Edward Jerningham Wakefield

Edward Jerningham Wakefield

Edward Jerningham Wakefield (born June 25, 1820 in London , England , † March 3, 1879 in Ashburton , New Zealand ) was a politician , publicist , adventurer and representative of the New Zealand Company in New Zealand.

Life

Edward Gibbon Wakefield's son grew up with his sister Susan Priscilla mainly with his aunt Catherine Torlesse after his mother Eliza Anne Frances Pattle died ten days after his birth. After completing his education at King's College in London , the rest of his life was inevitably shaped by his father's dedicated endeavors.

In 1838, when he was 18, he worked as a secretary and clerk for his father on his trip to Canada . When his uncle William Wakefield on behalf of the New Zealand Company by 1839 New Zealand was traveling, he went as a representative of the Company. As an explorer and agent of the company, he went to Wanganui on the North Island of New Zealand in 1840 and was there responsible for buying land for settlement purposes.

After Governor Robert FitzRoy reprimanded him for his behavior as a "missionary of the devil", withdrew his judicial office and ordered him to go back to England , he left in 1844 and went back to London . For the next five years he worked somewhat disoriented for the New Zealand Company and the Canterbury Association , traveled extensively and wrote a few books.

The first book, Adventure in New Zealand (published 1845), in which he told stories of his exploration and settlement projects of Wellington , Wanganui and New Plymouth , made him known as a propagandist and advocate of the New Zealand Company. The hand-book for New Zealand followed in 1848 , a practical handbook for those who wanted to become a colonist. 1850 financially from bankruptcy, he decided to Canterbury -Siedlern on the Lady Nugent to go back to New Zealand and Christchurch to settle.

In 1853 he was elected to the House of Representatives , New Zealand's first parliament , to which he was a member until he was voted out in 1855. His re-election efforts failed in 1858 and 1861. From 1857 to 1861 he was a provincial councilor in Wellington City. In 1871 he was re-elected to parliament one last time, until he finally failed in 1875 as a representative of Christchurch East.

Throughout his life he had a reputation for wasting his intelligence and skills. He was believed to be gifted and intelligent, but also weak-willed, reckless, contentious, and generally unstable. His critics, including his father Edward Gibbon Wakefield, accused him of exaggeration and insincerity. His statements were emotional and mostly also marked by a certain drama.

On the other hand, his work in his books and records showed accuracy and detail, shaped with a love of detail. Countless facts in his botanical observations, geographic information, directions to ports, bays and canals, information about winds, tides and sailing conditions were very useful and widely recognized.

Edward Jerningham Wakefield married quite late on October 3, 1863, almost 20 years younger than Ellen Roe, daughter of a building contractor and later hotel owner from Christchurch. In 1868 he published another book called The Founders of Canterbury , which contained letters from his father. He also wrote several political writings. His later life was marked by alcoholism and confusion. He died on March 3, 1879 in the Old Men's Home in Ashburton.

Works

• Adventure in New Zealand from 1839 to 1844 in two Volumes . John Murray , London 1845 (English).
• The hand-book for New Zealand . John W. Parker , London 1848 (English).
• The Founders of Canterbury . Stevens and Co , Christchurch 1868 (English).
• Joan Stevens (Ed.): The London Journal of Edward Jerningham Wakefield, 1845-46 . Alexander Turnbull Library , Wellington 1972 (English).

literature

• David Oswald William Hall : Wakefield, Edward Jerningham . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 ( online [accessed December 17, 2015]).

Web links

• Ronda Cooper : Wakefield, Edward Jerningham . In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , September 1, 2010, accessed August 19, 2012 .