Jerningham Wakefield

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

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

In 1838 he worked for 18 -year-old secretary and clerk for his father on his trip to Canada. When his uncle William Hayward Wakefield on behalf of the New Zealand Company in 1839 traveled to New Zealand, he went as a representative of the Company. As a researcher and an agent of the Company in 1840, he went to Wanganui on the North Island of New Zealand, where he was responsible for the purchase of land for settlements.

After Governor Robert FitzRoy reprimanded him for his behavior as "a missionary of the devil", deprived him of a being transmitted judge and asked him to go back to England, he left in 1844 and went back to London. Over the next five years he worked a bit disorientated for the New Zealand Company and the Canterbury Association, traveled around a lot and wrote several books.

The first book, Adventure in New Zealand (published 1845), in which he told stories about his explorations and the settlement projects of Wellington, Wanganui and New Plymouth, made him known as an advocate and supporter of the New Zealand Company. In 1848 came The hand -book for New Zealand, a practical manual for those who wanted to be a colonist. In 1850, before the financial collapse, he decided to go back to New Zealand and to settle in Christchurch Canterbury settlers on the Lady Nugent.

In 1853 he was elected to the House of Representatives, the first parliament of New Zealand, where he remained until his deselection 1855. His efforts for reelection failed in 1858 and 1861. Between 1857 and 1861 he was Provincial in Wellington City. 1871 re-election he managed to parliament for the last time, until he finally failed in 1975 as the representative of Christchurch East.

Throughout his life he had the reputation of wasting his intelligence and abilities. They thought he was talented and intelligent, but also for weak-willed, reckless, quarrelsome and generally unstable. His critics, including his father, Edward Gibbon Wakefield was one, charged him with his exaggerations and insincerity. His remarks were emotionally and usually marked by a certain drama.

On the other hand showed his works in his books and records, accuracy and Ausführlichkeiten, embossed with an attention to detail. So countless facts in his botanical observations in geographic information, directions to the harbors, bays and channels, information about winds, tides and sailing conditions were very useful and widely recognized.

Edward Jerningham Wakefield married quite late on 3 October 1863, the almost 20 years younger than Ellen Roe, daughter of a building contractor and later hotel owner from Christchurch. In 1868 he published another book entitled The Founders of Canterbury, contained the letters from his father. In addition, he wrote several political writings. His later life was marked by alcoholism and confusion. He died on 3 March 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.
• The London Journal of Edward Jerningham Wakefield, 1845-46, editor Joan Stevens, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, 1972.
• The hand -book for New Zealand, John W. Parker, London, 1848.
• The Founders of Canterbury, Stevens and Co., Christchurch, New Zealand, 1868.