 1842. He spent some years in Auckland and at Kawau, and eight years on the Victorian goldfields. In 1859 he established himself as a shoemaker at Warkworth, north Auckland, and later, with his brothers John and James T. Wilson, he established the lime works which developed into Wilson's Portland cement factory. Wilson was for 12 years a member and for eight chairman of the Rodney county council, was chairman of the Mahurangi road board and the Warkworth town board, and an honorary member of the Rechabites. His wife was a daughter of James Snell, of Matakana. Wilson died on 23 Sep 1919.

Cycl. NZ, ii, p. 541, 502

Reference: Volume 2, page 265

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, PETER (1791-1863) was born at Dunbar, Scotland, graduated from the medical school of Edinburgh University and served in the Navy during the war with America (1812-14). In the thirties he actively supported the cause of the Royalists in Spain, and at Gibraltar met and married Helen Ann, a daughter of James Simpson, the American consul at Tangier. In 1841 Wilson arrived at Wellington by the Slains Castle, and in 1847 he settled at New Plymouth, where he and his wife played a leading part in the life of the community. He was one of the founders of the Taranaki book club, the forerunner of the public library. Wilson died on 18 Dec 1863.

Skinner (p), p. 23; Wellington Independent, 6 Jul 1871; NZ Herald, 25

Reference: Volume 2, page 265

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, SIR JAMES GLENNY (1848-1929) was born at Hawick, Scotland, and was educated at Bruce Castle and at Tottenham (London), where he met W. Colenso and the Maori boy Pomare. He also attended classes at London and Edinburgh Universities. He married (1874) Anne (q.v.), daughter of Robert Adams, St Enoch, Victoria, and in the same year came to New Zealand, and took up sheepfarming in Rangitikei. He sat in the House of Representatives continuously from 1882 to 1896 (1882-90 as member for Foxton; 1890-93 for Palmerston North; 1893-96 for Otaki). He was president of the New Zealand Farmers' Union from its foundation in 1900 till 1920; he was the first president of the Board of Agriculture (founded in 1914); one of the founders of the Farmers' Distributing Co., and the first chairman of directors of the Dominion Farmers' Institute at its inception in 1915. He was an advocate of agricultural education in the state schools. Wilson held office as first president of the New Zealand Forestry League (1916-25) and was largely responsible for the establishment of the state forestry service. For many years he was a member of the Manawatu county council, and the Palmerston North hospital board. He was knighted in 1915. In 1914 he published his recollections, Early Rangitikei. Wilson died on 3 May 1929.

J. G. Wilson, op. cit.; The Dominion, 6 May 1929 (p); Evening Post, 4 May.

Reference: Volume 2, page 264

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, SIR JOHN CRACROFT (1808-81) was the son of Alexander Wilson, F.R.S., a judge in the Madras civil service, and was born at Onore, in that presidency. He went to England for his education and, having matriculated from Haileybury School, entered Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1826 and remained there two years. In 1828 he married a daughter of S. Wall. He was appointed a cadet in the Bengal civil service, and through his own ability and the influence of a distinguished father, he made good progress. Before long he was assistant commissioner under Sir William Sleeman, and made a name for himself in the suppression of thuggism. While still a young man he was appointed magistrate at Cawnpore; and in 1841 he was promoted to Mooradabad as magistrate and collector, a post which he administered until 1853. His first wife having died, Wilson married (1844) Jane Torrie, daughter of James Greig. During the war in Scinde he was attached in a civil capacity to the staff of Sir Charles Napier, and he took part in 1843 in the battle of Meanee, at which 2,000 European troops defeated 30,000 Baluchis and slew 6,000 of them. In 1854, on accumulated leave, Wilson paid a visit to Australia for the benefit of his health, taking with him, in the American ship Akbar, a number of Indian animals, including deer, and a Damascus Arab horse purchased in Calcutta. He had also some Indian followers who settled in New Zealand. After touching at Melbourne, the Akbar sailed to Sydney and Newcastle, taking on 14 horses, 110 cattle and 2,000 sheep. The voyage was an unfortunate one; 1,200 sheep had to be thrown overboard, and a call made at Croisilles for food, fuel, and water. On 8 Apr the Akbar reached Lyttelton. The last of the deer died that day, but the Arab (Wanderer) survived. Wilson prospected the country, and fixed upon rising ground at the foot of the Port Hills for his run, giving it the name Cashmere. There he made his home, working hard to get it into order before his leave expired. In May 1855 he returned to Calcutta with his wife and resumed his post as civil and sessions judge at Mooradabad. The outbreak of a mutiny amongst the native troops in 1857 imperilled the white population and the existence of the British power. Mooradabad was in the heart of the disaffected area. Wilson was a man of action. 'Without any undue appreciation of his own influence and capacity for good,' says Kaye (the historian), 'he applied to the lieutenant-governor to enlarge his powers.'

The application was promptly granted, and Wilson acted with characteristic resolution and sagacity.' Kaye describes him as 'a civil functionary of immense energy and courage, a man equal to any emergency and capable of any act of daring.' In his own district, where the 29th Sepoy Regiment was stationed, the unflinching courage and resource with which he faced their mutiny made a great impression. On one occasion, as he passed the lines of the native artillery, they laid their guns and lit their portfires, but 'Wilson's clear blue eyes calmly confronted the murderous design. Without a sign of fear on his face he rode towards the guns, not from them, and waved his hat as a challenge to the gunners, who, abashed and overawed by the bearing of the intrepid Englishman, slunk back, and Wilson was saved.' In his despatch of 2 Jul 1859, Canning singled out Wilson for first mention amongst all the civilians who comported themselves so well. 'I name this gentleman first,' wrote Canning, 'because of his enviable distinction of having by his obstinate courage and perseverance saved more Christian lives than any other man in India. He did this at the repeatedly imminent peril of his own life. He has since left the service of the Indian government, and retired to New Zealand, where I respectfully hope that the favour of the Crown may follow him.' Wilson was made a C.B. for his eminent services as special commissioner for the trial of rebels and mutineers, and when the order of the Star of India was created (1872) he was made a knight. He retired from the service in 1859, and came back to Canterbury, accompanied by a retinue of Indian servants. Wilson was not permitted to remain out of public life in Canterbury. In 1861 he was elected to Parliament for the City of Christchurch, which he represented until 1866, a picturesque and respected figure. Then he was returned for Coleridge (1866-70) and he was later member for Heathcote (1872-75). Meanwhile he represented Ashburton in the Provincial Council (1862-66), and Heathcote (1871 and 1875-76). He was for a short period, in 1875, president of the executive. In Parliament he was many years chairman of the public petitions committee. He served long on school committees (some time as chairman of the Upper Heathcote Committee). He was on the road board and chairman of the Amuri county council and of the Canterbury Saleyards Co. He imported stud sheep (chiefly Lincolns) and carried off many prizes. Keenly interested in acclimatisation he was chairman of the Canterbury society for many years, and also president. One of the early members of the Jockey club, he was associated with Cass in selecting the site of the racecourse. As a volunteer he was major commanding the Canterbury Yeomanry Cavalry. As a churchman, he was churchwarden at Halswell, a member of St John's Church and of the synod. He was a constant patron of the opera and the drama, and a governor of Canterbury College (1875).

Wilson died on 2 Mar 1881 and his widow on 19 Feb 1895.

Canterbury P.C. Proc.; Cycl. N.Z., iii; J. W. Kaye, History of the Sepoy War in India; Cox; Acland; Lyttelton Times, 12 Nov 1853; The Press, 15 Feb 1930 (p). Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 265

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, THOMAS (1814-86), born at Burton-on-Trent, came to Taranaki in the Berkshire (1849) and spent some years in business in New Plymouth and farming. In 1856 he moved to Raglan in the Zillah and took up a farm at Okete, where he remained throughout the Maori wars, running many risks and alarms from hostile natives. He represented Raglan in the Auckland Provincial Council (1873) and was chairman of the Whaingaroa road board and a member of the county council. Wilson died on 8 Sep 1886.

Parltry Record; Waikato Times, 14 Sep 1886.

Reference: Volume 2, page 265

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, THOMAS ELLIOTT (1853-1918) was born in London, the son of Robert Wilson (of the Otago foundry, Dunedin), came to New Zealand with his parents (1863), and attended Gardner's school in Stuart Street. He was employed for a while in the foundry, but when the family removed to Oamaru served his apprenticeship to the printing trade with the North Otago Times. In 1876 he established the North Canterbury News at Kaiapoi. He afterwards established or managed the Bruce Standard, Waikato Gazette, Waimate Times, Nenthorn Recorder, Bruce Herald, Egmont Settler, Helensville Times, Waitara Times, Mangaweka Settler, Kawhia Settler, Geraldine Times and the Taihape Post. In 1907 he sold the Post to a local syndicate and retired from journalism to become an auctioneer and commission agent. Wilson married (1893) a daughter of Samuel Gibbs, Oamaru (q.v.). He died on 8 Jan 1918.

Cycl. N.Z., vi (p).

Reference: Volume 2, page 265

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, WILLIAM (1819-97) was born at Castle Douglas, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland. After serving an apprenticeship of seven years to a seedsman in his native shire, he worked for several private employers. In 1850 he came to Canterbury in the Mariner, and at once established himself as a nurseryman at the Bricks, with shrubs and plants obtained from the other provinces and seeds from England. He was M.P.C. for Kaiapoi (1864-66) and for City of Christchurch (1869-70). He was chairman of the town board, furthered the movement for the creation of a borough and was the first mayor (1868). He was instrumental in the introduction of gas lighting and artesian water and was chairman of the horticultural society, a life member and 11 years vice-president of the A. and P. association. Wilson opened three or four coalmines in the Malvern hills and quarries at Halswell and White Rock. He died on 8 Nov 1897.

Cycl. N.Z., iii (p); Wigram; Lyttelton Times, 9 Nov 1897.

Reference: Volume 2, page 265

🌳 Further sources

WILSON, WILLIAM SCOTT (1835-1902) was born in Tasmania, the son of W. C. Wilson (1807-76), with whom he came to New Zealand in 1841. His father entered into partnership with John Williamson in the New Zealander newspaper and printing business, to which William was apprenticed at the age of 11. He went through all branches of the trade and on completing his apprenticeship took charge of the printing department of the Herald. In 1863, owing to a difference of opinion on policy, the partnership was dissolved and W. C. Wilson with his sons started the New Zealand Herald. After his father's death (on 5 Jul 1876) a partnership was concluded with A. G. Horton, who had purchased the Southern Cross from Vogel and in Dec 1876 the papers were amalgamated. Besides participating in the control of the paper for many years, Wilson was a director of the Bank of New Zealand, the New Zealand Insurance Co. (chairman for many years), the Northern Shipping Co., the Accident Assurance Co., the Northern Boot Co. and the Riverhead paper mill. He was a staunch Wesleyan and a liberal supporter of the Y.M.C.A. Wilson died on 28 Jun 1902.

Cycl. NZ., ii (p); Morton, p. 43; NZ. Herald, 30 Jun 1902.

Reference: Volume 2, page 265

🌳 Further sources

WIMPERIS, FRANCES MARY (1840-1925) was born at Chester, her father, Edmund R. Wimperis, being manager of leadworks there. She spent her childhood in that town, the Kingsleys being their friends, and Charles Kingsley, who was canon of Chester, being leader of the naturalists' field club, of which she was a member. Miss Wimperis studied art at the Slade school in London, being under Sir E. J. Poynter for painting and under Legros for drawing. She came to Dunedin in 1879, and some time later was appointed art mistress at the Girls' High School, a position she occupied for 15 years. She did a good deal of painting herself, mostly flower studies and some landscapes, and exhibited regularly at the Otago Art Society, of which she was a member. She died on 19 May 1925. Her brother, Edmund M. Wimperis (1835-1900) was a vice-president of the Royal Institute.

Otago Daily Times, 21 May 1925; The Times, 28

Reference: Volume 2, page 266

🌳 Further sources

WING, EDWARD THOMAS (1842-1929) was born at Bay of Islands, the son of Captain Thomas Wing (q.v.), and for many years lived aboard the Deborah schooner. Educated at Wesley College, he went to sea and at 19 had gained his master's certificate. Being unable to acquire it until he came of age he was given charge of the pilot station at Manukau Heads. He spent some years on the goldfields of Victoria and Otago and West Coast and then, with his brother, purchased the steamer Halcyon, with which they traded between Onehunga, Greymouth and Hokitika. They secured mail contracts between Whangarei and the Thames in which they employed the Halcyon, besides managing the coastal fleet of Robert Mason and Co. (Dunedin). Wing then commanded several steamers belonging to the Union Steamship Co. (including the Bruce, Star of the South, Maori and Beautiful Star). In 1874 he was appointed manager of the Lake Wakatipu Co.'s fleet, from which he retired in 1904 to live in Auckland. Wing married (1864) Catherine Turnbull (d. 1924). He died on 3 Aug 1929.

NZ Herald, 5 Aug 1929 (p)

Reference: Volume 2, page 266

🌳 Further sources

WING, THOMAS (1810-88) came to New Zealand first in 1835 as chief officer of the Independence, built at New Bedford in 1811 and commanded by Captain Clendon. He lived at Bay of Islands for some years, and when Clendon received an official post he took command of the vessel on her return to England. In 1837 she was cast away at Vavau (Tonga) but, being salvaged, was renamed the Tokerau. He came back in 1839 and surveyed Manukau and Kaipara harbours in the schooner Fanny, and was at Cloudy Bay with Guard in Nov. He again went to England, where he purchased the brigantine Deborah, 220 tons, in which he returned to New Zealand and made many trading voyages to coastal ports, Sydney and Tasmania. He was a skilful and competent navigator, so well acquainted with all the southern ports that Colonel Wakefield and Tuckett engaged his vessel for their explorations as far south as Stewart Island, and to carry stores for the New Edinburgh settlement (1844). He was harbourmaster at Launceston (Tasmania) 1852-56; was on the harbour staff at Melbourne and then, returning to New Zealand, was for 30 years in charge of the pilot service at Manukau and harbourmaster at Auckland. He witnessed the wreck of H.M.S. Orpheus (1863). Wing retired in 1887 and died on 19 Aug 1888.

N.Z. Archives, Br. and N.Z.C. reports; Carleton; Hocken; Sherrin and Wallace; N.Z. Herald, 3, 10 Jul 1880, 20 Aug 1888, 5 Aug 1929; Nelson Examiner, 20 Jul 1844

Reference: Volume 2, page 266

🌳 Further sources

WINSTONE, GEORGE (1848-1932) was born in Somerset, of a family who had farmed at Failand for generations. At the age of 13 he went to Queensland, and eight years later joined his brother William, who had established a carrying business in Auckland. For 39 years he was a director of W. and G. Winstone, and on its being formed into a company in 1904 he continued as chairman till his death (1 May 1932). The firm carried out many contracts in connection with public works, and established brick works, gravel and shingle pits, quarries, firewood and coal yards, coachbuilding and harness works. It was also interested in the ownership and running of coastal ships. Winstone was chairman of Frank W. Winstone, Ltd., of Wilson's Portland Cement Co. and the Taupiri coal mines. He was a member of the harbour board, and of the Mount Roskill road board, to which he presented parks (amounting to 33 acres). Winstone was a staunch Methodist, a member of the Pitt Street congregation for 63 years, a trustee, superintendent of the Sunday school, and twice president of the Sunday school union, which he represented at conferences in the United States (1910), and Glasgow (1924). He was a temperance advocate and a member of the executive of the New Zealand Alliance.

N.Z. Herald, 2 May 1932.

Reference: Volume 2, page 266

🌳 Further sources

WITHEFORD, JOSEPH HOWARD (1847-1931), a son of Clement Witheford, was born in Bromsgrove, Worcester, and came to New Zealand as a boy. He spent some time on the Thames goldfields, and later became a sharebroker in Auckland. During the eighties he successfully negotiated with the British Admiralty for a subsidy of £5,000 a year for the naval works of the Auckland harbour board, and in 1900 he became chairman of that body. He was mayor of Birkenhead and sat in the House of Representatives as member for Auckland City (1900-05). Witheford played an important part in developing Auckland gold mines by floating mining companies. About 1906 he went to live in London, where he died on 30 Oct 1931.

N.Z.P.D., 25 Feb 1932; Cycl. N.Z., ii; Who's Who N.Z., 1908, 1924. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 266

🌳 Further sources

WITHER, CHARLES BIGG, was born in Hampshire and educated at Winchester School and Edinburgh University. He came to New Zealand in the Ursula (1843), and took up a run in the Vernon Hills, in the Wairau district, and later a farm at Richmond. In 1863 he was called to the Legislative Council, but he resigned a few months later. He was a governor of Nelson College (1858) and a justice of the peace. He was believed to be a descendant of the poet and pamphleteer George Wither (1588-1667). Wither died in 1874.

Cycl. NZ, vi.

Reference: Volume 2, page 266

🌳 Further sources

WITHY, EDWARD (1844-1927) was born at Bristol of Quaker stock, and educated at the Friends' school at Sidcot. In 1858 he passed the Cambridge local examination and in 1860 was apprenticed to Richardson and Duck, shipbuilders, Stockton-on-Tees, where he rose to be manager of the yard. For some time he acted as inspector to the P. and O. Co., travelling extensively in the East. Returning to England in 1867 he married Annie Treadgold (Stockton-on-Tees), and in 1869 founded the shipbuilding firm of Edward Withy and Co., West Hartlepool, which prospered in the years following the Franco-German war. About this time Withy paid a visit to Australia and New Zealand, and on selling his business in 1884 he settled in Auckland with his family. (The purchasers of the business were his brother, Henry Withy, and Sir Christopher Furness, and the firm was later known as Furness-Withy.) Withy was an advanced Liberal, and one of the originators of the National Liberal club. He had been a follower of Alfred Russell Wallace until reading Progress and Poverty, when he became a disciple of Henry George. He gave evidence before several royal commissions and inaugurated in his yards premiums for good work. He was on the first undenominational school committee in West Hartlepool and a member of the local board of health. Withy was a keen advocate of modern and technical education. For two years he was president of the university extension association at West Hartlepool, and he delivered courses of lectures on shipbuilding. In 1887 he defeated Tole for the Newton seat. He did not seek re-election in 1890, but stood for Auckland City in 1893 with the object of promoting the single-tax doctrine. He was on the Parnell borough council (1894). For some years Withy was acting-president of the Auckland Anti-poverty Society (Sir George Grey being honorary president). He was president of the New Zealand Single-tax league and later of the New Zealand Land Values league. He wrote many letters in the press on single tax, an article in the Westminster Review, and several pamphlets on this subject and ground rent. He returned to live in England in 1912, and died in Jersey on 26 Mar 1927.

Family information; N.Z.P.D., 24 Jun 1927; N.Z. Herald, 27 Sep 1887, 12 Aug, 20 Nov 1893. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 266

🌳 Further sources

WOHLERS, JOHANN FRIEDRICH HEINRICH (1811-85) was the son of a farmer of Mahlenstorf, in the parish of Brucken, Hanover, which was at the time occupied by the French. After the French retired, the father was elected squire of the parish. At the age of six Johann went to live with a grandmother at Hoyerhagen. There he received his education, and grew to manhood 'among carts, plough, harrows, and corn wagons.' When he reached the later teens he still felt himself to be an uncultured youth who could not mix with those with whom he approached the doors of the missionary seminary.

Wohlers often visited the mill at Vilsen, and from the miller's family obtained a translation of the appeal of the British Methodists (1836) for workers for the Fiji mission field. (See WATKIN) He decided to become a missionary and with that in view he went to Bremen and afterwards to Hamburg. From 1837 to 1842 he studied in the Lutheran mission school of the Reformed North German Mission Union at Bremen, one of his fellow-pupils being Riemenschneider (q.v.). There he learned a little Latin and Greek before the mission decided that this was unnecessary. Instead, the missionaries should possess some handicraft so that they might build a farm establishment wherever they went. Wohlers undertook this laborious work with the others, who were all physically better suited for hard work. In Aug 1842 he was ordained in the Church of St Michael, Hamburg, and in Oct a service of intercession was held in the Church of St George on behalf of the four who were destined for New Zealand-Trost, Heine, Riemenschneider, and Wohlers. They sailed the day after Christmas in the St Pauli, with a full complement of German immigrants for Nelson. The agent for the company (N. Beit) took his family with him. Wohlers tells in his autobiography (published in English in 1895) how the use of the titles 'Mr,' 'Madam,' and 'Miss' amongst the German emigrants produced a feeling of self-respect which was quite new.

The St Pauli reached Nelson a few days before the disaster at the Wairau. There seemed to be few natives in the South Island not already within the jurisdiction of some Christian mission, and the German society wished to break new ground. Meanwhile, therefore, the missionaries established themselves in a hut in Nelson (placed at their disposal by Tuckett), and shortly moved to the upper Moutere Valley. The German immigrants were in sad straits, and relief was found for them on road works at Moutere. In Feb 1844 Tuckett invited Wohlers to accompany him in the schooner Deborah on a cruise to decide upon a suitable locality for the proposed New Edinburgh settlement. Wohlers accepted with gratitude. While in Banks Peninsula he made the acquaintance of Tuhawaiki (q.v.), and discussed the advisability of establishing a mission on his island, Ruapuke. While exploring with Creed on Banks Peninsula Wohlers lost his way, and the two were out on the hills for four days. Creed having been disembarked at Waikouaiti to relieve Watkin, the Deborah proceeded to Otago harbour. When she reached Foveaux strait (in the middle of May) Wohlers was rowed ashore at Ruapuke with all his belongings and took up his residence in the house of the chief. It was two years before his books and clothes reached Ruapuke, and for some years the usual period absorbed in writing to Germany and receiving a reply was two and a half years. Wohlers lived and travelled as a hermit, grew his own vegetables, but could not induce the Maori to do so. The small number of natives in the south would not justify the society in Germany in sending any more missionaries to that part of the country. Encouraged by Creed (q.v.), Wohlers set himself to learn the language, and by example communicated to the natives better ideas of order and cleanliness. He made good progress in collecting from the natives their myths and legends, many of which he submitted to Sir George Grey. His observations in natural history he communicated to von Haast, and thus was in stimulating touch with two great collaborators. In 1846, with the help of natives and some of the white men living near, Wohlers built a small church. When he had spent three or four years in Ruapuke he developed a tendency to melancholy, for which Creed prescribed a journey to Waikouaiti. At the end of 1848 a recruit, Brother Honoré (q.v.), arrived from Germany, and Wohlers commenced to erect a better house. He had received instructions to proceed to Nelson to ordain Heine as a pastor for the congregation of Germans there. Tuckett, now in England, remained a staunch friend, and in 1848 he sent Wohlers the machinery of a flourmill to be worked by oxen. Having neither oxen nor grain, Wohlers sold the mill in Dunedin, receiving in return the sum of £40 and his passage to Wellington. No money was received from Germany beyond the 5s per month which Wohlers had stipulated should be allowed to each missionary as pocket money.

While in Wellington, Wohlers met Volkner (q.v.), who had come to reinforce the mission, and he made the acquaintance of a widow, Elise Palmer, whom he married (1849). Having been appointed registrar of births, deaths and marriages, and being now a married missionary, Wohlers was in a better position to do beneficial work amongst the natives. He and his wife taught the Maori domestic crafts, and Wohlers was able to interest them in growing wheat, which they ground in their own mill until they found it more congenial to barter mutton birds for flour. They also raised good crops of potatoes, which they sold to Dunedin and Australia. In 1850 the mission house was burned down and Wohlers lost all his books and manuscripts. Much of the knowledge he had acquired from the Maori and the story of his own experiences he put on record in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute (1874, 1875, and 1881).

In 1862 the mission in Otago was strengthened by the appointment of Riemenschneider to Port Chalmers, but, as Wohlers had foreseen, the natives in Otago were inevitably drawn within the sphere of the churches of the colonists. In 1868, from funds which were available from government sources, a native school was opened at Ruapuke, of which Wohlers was given charge. Wohlers died on 7 May 1885.

Wohlers, op. cit. (p); Hocken; Buller; Roberts; Trans. N.Z. Institute; Otago Daily Times, 14 Mar 1930.

Reference: Volume 2, page 267

🌳 Further sources

WOOD, JAMES (1822-75) came to New Zealand in the fifties, and in 1857 settled at Napier where he founded the first paper in the province, the Hawke's Bay Herald. He was member of the Provincial Council for Napier Town (1862-67) and for Havelock North (1867-71), and was for some years chairman of committees of the Council. In 1871 Wood sold the Herald. He died at New Caledonia on 26 Nov 1875.

Hawkes Bay P.C. Proc.; Cycl. N.Z., vi, p. 363 (p); Hawke's Bay Herald, 4 Jan 1876.

Reference: Volume 2, page 267

🌳 Further sources

WOOD, READER GILSON (1821-95) was born at Highfields, Leicestershire, and educated at the Merchant Taylors' school, London, after which he was a pupil for six years of William Flint, architect and surveyor. He then came to Australia, and in 1844 to New Zealand. Heke's war breaking out shortly afterwards, he held a commission in the volunteer artillery and served at Ohaeawai (being mentioned in Despard's despatch). After the war he practised his profession in Auckland, and in 1848 was appointed government inspector of roads; in 1849 permanent architect and inspector of public works; and in 1852 deputy Surveyor-general for New Ulster. He had charge of road construction and controlled a great number of native labourers. In 1850 he married Mary Jane (d. 31 Aug 1898), daughter of George Holland (London).

When the waste lands were transferred to the General Government (1856), Wood retired to practise his profession and sharebroking. In 1857 he was returned to the Provincial Council for Auckland Suburbs, which he represented until 1861. He was an eloquent speaker and showed considerable political sagacity. Contesting the parliamentary seat for City East (1858), he was defeated by Forsaith, but in Jan 1861 he defeated Heale for Parnell, and six months later he was Colonial Treasurer in Fox's government and Commissioner of Customs. His success in charge of these portfolios was marked, and he administered the same offices until Nov 1864 (in the Domett and Whitaker-Fox ministries). He put forward a scheme of land settlement which involved the raising of £3,000,000, and at the end of 1864 he resigned his portfolios and went to England, where he raised £1,000,000. On his return to the Colony he resigned his seat in Parliament and devoted himself to his private affairs, which were prejudiced by the removal of the seat of government to Wellington. In 1870 he was again elected to Parliament by Parnell, which he represented until 1878, when he resigned again to visit England. In 1873 Wood re-entered the Provincial Council (for Parnell), remaining there until the abolition and being a member of the executive for a few months in 1875.

In Parliament Wood opposed the borrowing policy of Vogel, and found himself definitely within the Liberal camp. When the Grey Government was defeated at the polls (1879) he was close in Grey's confidence, and the leader wished him to accept the treasurership or even the premiership. This he declined firmly, and when it was clear that Grey was determined to retire Wood consulted with other Auckland members (Swanson, Hurst and Colbeck), and they agreed to give their support to Sir John Hall on the understanding that he would use the majority thus assured to further manhood suffrage, to defend the existing system of secular education, and to grant to Auckland what they believed to be due from recent loans. Wood was now representing Waitemata (having defeated J. S. Macfarlane in 1879). At the dissolution in 1881 he was defeated by Tole for Eden. He stood once more unsuccessfully and then retired from politics. He was chairman of the Auckland Gas Co., and a trustee of the Auckland Savings Bank.

Wood was a man of great ability, a pungent and facile speaker and a financier of no mean order. He secured the abolition of the old civil service pensions by a resolution in 1871, and proposed a graduated scheme of salaries in preference to a 10 per cent cut all round. He and Gillies were the most determined critics of Vogel's borrowing policy in the seventies. Wood died on 20 Aug 1895.

Cycl. N.Z., i, ii; Saunders, ii; Reeves; Rusden; Gisborne; Cox; N.Z. Herald, 18 Jun 1881, 21 Aug 1895. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 268

🌳 Further sources

WOOD, SUSAN, née Lapham (?-1880), was a daughter of Samuel Lapham, of Tasmania, and in 1854 married John Nugent Wood, later resident magistrate of Southland. She lived for some time at Bendigo; came to New Zealand in 1861, and lived at Gabriel's Gully and later at Arrowtown and Wendonside, Southland. She contributed to the Otago Witness and the Saturday Advertiser lyrics, tales and essays many of which were collected in Bush Flowers from Australia and Waiting for the Mail. She died on 30 Nov 1880.

Cycl. N.Z., iv; Wood, op. cit.; Saturday Advertiser, 11 Dec 1880.

Reference: Volume 2, page 268

🌳 Further sources

WOOD, WILLIAM (1827-84) was born in the Midlands of England. Emigrating as a young man, he spent some years in New South Wales, where he made a comfortable fortune as a butcher. He came to New Zealand in the Lord Worsley (1859), joined the rush to Tuapeka, and then settled at Invercargill and invested his money. In 1865 Wood was elected to the Southland Provincial Council for Campbelltown, which he represented 1865-67 and from 1869 until the reunion with Otago. He was a member of the Southland executive in 1866 and 1867, and was Superintendent from 1869 until the reunion was effected. He then entered the Otago Council, in which he sat for Southland (1870) and for Waihopai (1873 to abolition). Here again he was on the executive (1875). Wood represented Invercargill in Parliament (1866-70) and Mataura (1876-78). On resigning he was called to the Legislative Council (1878-84). He did not seek public office, but his experience and qualifications were demanded by the difficult circumstances of Southland. He was the first mayor of Invercargill (1871-73) and established a parliamentary procedure in the Council meetings. He died on 30 Aug 1884.

Cycl. N.Z., iv; Southland Daily News, 1 Sep 1884. Portrait: Parliament House.

Reference: Volume 2, page 268

🌳 Further sources

WOODS, JOHN JOSEPH (1849-1934) was born and educated in Tasmania, and was for eight years a school teacher there before coming to New Zealand. He landed on the West Coast and spent some time in Nelson, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. He taught in private schools at Lawrence and Invercargill. He took a special interest in music, and played 12 instruments, but excelled with the violin. For many years he was conductor of the choir in the Roman Catholic church at Lawrence, where he was clerk to the Tuapeka county council. Woods is best known as the composer of the music to which Bracken's God Defend New Zealand was set. Bracken wrote the anthem in 1878, and dedicated it to the Governor (Normanby). The Saturday Advertiser then offered a prize for the best music, and a committee in Melbourne, consisting of Zelman, Zeplin and Siede made the award. Woods was a prominent cricketer and tennis player, and captain of the Lawrence cycling club.

Personal information from J. J. Woods; Cycl. NZ., iv (p); MS in Auckland Public Library; Saturday Advertiser, 27 Jul, 26 Oct 1878; Tuapeka Times, 20 Feb 1932.

Reference: Volume 2, page 268

🌳 Further sources

WOODTHORPE, ROBERT AUGUSTUS (1861-1931), a son of William Woodthorpe, was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, and attended Cooper's grammar school, London. Coming to Australia as a young man, he entered Moore Theological College, Sydney, was ordained in the Anglican church in 1886, and graduated at Sydney University (B.A. 1886; M.A. 1890, with first-class honours in philosophy). Woodthorpe was curate of Christchurch, Sydney (1885-89); and vice-warden and tutor of St Paul's College, Sydney University (1890-92). Coming then to New Zealand, he was vicar of Kumara (1892-94), chaplain to the Christchurch Maori mission (1894-96), vicar of Ashburton (1899-1902) and of St John's, Christchurch (1902-05); warden of Selwyn College, Dunedin (1905-07), and archdeacon of Oamaru (1913-17). In 1918 he was appointed lecturer in history and acting-professor of economics at Otago University and in 1923 professor. Retiring in 1925, Woodthorpe died in Sydney on 27 Nov 1931. He was the author of a number of works on philosophic, economic and political subjects, and was a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Economic Society. In 1891 he married Alice, daughter of Richard Meares of Sydney.

Cycl. N.Z., iii; Who's Who N.Z., 1908, 1924; Sydney Morning Herald, 30 Nov 1931.

Reference: Volume 2, page 268

🌳 Further sources

WOODWARD, JONAS (1810-81) was born in England and was employed as a schoolmaster under the British and Foreign Bible Society before entering the office of Sharp Brothers, bullion merchants. There he remained for many years until 1842, when he sailed for Wellington in the Clifton and obtained clerical employment with Bethune and Hunter. In 1855 Woodward was appointed provincial auditor and in the following year he became a member of the Provincial Council. He represented Wellington City from 1855-57 and Wellington Country from 1859-65. In 1856 he was appointed provincial treasurer, and in 1865 he came under the General Government, in whose service he rose to be paymaster and receiver-general, retiring in 1880. He then became manager of the Wellington Trust and Loan Co., the successor of building societies with which he had been associated for 30 years. He was chairman of the committee to promote the East and West Coast railway, and reported to the Government on the Industrial Exhibition of 1881. Woodward was a member of the civil service examination board, was for many years chairman of the Thorndon school committee and was associated from the beginning with the Wellington Athenaeum. Before leaving England he was connected with the Sunday School Union. In Wellington he founded the Congregational Church in 1842 and was its pastor till 1859, and an office-bearer and Sunday school teacher throughout his life. He was a visiting justice of the gaol and the asylum and a leader of the temperance movement and of the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Choral Society. Woodward died on 13 Jun 1881.

Wellington P.C. Proc.; Ward; N.Z. Times, 14, 15, 17 Jun 1881.

Reference: Volume 2, page 268

🌳 Further sources

WOOLCOCK, CHARLES, was for some years a merchant in Greymouth. From 1874 to the abolition he represented Greymouth as an executive member in the Westland Provincial Council. In 1876 he was returned as member for Grey Valley in the House of Representatives in which he sat till 1879. Woolcock died at Wollongong, Australia, in Dec 1891.

Cycl. NZ., v; Harrop, Westland.

Reference: Volume 2, page 268

🌳 Further sources

WOOLLCOMBE, BELFIELD (1816-91) was born at Bellerton, Cornwall, the son of the rector, the Rev Henry Woollcombe, with whom he moved to High Hampton and Ashbury. At the age of 13 he entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman in H.M.S. Thunderer. He was in the West Indies in 1830 and served in the China campaign (1839-40). In 1841 he was promoted lieutenant, and in 1850 he retired on pension with the rank of commander, afterwards advanced to captain. Arriving in New Zealand in 1852, he joined Mallock, Lee and Lance in the New Zealand Woolgrowing Co., which had a large property at Mt Parnassus, north Canterbury. In 1857 he settled at Timaru, where he bought a small section and built himself a house. He was appointed Government agent charged with all official duties, including those of postmaster, resident magistrate, immigration agent, harbourmaster and registrar of births, deaths and marriages. With his naval experience he made an efficient survey of Timaru harbour. In 1878 he retired, after having brought into operation almost every government department in the town. He was then engaged in business with G. F. Clulee until his death (22 Jul 1891). Woollcombe was keenly interested in St Mary's Anglican church, being architect of the building and a churchwarden for many years. He contested the Timaru parliamentary seat against Turnbull, but was defeated (1879). He married (1861) Frances A., daughter of the Rev Henry Fendall, of Fendalton, Christchurch.

Roberts; Col. Gent.; Woodhouse; Cycl. N.Z., iii (p); Andersen (p); Timaru Herald, 23 Jul 1891.

Reference: Volume 2, page 268

🌳 Further sources

WOON, GARLAND WILLIAM (1831-95), the son of William Woon (q.v.) was born at Nukualofa, Tonga, and came to New Zealand with his parents in 1834. He was educated at the mission school at Waimate (under R. Taylor, q.v.), and in 1846 was apprenticed to Williamson and Wilson, publishers of the New Zealander (Auckland). Completing his term (1849) he then joined the family at Waimate (Taranaki), and in 1850 his father set him up as a printer in New Plymouth. In 1852 he married Ann, daughter of William George (Helston, Cornwall).

In partnership with W. Collins, Woon established the Taranaki Herald (4 Aug 1852). Wicksteed was the first editor. In 1854 Collins withdrew from the paper, Woon carrying on until 1867, when losses in the post-war depression compelled him to sell out to Henry Weston. His later editors were Crompton, C. W. Richmond, J. C. Richmond, Arthur Atkinson and R. Pheney. Woon had a good knowledge of Maori and many native friends, and so was often able to give valuable intelligence of Maori affairs. For some time he practised as a native interpreter and land purchase officer. In 1868 he went to the Thames diggings, but having no luck was appointed in 1874 clerk in the provincial works department. Later he was clerk and interpreter to the R.M. at Wanganui, where he retired (1892) and died (6 Jun 1895).

Woon (p); Taranaki Herald, 1852-57 and Jubilee issue, 4 Aug 1892

Reference: Volume 2, page 269

🌳 Further sources

WOON, WILLIAM (1803-58) was born at Truro, Cornwall. As a boy he was apprenticed to the printing trade. Showing evidence of preaching ability, he became a local preacher, and in 1830 he was accepted for the Methodist ministry and appointed to the Friendly Islands mission. In Aug he sailed with James Watkin and Peter Turner in the ship Lloyds, which arrived at Bay of Islands in Jan 1831. After a few weeks at Mangungu they sailed for the Friendly Islands and disembarked at Nukualofa, Tongatabu. Woon's work was mainly in connection with the translation and printing of the scriptures in Tongan. In 1833 he resigned and returned to Mangungu (Jan 1834). A new printing press having just arrived from England, Woon set it going and gave practical assistance to John Hobbs. In Nov 1834 he was appointed to open a mission in the Waikato. He went to Kawhia, and was soon joined by John Whiteley and James Wallis in adjacent stations. In Feb 1836 all were withdrawn by direction of the London committee, and Woon was sent to Manukau and soon afterwards to assist Hobbs and to supervise the printing press. He remained at Hokianga for 10 years and did a vast amount of printing, including a Harmony of the Gospels (1836), primers for school children, hymn books, tracts and many other Maori publications.

On 13 Feb 1840 he witnessed the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi at Hokianga. In Heke's war he ministered to wounded rebels. In Jan 1846 Governor Grey insisted on the removal of white settlers to Auckland for safety and Woon and his family were among the refugees taken from Hokianga in the Government brig Victoria. In 1846 Woon was sent to south Taranaki to minister to the Ngati-Ruanui and Taranaki tribes, the former perhaps the most turbulent and hostile in the North Island. Stationed at Heretoa, Woon carried on his work amongst them until 1853. During this time his rush house was burnt down and all his possessions were destroyed. 'Te Wunu' was a man of gigantic stature and was everywhere admired by the Maori for his physique and his vocal powers. His health necessitated his superannuation in 1854, and he retired to Wanganui, where he acted as postmaster and ministered to the military and the civil population. He died on 22 Sep 1858.

M.A.R.P.

Woon (p); Wells; Morley; Cycl. NZ.

Reference: Volume 2, page 269

🌳 Further sources

WORSLEY, CHARLES NATHANIEL was born in Devonshire and studied art in Great Britain. He came to New Zealand in the nineties, and devoted himself mainly to landscape painting. A most industrious worker, he exhibited for many years at the exhibitions in New Zealand and at the Royal Academy. He paid several visits to the Continent, to study and make sketches, and spent the last year or two of his life in Australia and Europe. He was a member of the Royal Society of British Artists. Worsley died on 25 Apr 1923.

John Barr, Art; Lyttelton Times, 30 Apr 1923.

Reference: Volume 2, page 269

🌳 Further sources

WRIGG, HARRY CHARLES WILLIAM (1842-1924), who was born at Wexford, Ireland, was educated at Preston Grammar School, at Netherleigh College and by private tutors. In 1856 he was articled to a civil engineer in the north of England, and in 1859 he joined the Dragoon Guards. Arriving in New Zealand in 1863, he worked for the Auckland municipal council till 1867. Wrigg took part in the Waikato and east coast campaigns and was awarded the New Zealand Cross. He later served as assistant surveyor and draughtsman under the General Government (1868-70), survey-office computer to the Southland Provincial Council (1870-71), and as chief draughtsman in Auckland province (1871-87), and to the Public Works department. He won a number of awards in Australian and New Zealand exhibitions for drawings. He retired on pension in 1887 and died on 30 Jun 1924.

Cycl. NZ., ii (p); Who's Who N.Z., 1908, 1924; N.Z. Herald, 1 Jul 1924.

Reference: Volume 2, page 269

🌳 Further sources

WRIGHT, DAVID McKEE (1867-1928) was born at Ballynaskeagh, County Down, Ireland, the son of a Congregational minister, the Rev William Wright (author of The Brontes in Ireland). Educated chiefly at a private school in London, he emigrated to New Zealand in 1887. For some years he worked in the country, and while rabbiting on Puketoi station, in Central Otago, he commenced to write verse about station life and characters. These were first published in the poetry corner of the Otago Witness. In 1896 his first small volume of verse, Aorangi, appeared. In the following year he won the prize offered at Otago University for a poem (on Queen Victoria) and was encouraged to publish his Station Ballads. He also won the first Stuart prize for a poem.

Having continued his studies at Otago University, Wright was admitted in 1898 to the ministry of the Congregational Church, and appointed pastor at Oamaru. Two years later he was removed to Newtown, Wellington, where he published two volumes of verse, Wisps of Tussock, and New Zealand Chimes (1900). In the following year he was moved to Nelson, where he spent some years of fruitful work. During the election campaign of 1905 he conducted a paper entitled the Nelson Times. In 1909, anxious to find a wider field for his pen, he moved to Sydney, where he soon established an appreciated and lucrative connection with the Bulletin. For many years he contributed to the "Red Page" and acted as critic for his journal. For The Sun he wrote leading articles for some time, besides helping with the moving picture page.

Wright's prose was versatile and excellent. In later years he devoted much study to early Irish literature, especially verse and plays, and in 1919 he published An Irish Heart. In the following year he was awarded a prize offered by the Australian Women's National League for a poem commemorating the visit of the Prince of Wales, and also the Rupert Brooke Memorial Prize for a poem commemorating the peace, which is amongst his best work. Wright's poetry was sweet and sensuous, his ballads lilting, topical and correct. As a critic he was remarkably discerning. His hobby was the collection of gems and china, of which he was a competent judge. He died at Glenbrook on 5 Feb 1928 and was buried in the Church of England cemetery at Emu Plains.

The publication of Station Ballads was due to the advice and financial assistance of Robert McSkimming ('Crockery Bob' of 'The Hawker's Cart').

Otago Witness, 14 Feb 1928 (Portrait: 21 Feb).

Reference: Volume 2, page 269

🌳 Further sources

WRIGHT, EDWARD GEORGE (1831-1902) was born in Kent, and, on leaving school, joined a firm of engineers and contractors. He supervised the building of the gasworks in Rome, was connected with the construction of Woolwich dockyards, and in 1857 came to New Zealand under engagement to the Wellington provincial government, for which he built the lighthouse at Pencarrow Heads. He afterwards became director of public works for Hawke's Bay, and in 1862 settled in Canterbury as a private engineer and contractor. He constructed a number of bridges, railways and roads, including part of the West Coast road. In 1864 he was one of the founders of the Christchurch Gas Co., of which he was chairman (1867-1902).

Wright sat in the House of Representatives as member for Coleridge (1879-81) and for Ashburton (1881-84, 1890-93, 1896-99). In 1882 he declined the portfolio of Minister of Agriculture. In 1887 he took up sheepfarming at Windermere, near Ashburton. Wright was chairman of the Canterbury plantation board, of the Lyttelton harbour board, of the Ashburton county council and of the railway commission and was a member of the North Canterbury education board. He died on 12 Aug 1902.

Cycl. NZ., iii (p); Saunders, ii; Lyttelton Times, 13 Aug 1902

Reference: Volume 2, page 269

🌳 Further sources

WRIGHT, JOHN FORTESCUE EVELYN (1827-91), a son of Lieutenant John Faithful Fortescue Wright, R.N., entered the Navy but, having incurred fever in West Africa, he retired, spent a short time in New Zealand and entered the foreign department of the General Post Office in London. He visited the East, spending some time in Hong Kong and then entering a merchant's office in Shanghai. Being sent to Australia on a mission in connection with tea, he joined his brothers in Wellington (1854) and married the widow of James Symons (Ohiro). He purchased land in the vicinity of Wellington, and in 1878 laid off portion as Vogeltown. He was in partnership with Jacob Joseph in the Happy Valley estate and Island Bay properties (1881) and also in a farm at Kairanga. Wright was a member of the Wellington Provincial Council (for Wellington Country district, 1861-63; and Karori and Makara, 1873-75). He died on 18 Oct 1891.

Col. Gent.; NZ. Times, 19 Oct 1891.

Reference: Volume 2, page 270

🌳 Further sources

WRIGHT, WALTER (1866-1933) was born in Nottinghamshire and came to New Zealand with his parents at the age of 11. He exhibited at the Auckland Society of Arts (of which he was a life member) from 1888. He and his brother Frank studied in England (1894-97) at the Heatherley School and later came under the influence of the Newlyn school. Frank (1860-1923) kept to water colours, but Walter used both mediums. They travelled a good deal in New Zealand, and were the first artists to exploit the beauties of the west coast of Auckland and the Urewera. Walter's most ambitious work is the 'Massacre of the Boyd' (in the Auckland Art Gallery). The brothers executed the illustrations for a book on New Zealand by W. P. Reeves, published in London in 1908. Walter taught painting until his sight failed. He died on 11 Jan 1933.

John Barr, Art; N.Z. Herald, 13 Jan 1933; Art in N.Z., Mar 1933.

Reference: Volume 2, page 270

🌳 Further sources

WYATT, CHARLES WILLIAM, practised as a solicitor in Christchurch. He represented Avon in the Provincial Council (1857-61), serving as an executive member in 1859.

Reference: Volume 2, page 270

🌳 Further sources

WYNN, ROBERT WILLIAMS (1831-71) was an able English lawyer practising in Auckland from about 1858. Elected to the Provincial Council for Pensioner Settlements (1861-65), and for Auckland East (1866-69), he was provincial solicitor and a member of the executive (1867-69). He died on 24 Jul 1871.

Auckland P.C. Proc; Morton; Southern Cross, 25 Jul 1871.

Reference: Volume 2, page 270

🌳 Further sources

WYNYARD, ROBERT HENRY (1802-64) was the younger son of Lieut-General William Wynyard, colonel of the 5th Regiment, and equerry to George III. Receiving his commission as ensign in the 58th Foot in 1819, he was promoted lieutenant in 1823; captain in 1826; major in 1841 and lieut-colonel in 1842.

Wynyard arrived in New Zealand in Oct 1845 with 200 men of his regiment, and in Dec was in charge of the advanced division on the Kawakawa river. On 11 Jan 1846 he was present at the occupation of Ruapekapeka pa, from which the garrison had withdrawn for the Sunday service. Wynyard left New Zealand early in 1847 for Australia, where the headquarters of the regiment was stationed, but returned in Jan 1851 to assume the command of the forces (vacant by the death of General Dean Pitt). Governor Grey appointed him (Apr 1851) to be lieutenant-governor of the province of New Ulster. This post he administered with tact and energy until its abolition in 1853, receiving from the Governor and the Secretary of State letters of approbation. In 1853 Wynyard was earnestly requested to stand for the superintendency of Auckland, and he acceded after assuring himself of the approval of his superiors. He took no part whatever in the political campaign, and did not even appear on the hustings to return thanks for his election (22 May 1853). It was Grey's intention that the Provincial Councils should first be brought into operation, and that after they had decided what powers they should exercise the General Assembly should be convened to give effect to their decision. When he left New Zealand at the end of 1853 he entrusted Wynyard with the administration of the Colony. The Duke of Newcastle, who had approved Wynyard's participation in political affairs only on Grey's assurance that it was in the interest of the Colony, felt definitely uneasy at this new activity, and instructed him (2 Jul 1854) to divest himself at the earliest opportunity of the superintendency of Auckland, which he considered incompatible with the higher post of Governor. Wynyard accordingly resigned (5 Jan 1855).

Meanwhile he became involved in unexpected difficulties with the General Assembly. No sooner had that body met (May 1854) than it demanded the inauguration of responsible government. Advised almost openly by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, Wynyard conceived that his instructions forbade him granting the request without submitting the matter to the Government at Home. He compromised for the time by adding to his executive several members of the Assembly, but refused to dismiss the permanent officials from the Council without the sanction of the Secretary of State. On this he stood firm, and Parliament was prorogued on 15 Sep. Instructions arrived that responsible Government could be inaugurated by merely providing pensions for the retiring officials. Gore Browne arrived to assume the governorship in Sep 1855, and responsible government was smoothly established in the next session.

As lieutenant-governor, Wynyard visited the Coromandel district on the discovery of gold in 1852, and arranged with the native chiefs for the amicable development of the diggings. He was promoted colonel (20 Jun 1854) and remained in command in New Zealand until his regiment returned to England in 1858. He was a member of the Legislative Council in 1858. In Oct he was promoted major-general and three months later went to the Cape in command of the troops.

Here again he was under Grey's governorship, and again he was called upon to administer the government on two occasions (Aug 1859-Jul 1860 and at the end of 1861). He was nominated C.B. and received a pension for distinguished services. In 1863 he returned to England on sick leave and was appointed colonel of the 98th Foot. He died on 6 Jan 1864.

Wynyard married Anne Catherine, daughter of H. Macdonell. She was for many years leader of society in Auckland, where she died (2 Nov 1881).

N.Z.P.D., 1854-58; D.N.B.; Thomson; Gisborne; Rusden; Saunders; Morton; N.Z. Herald, 14 Feb 1871, 7 Nov 1881; Taranaki Herald, 13 Jul 1861.

Portrait: N.Z. Herald, 13 Nov 1933.

Reference: Volume 2, page 271

🌳 Further sources