HANSON, SIR RICHARD DAVIES (1805-76) was born in London, educated at Melbourne, Cambridgeshire, and articled to a London solicitor. After being admitted an attorney (1828), he practised for a while and also did journalistic work for the Globe and the Morning Chronicle. He became associated with Wakefield's South Australia scheme in 1830, and after it had received the sanction of Parliament he went to Canada as an assistant commissioner to inquire into lands and emigration, being associated there with Wakefield and Charles Buller. On returning to England, Hanson was private secretary to Lord Durham, and in 1840 he arrived in New Zealand in the Cuba (Jan 1840) as agent for the purchase of land for the New Zealand Company. In this quest he visited Kawhia, where his operations were halted by Captain Hobson's proclamation; and he later visited and purchased the Chatham islands, but the deed was repudiated by the British Government. He then settled in Wellington and was appointed, with Evans and Moreing, to lay before the Governor of New South Wales the grievances of the settlers. At later meetings he opposed the demand for Hobson's recall. In May 1841 he was gazetted a justice, and in Sep crown prosecutor. He failed to secure a seat at the election of aldermen in Wellington (Oct 1842). Hanson edited The Colonist until its demise (Aug 1843). In 1844 he was appointed commissioner of the court of requests. About two years later he went to live in Adelaide, where he soon took a leading position at the bar, and wrote for the Register. He was elected to the legislature, but his election being declared invalid, he was appointed advocate-general, and ex-officio member of the legislature (1851). Hanson in the next few years passed some important laws, including a district councils act (1852); the abolition of grand juries and reform of court procedure trusts and joint stock companies. He was Attorney-general in the first ministry under responsible government (1856-57), and shortly after its defeat formed a ministry himself which held office until 1860. He again made important amendments of the law, and after opposing the land registration bill he secured the services of Torrens as head of the office. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly from 1857 to 1861, when he was appointed Chief Justice. During a visit to England (1869) he was knighted. In 1872-73 he was administrator of the government, and in 1874 he was chosen as chancellor of the new University of Adelaide. Hanson died on 2 Mar 1876. He was the author of several works on theology and religion, including Law in Nature (1865), The Jesus of History (1869), Letters to and from Rome (1869).

N.Z. Journal, 1841 (p. 100, purchase of Chatham Islands); C. H. Spence in Melbourne Review, 1876; C. P. Lucas, Lord Durham's Report... 1912; Mennell; Loyau; Austral. Encycl; Desiderata, Aug 1936; N.Z. Company reports; N.Z. Colonist (Wellington), 1842-43.

Portraits: S Australian Archives; Illus. London News, 31 Jul 1869.

Reference: Volume 1, page 193

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