Joel Samuel Polack

Joel Samuel Polack (born March 28, 1807 in London , † April 17, 1882 ) was the first Jewish settler in New Zealand , who arrived there in 1831.

Life

Polack was born in London to Saloman and Sarah Polack. His father was a successful painter and engraver in Ireland and England , but was originally from Holland.

Polack worked for the UK Department of Defense (Commissariat and Ordnance) in South Africa and Mauritius for four years before traveling to America. In 1830 he joined his brother Abraham in New South Wales .

In 1831 he came to New Zealand and settled at Hokianga Harbor . He explored the area as well as Poverty Bay and the East Cape . In 1832 he moved to Kororareka (now Russell ) in the Bay of Islands to set up a successful department store. In 1835 he built New Zealand's first brewery. Due to Busby's bad administration, in 1837 he signed the petition to the British government calling for better protection and the government of European settlers.

He returned to England in 1837 and in the following year his warehouse, which had been used against his will as a warehouse for explosives by the army, was destroyed by an explosion. He fought unsuccessfully for compensation. In 1838 he advocated the planned colonization of New Zealand in the House of Lords . He believed that unorganized European immigration would destroy Māori society.

Polack wrote two successful books about his experience in New Zealand, which he also illustrated. These books provide valuable insights into pre-colonial New Zealand.

Polack returned to New Zealand in 1842, but his attic was again destroyed in 1845 when Kororareka was looted by the Hone Heke during the Flagpole War. He moved to Auckland , the new capital, where he opened a department store, invested in shipping, and profited from trade with California. From 1845 to 1848 he was the Deputy Consul of the United States of America.

In 1850 Polack went to California and settled in San Francisco , where he married. He died on April 17, 1882 (28 Nisan 5642).

Works

• New Zealand, being a narrative of travels and adventures during a residence in that country between the years 1831 and 1837 . Two volumes. Richard Bentley, London 1838.
• Manners and Customs of the New Zealanders . Two Volumes, 1840.

literature

• Ronald Jones: Polack, Joel Samuel . In: Alexander Hare McLintock (Ed.): An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand . Wellington 1966 ( online [accessed December 17, 2015]).

Web links

• Jocelyn Chisholm: Polack, Joel Samuel. In: Dictionary of New Zealand Biography . Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, January 8, 2014, accessed November 25, 2015 .