Frederick Weld

Frederick Weld

Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld (born May 9, 1823 in Bridport , Dorset , England , † July 20, 1891 in Chideock , Dorset) was the sixth Prime Minister of New Zealand . He ruled from November 24, 1864 to October 16, 1865. He was later governor of three different British colonies; from 1869 to 1875 in Western Australia , then until 1880 in Tasmania and finally until 1887 in the Straits Settlements .

Early years

Weld belonged to one of the most influential Roman Catholic families in the country. His grandfather had with Clitheroe in the county of Lancashire , the Stonybrook College , founded a prestigious Jesuit school . His uncle Thomas Weld had been made the first English cardinal since the Reformation and Robert Vaughan, a second cousin, became Archbishop of Sydney in 1877 .

After spending most of his childhood in France with his parents, Weld was a student at Stonybrook College for nine years. In 1841 he enrolled at the University of Friborg in Switzerland . There he studied philosophy, chemistry, languages ​​and law. Weld actually wanted a military career, but his tutor was able to dissuade him from it. Instead, he decided to pursue a career in the colonies. He traveled to New Zealand and arrived in Wellington on April 22, 1844 .

Together with his cousin Charles Clifford, he set up three sheep farms in New Zealand and after some initial difficulties became quite wealthy. However, his life as a sheep farmer was not varied enough for him and so he actively participated in New Zealand politics. One of his main concerns was to prevent possible discrimination against Catholics right from the start. Later he also campaigned for the introduction of representative democracy . In 1852 he was visiting England, where he published a brochure entitled Hints to Intending Sheep Farmers in New Zealand (Guide for Future Sheep Farmers in New Zealand ), which was published in three editions due to popular demand.

Political career in New Zealand

In December 1852, Weld was back in New Zealand shortly after it became known there that the British Parliament had passed a law creating a New Zealand Parliament. Weld was elected in 1853 to serve in Wairau, a constituency in the northeast of the South Island ; Parliament was constituted on May 24, 1854. At that time New Zealand was divided into two political camps: On the one hand there were the “centralists”, who demanded a strong central government, on the other hand the “provincialists”, who wanted extensive provincial autonomy aspired to. Within this spectrum, Weld positioned himself as a moderate centralist who rejected the extreme positions of both camps.

Weld was a member of the unofficial "Executive Council" that had been formed around James FitzGerald and Henry Sewell . In doing so, Parliament tried to gain direct governance over New Zealand. Governor Robert Wynyard blocked this, however, and Weld's tenure as "Minister" was over after a short time. However, Weld was satisfied that Catholics were able to participate fully in political events. The fact that his cousin Charles Clifford, also a Catholic, had been elected speaker , he also interpreted as a positive sign.

In June 1855, Weld resigned as a MP and traveled to Hawaii to watch the Mauna Loa volcano erupt . His account has appeared in the Journal of the British Geographic Society. Weld had not yet completely given up his dreams of a military career and traveled on to the UK. When he got there, the Crimean War was already over. In June 1858 he regained his parliamentary seat in Wairau.

At the beginning of 1859 he traveled to Great Britain again to marry his distant cousin Filumena Mary Anne Lisle Phillipps. The marriage took place on March 3rd in the family chapel in Leicester ; the marriage resulted in 13 children. A typhoid-like fever delayed his return to New Zealand until February 1860. No sooner had he arrived than he became Minister for "Native Affairs" in Edward Stafford's cabinet. Weld had to deal with conflicts like the First Taranaki War . In July 1861, Stafford's government lost a vote of no confidence .

In November 1864, the government led by Frederick Whitaker resigned due to a disagreement with the governor and Weld took over the office of Prime Minister. The dispute arose over who should finance the stationing of British troops in New Zealand. Weld believed that the British ineptitude had exacerbated the conflict with the Māori . He was against Governor Grey's plans for the New Zealand parliament to provide funding. Instead, he called for the withdrawal of British troops and their replacement by New Zealand units.

During Weld's tenure, the government move to Wellington was completed. The political representatives of Auckland refused to accept this and wherever possible put obstacles in the way of the government. The Maori were enraged when the government confiscated 4,000 km² of land in the Waikato area. The hostility of the governor earned him the fact that Weld had been able to force the withdrawal of British troops. In addition, public finances were in a worrying state. After a little over 10 months, Weld's government resigned in October 1865.

Governor in three colonies

Weld had health problems and suffered from stress , so that in January 1866 he also resigned from his parliamentary mandate. He and his family left New Zealand in April 1867. Back in Great Britain, his health improved and he returned to work. A new chapter in life began in December 1868 when he was appointed Governor of Western Australia .

In September 1869, Weld arrived in Perth . Immediately after taking office, he began to explore the vast colony and visited all the important places with the exception of the almost deserted north. Within the first six months he covered more than 1900 kilometers on horseback. What struck him above all was how isolated the colony was, and he demanded the construction of telegraph lines and the expansion of traffic routes. In March 1870 he commissioned John Forrest to explore and measure a possible telegraph route towards Adelaide . This was built and lines with a length of more than 1400 kilometers were in operation in the area of ​​Western Australia as early as 1874. Weld also oversaw the establishment of a regular steamship service along the coast and the construction of the first railway lines.

Weld saw his appointment as governor as a mandate to bring about constitutional changes in Western Australia similar to those already implemented in New Zealand. With the support of the colonial secretary Frederick Barlee , he campaigned for the introduction of a representative democracy. At the earliest opportunity, Weld presented a draft law that provided for the formation of a legislative council with twelve freely elected and six nominated members. The law came into force on June 1, 1870.

Barlee then began to campaign for an independent government and the Legislative Council passed a resolution in August 1874. Weld was of the opinion that Western Australia was not yet ripe for self-government, but accepted the decision and passed it on to the Colonial Office in London . His superiors declined the request and criticized Weld for creating this situation in the first place; self-government finally became a reality only in 1890. In 1874, Weld visited New Zealand one last time on business.

In January 1875 he moved with his family to Hobart , where he became Governor of Tasmania . This was far less strenuous than in Western Australia, as Tasmania had already introduced self-government 20 years earlier. Weld's main role was to chair the meetings of the executive board. In late 1879, Weld was appointed governor of the Straits Settlements and he moved to Singapore in April 1880 . There he had a lot of room for maneuver and used his diplomatic skills to increase British influence in the Malaysian states.

In 1887 he ended his political career and took up residence again in his native Great Britain. In 1891 he was visiting the Straits Settlements. There he became seriously ill and had to return to Great Britain. He died shortly after arriving at the age of 68.

Awards

• Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1875)
• Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1880)
• Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (1885)

literature

• TS Louch: Weld, Sir Frederick Aloysius (1823-1891) . In: Douglas Pike (Ed.): Australian Dictionary of Biography . Volume 6. Melbourne University Press, Carlton (Victoria) 1976, ISBN 0-522-84108-2 (English).

Web links

• Jeanine Graham: Weld, Frederick Aloysius. In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Ministry for Culture & Heritage , September 1, 2010, accessed August 24, 2012 . 

predecessor	Office	successor
William Robinson	Governor of the Straits Settlements 1880–1887	Cecil Clementi Smith