Writing bureau

'Secretaire' is the name for an enclosed writing desk, usually with a top cabinet. This secretaire was given to English botanist Sir Joseph Hooker when his book Handbook of New Zealand Flora was published in 1867. The funds to purchase the desk were raised by geologist James Hector and other 'grateful colonists' who wished to congratulate and thank Sir Joseph.

Attention to detail
Anton Seuffert, an admired cabinetmaker who worked in Auckland, New Zealand, made the elegant secretaire. Seuffert was famed for his detailed marquetry work, an art where pieces of wood are inlaid into furniture to create decoration.

The base of the desk is kauri and it has been finished with other native woods including kauri, burr tōtara, rewarewa, pūriri, and kohekohe. Marquetry on the front of the secretaire's main door shows a moa, a kiwi, and marine mammals, with a globe centred on New Zealand. Seuffert has also incorporated classical motifs. The Greek god Apollo stands on top of a column, holding a lyre. He represents Harmony, Order and Reason. The goddess Demeter [known as Ceres to the Romans] is depicted at the base of the column. She is holding a sheaf of wheat, symbolising fertility and abundance. The symbols are fitting given Hooker's dedication to classifying New Zealand fauna, and that is perhaps why Hector decided on the desk as an appropriate gift (see Wellington Independent, 7 November 1867, 3).

Sir Joseph Hooker
Joseph Hooker (1817-1911) was an English born botanist who made voyages to New Zealand and the South Pacific between 1839 and 1843 to research plants of the area. He published books on the plants he found and inspired others in New Zealand to study botany. He has several New Zealand plants named after him, including the pōkākā tree (Elaeocarpus hookerianus).

On display
Sir Joseph kept the secretaire in his drawing room. In 1886, the cabinet was exhibited in the Colonial and Indian Exhibition in London.