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

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