Overview
New Zealand's first Governor, William Hobson, born to a well-to-do family, was an ambitious Irishman who had a rich and demanding career as a naval officer in the expanding British Empire. Although his path was far from smooth, his abilities enabled him to lead a life of international adventure, culminating in a position of distinction in early colonial New Zealand.
Hobson was born in September 1792 to a barrister, Samuel Hobson, and his wife Martha. Before his eleventh birthday he had signed on to the Royal Navy. He served in the Napoleonic Wars in 1809 and in the war with the United States, 1812-14. His ship, the Peruvian, took Napoleon to exile on the island of St Helena in 1815. Involved as a skipper in the suppression of piracy in the West Indies, he found himself captured twice by pirates, enduring ill treatment and surviving a daring escape.
A legacy of this service was recurrent ill-health arising from three bouts of yellow fever, the scourge of colonialism in the tropics. Hobson was promoted to commander in 1824 on the recommendation of Sir Edward Owen, who referred to him as 'an officer of great merit and intelligence' (1). With this testimonial he returned to the West Indies to act against pirates and slave ships. In 1827 he married Eliza Elliott, whom he met in the Bahamas and they had four daughters and a son.
Hobson waited six years for his next commission, living with relatives in Ireland and at Plymouth. When Lord Auckland was appointed Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty Hobson became commander of the Rattlesnake. After time in the East Indies the ship sailed to Australia where Hobson assisted in the transport of convicts, the founding of early Melbourne and the survey of Port Phillip.
After word that tribal warfare in the north was endangering British subjects the Rattlesnake sailed for New Zealand, arriving in the Bay of Islands in May 1837. Hobson attempted to broker a peace between Pōmare II and Tītore, warning them against violence to British subjects. He visited other parts of the North Island before sailing to England. Hobson was already dreaming of an official appointment to New Zealand and proposed a system of British enclaves or 'factories' similar to those existing in India.
Appointed Lieutenant Governor on 30 July 1839 and British Consul to New Zealand in August of that year, Hobson received detailed instructions from the new Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Normanby. The sovereignty of Māori people, ratified by Busby's Declaration of Independence of 1835, was reaffirmed. He was given discretion to acquire sovereignty over the 'whole or any parts' of New Zealand that Māori might wish to cede (2). His authority was by Letters Patent, a regulation making New Zealand a temporary dependency under New South Wales.
Hobson was to obtain land from Māori 'by fair and equal contracts' (3), reselling at a profit to settlers to fund future contracts. He was also advised to form a local militia or armed police. The new government was to handle all land transactions and to hold all waste lands that might be acquired. Such funds as were raised by sales would be used for emigration or the provision of Māori welfare.
Arriving in New Zealand on 29 January 1840, Hobson almost immediately started work with James Busby, the British Resident at what was to become known as the Treaty House. Inviting Māori leaders to a meeting at Waitangi, they began to write a draft treaty document. The historic event began on 5 February. Missionary Henry Williams was appointed interpreter, with other missionaries from the Anglican, Catholic and Wesleyan faiths attending, together with a handful of officials. Before a lowered British flag the Treaty was read out in English and Māori.
Initial Māori speakers were opposed to signing, but leaders like Hōne Heke, Tāmati Wāka Nene and Patuone who had been counselled by the missionaries, turned the mood of the meeting. On 6 February more than forty chiefs signed, twenty-six of whom had earlier signed the Declaration of Independence. At a subsequent meeting of some 3,000 in the Hokianga Hobson persuaded Māori by warning them that without a treaty they could lose their lands to unscrupulous settlers. A further fifty-six chiefs signed.
It was when Hobson reached the Waitematā with the Treaty, now referred to as the travelling Treaty, that he suffered a serious stroke. This meant that while he convalesced the work of 'travelling the Treaty' around the country fell to others. As he recovered, the New Zealand Company settlers began to lay out town sites at Port Nicholson, Wellington. This prompted Hobson to proclaim British sovereignty over the whole of New Zealand.
The need for this action was further heightened by the arrival of the French frigate L'Aube at Banks Peninsula with plans to create a French settlement. Hobson hastily despatched two magistrates to Akaroa as a sign of 'effective occupation' (4). His life continued to be eventful as he clashed first with the Port Nicholson settlers, "mending the fences" by a visit in August and then having to deal with a threatened uprising by Māori in the Thames area in response to his assertions of authority.
Hobson was often handicapped by having insufficient troops to deal with major conflict and therefore was left with argument as his sole resort. As a naval officer he was also accustomed to instant obedience, which he did not always get in New Zealand. He was a firm Christian and Anglican, yet showed a marked tolerance for other denominations. In his official duties he strove to be just and saw protection of Māori as a major reason for establishing British law. He died aged fifty in September 1842.
References
(1–4) The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Vol. 1. (1990). Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. pp 196–199.
Text originally published in Tai Awatea, Te Papa's onfloor multimedia database.