DE THIERRY, CHARLES PHILIP HIPPOLYTUS (1793-1864) was born in England, the son of a French émigré. Teaching music as a profession, and being engaged to teach the children of Archdeacon Rudge, he fell in love with a daughter, with whom he eloped. Though their marriage was condoned they were unprovided for and it was decided that de Thierry should prepare himself for ordination, but he was unable to qualify to the satisfaction of the Bishop of Norwich. Friends obtained for him an appointment to a Portuguese embassy and he attended the congress of Vienna, where he distinguished himself as an amateur musician. De Thierry is said to have been for some time an officer in a British cavalry regiment.

Meeting at Cambridge the chiefs Hongi and Waikato, he negotiated with them through Kendall (q.v.) for the purchase of an estate of 40,000 acres in New Zealand. He claimed that this land was purchased for him on 7 Aug 1822, copies of the deed being sent to England through the Church Missionary Society and to the foreign offices of Britain and France. About 1834 de Thierry sailed for New South Wales with his family, writing en route to apprise Busby, the British Resident, of his intention to establish an independent sovereignty in New Zealand in his own person. In this document, dated from Tahiti, de Thierry described himself as 'sovereign chief of New Zealand, King of Nukuheva,' and said that he was awaiting an armed ship from Panama to escort him to his domain. Alarmed at this intimation, Busby advised the Maori and pakeha residents to take steps to assert their independence of France.

Governor Bourke refused to recognise his claims on 23 Oct 1837. De Thierry proceeded to New Zealand in the Nimrod with 93 retainers. On landing at Hokianga he announced to the assembled people of both races his intention to establish a proper form of government with himself as sovereign if he should be acceptable to them. It would be a productive government, with open ports, free trade and no taxation, and he anticipated earning £50,000 per annum from the government farm of 5,000 acres. He expended what money he had in building houses and the beginning of a carriage road to Bay of Islands. When the money was exhausted the scheme collapsed and de Thierry was glad to accept the compassionate offer of Tamati Waka Nene and Taonui of 300 acres of land, on which he lived with his family, making a livelihood from a sawpit. They afterwards removed to Auckland, where he made a living by teaching music, diversified by an unsuccessful visit to the goldfields of California. For years he prosecuted his claims against the government. He experimented in later years in the preparation of flax, and in 1857 attempted to float a flax company. De Thierry died in Auckland on 8 Jul 1864. The significance of de Thierry in the history of New Zealand is due to the impetus his scheme gave to Busby, to the government of New South Wales and to the missionary body in New Zealand to organise British interests in the country towards the declaration of sovereignty. His scheme in itself was without importance.

Hist. Rec. Aust.; Polack; Martin; Joubert; Marsden, L. and J. and Lieuts; Sherrin and Wallace (p); Ramsden; Rusden; Thomson; Buller; Hocken; Taylor, Past and Present; Turner; Webster; Busby's statement at bar of House of Representatives, 30 Jul 1869; N.Z. Herald, 1 Feb 1890, 30 Nov 1933; Taranaki News, 18 Jan 1872.

Reference: Volume 1, page 118

🌳 Further sources