GUDGEON, THOMAS WAYTH (1816-90) was born in England, where he was educated and served seven years in the property and income tax office, Somerset House. He had charge of the correspondence branch under the special commissioners and drew up a compendium for the conduct of the business of the office (1846).

In 1850 he came to New Zealand with his brothers in the Berkshire, and settled for 10 years as a bush farmer in Taranaki. About 1859 he moved to Wanganui with his family, and shortly afterwards the war broke out in the neighbourhood he had been living in. In 1864 he joined the Wanganui volunteer militia, and was appointed quartermaster and commissariat officer, with the rank of lieutenant. In 1869 he went to the Thames goldfields, where he spent 10 years. Moving in 1879 to Auckland, he was appointed registrar and record officer and spent the remainder of his life collecting historical matter and data concerning Maori customs and superstitions. He published in 1879 Reminiscences of the War in New Zealand; in 1885 The History and Doings of the Maoris from the Year 1820 to the Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and in 1887 The Defenders of New Zealand. Gudgeon died on 24 Aug 1890.

Gudgeon, op. cit.; N.Z. Herald, 26 Aug 1890. Portrait: Gudgeon.

Reference: Volume 1, page 184

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