(1845–1924).

Politician and journalist.

A new biography of Wakefield, Edward appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

Edward Wakefield was born in 1845 in Tasmania, the son of Felix Wakefield, one of Edward Gibbon's younger brothers. Although he spent his boyhood in New Zealand, he was educated in France and at King's College, London, returning to New Zealand in 1863 to work on the Nelson Examiner. When only 21 he became Stafford's private secretary and, for the next four years, secretary to Cabinet. At this time his considerable ability seemed to mark him out for a very bright future, and in 1874 he became editor of the Timaru Herald and a leader writer for the Otago Daily Times, the New Zealand Times, and The Press, Christchurch.

In 1875 he was elected for Geraldine to the House of Representatives, was defeated in 1881, but sat again for Selwyn from 1884 until his retirement from politics in 1887, at the age of 42. In this period he failed to fulfil his early promise. Although he was admired for his oratorical penetration and wit, he was feared for his merciless sarcasm and distrusted for the inconstancy of his political allegiances which lasted only as long as Wakefield saw in them some chance of gaining office. It was typical of him that when he ultimately took office as Colonial Secretary in Atkinson's week-long ministry of 1884, he had recently been elected to oppose him.

After leaving politics Wakefield concentrated on writing and in 1889 his social and political survey, New Zealand After Fifty Years, was published. In the next year he went to Europe as a journalist. He ended his days in blindness at a Carthusian Charterhouse in London, where he died in early August 1924.

Edward Wakefield's volatile and egotistical character made him a lonely politician and, as Alfred Saunders noted, he would probably have succeeded better if he had aimed less conspicuously for the ministerial benches. Nevertheless he was one of the most colourful public men of his time, with a brittle brilliance, wit, liveliness, political waywardness, and promise of great things never achieved.

by Edmund Bohan, M.A., School Teacher and Professional Singer (overseas).

• History of New Zealand, Saunders, A. (1896–99)
• New Zealand After Fifty Years, Wakefield, E. (1889).

(1798–1858).

Barrister-at-law, Attorney-General for New Munster.

Daniel Wakefield was born in 1798, the second son of Edward Wakefield (1774–1854) and Susanna, née Crash (d. 1817). He entered Lincoln's Inn (1827) and practised law in London until 1841. In 1835 he married Angela, daughter of Thomas Atwood, member of Parliament for Birmingham. With his elder brother, Edward Gibbon, he became interested in colonisation. He served on the Committee of the South Australian Association and helped to draft the colony's Charter. Wakefield applied for the South Australia Judgeship but failed to secure it. In 1842 he emigrated alone under the assumed name of “Bowler” to the New Zealand Company's New Plymouth settlement, but revealed his identity after Arthur Wakefield's death in the Wairau Affray. He then moved to Wellington where he practised law. In May 1844, as the Company's sub-agent, he was sent to Otago where he attempted unsuccessfully to resolve the dispute between Symonds and Tuckett over the purchase of the Otago Block. In February 1845, at a public meeting at the Aurora Tavern, Wellington, Wakefield moved a memorial praying for protection against the natives, and a week later he was elected to the citizens' committee charged to form a local volunteer militia. In August 1847 he was designated Attorney-General for New Munster, in which post he served without distinction until 1853 when he disagreed with Sir George Grey's native land policy. During the Chief Justice's absence (1855–56), Wakefield acted as a temporary Judge at the Supreme Court. He died in Wellington on 8 January 1858.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

• Crown Colony Government in New Zealand, McLintock, A. H. (1958)
• New Zealand Spectator, 22 May 1844, 1 Feb 1845, 5 Apr 1845
• Wellington Independent, 12 Apr 1845.

(1799–1843).

New Zealand Company's agent at Nelson.

Arthur Wakefield was born on 19 November 1799 at Burnham Wick, Essex, the third son of Edward Wakefield (1774–1854) and of Susanna, née Crash (d. 1817). He was educated at the Bury St. Edmonds Grammar School, and in May 1810 entered the Royal Navy as a cadet in HMS Nisus. He then transferred to HMS Hebrus and did service in America, being present at the capture of Washington, D.C., and at Bladensburg, where he took an enemy standard. He witnessed the capture of the Ile-de-France, and in 1814 took part in the shore fighting in Java. In 1816, as midshipman in charge of signals, he was present at the bombardment of Algiers. He accompanied Sir Thomas Hardy on a two-year diplomatic mission to the South American republics, and in 1822 spent six months as aide-de-camp to Earl St. Vincent. From 1823 to 1828 he served on the West African Station, where he assisted the explorers Clapperton, Denham, and Park, and was also engaged in suppressing slavers. From 1828 to 1833 he was senior lieutenant in HMS Rose patrolling the St. Lawrence Gulf and Labrador fisheries. In 1837 his brother Edward Gibbon interested him in the projected New Zealand settlement, and in June of that year he accompanied the deputation that waited unsuccessfully upon Dandeson Coates to enlist the support of the Church Missionary Society.

Arthur Wakefield would have come to New Zealand in the Tory as the Company's Principal Agent, but shortly before he was due to sail, he was promoted to the command of HMS Radamanthus on which he served in the Mediterranean until 1841, when he retired from the Navy. He then became the New Zealand Company's agent for the projected Nelson settlement, throwing himself whole-heartedly into its planning and equipment. He arrived in Nelson in the Whitby, laid out Nelson town, and organised the government of the infant colony. Wakefield soon discovered that his greatest problem would be to secure sufficient land to satisfy the shiploads of settlers whom the company was sending out. To meet these demands he sent his surveyors to lay out the Motueka district and, in November 1842, into the Tuamarina district of Marlborough. Their reports upon the latter convinced him that there was ample land for all his requirements. He believed, mistakenly as it turned out, that this block had been included in Colonel Wakefield's purchase from Te Rauparaha some years earlier. When Wakefield ordered his surveyors to commence work, Te Rauparaha objected, and removed the survey party from the disputed land. Wakefield accompanied Thompson, the hot-headed and capricious local Police Magistrate, on the ill-considered expedition to arrest Te Rauparaha, thus precipitating, on 17 June 1843, the tragic Wairau Affray in which he lost his life.

A fluent French and Spanish linguist, Captain Arthur Wakefield was a fine naval officer and a capable, energetic colonial administrator. He was just in all his dealings, treating Maori and Pakeha alike. The chain of events leading to the Wairau Affray was neither his fault nor of his choosing. He died a bachelor.

by Bernard John Foster, M.A., Research Officer, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

• Captain Wakefield's Letters to Colonel Wakefield, N.Z.C.104/7 (MSS), National Archives, Wellington. Nelson Examiner, 24 Apr 1847.

The second largest of the southern glacial lakes, Lake Wakatipu is 48 miles long and up to 3 miles wide, and covers an area of 113 sq. miles. The lake is 1,017 ft above sea level, is 1,239 ft deep, and occupies a single elongated glacial trench having a gently sloping flat floor (probably due to a fill of fine sediments). In contrast to Lake Te Anau, Wakatipu has a more barren appearance because of the lack of forest throughout most of its 1,150 sq. miles of drainage area. It is bordered on all sides by glaciated mountains, the highest of which is Mount Earnslaw near the head of the lake.

Settlements around the lake shore include Queenstown and the villages of Kingston, Glenorchy, and Kinloch. Good roads give access to Queenstown and Kingston, and a new road is now open between Queenstown and Glenorchy. There is a steamer service on the lake by s.s. Earnslaw for the transport of tourists and of goods to and from the several sheep stations around the shores. The most spectacular sightseeing is to be had around Queenstown, on the boat trip to the head of the lake, and on bus trips from either Glenorchy or Kinloch. But the whole area offers a wealth of tourist attractions such as sightseeing, hunting, fishing, and water sports.

Two large rivers, the Dart and Rees, enter the lake at the head. At the foot of the lake is a natural dam of moraine left by the glacier which formerly occupied the lake basin. In the geological past the lake was drained from its foot by a river which flowed out to join the Mataura system. Now it is drained by the Kawarau River (6,160 cusec discharge), a tributary of the Clutha system.

Lake Wakatipu is associated with many Maori legends, especially those accounting for its origin. Some state that it was the burning of a gigantic ogre which made the hollow, later filled with water, but perhaps the most popular ascribes it as due to the labours of the famous chief Te Raikaihaitu, pioneer explorer of the interior of the South Island. He brought with him from his former home in the tropics a long wooden spade (ko), and with this he dug the inland lakes. Legend affirms that Wakatipu was the most difficult to dig because of its great depth, its rocky surroundings, and its high mountains. It took the utmost effort of the spade combined with many invocations (karakia) to excavate the bed of the lake.

Wakatipu is said to be a shortened form of “Wakatipuwaimaori” though its meaning appears to be unknown. It is usually supposed that the proper form should be “Waka-tipua”, the components meaning, respectively, “trough” and “goblin”. The trough is the lake and the goblin (or monster) rests therein and his breathing causes the regular rise and fall of the “waimaori” (fresh water) that fills the trough.

by Bryce Leslie Wood, M.SC., New Zealand Geological Survey, Dunedin.

Waiuku is situated at the head of an estuary of the same name which opens into the southern part of the Manukau Harbour. Access is by highway via Papakura from Auckland, 42 miles north-west, and by road from Pukekohe, 13 miles east. A branch railway links Waiuku with the North Island Main Trunk line at Paerata, north of Pukekohe.

Waiuku is a distributing and servicing centre for a large dairy and mixed farming district. Mairoro State Forest, established on dune country south-west of the town in 1932, is coming into production. Industrial activities in the town include light engineering, butter making, the manufacture of knitwear and clothing, and joinery and small-boat building. New Zealand's first steel plant is being established on a site at Glenbrook (about 5 miles north-east of Waiuku) and will treat ironsand brought from the shore deposits at Waikato Heads.

Waiuku came into existence about 1843 as a port on the then important trade route between Auckland and the agricultural area of the Waikato. It was also the terminal of an ancient Maori portage between the Waikato River and the Manukau Harbour. During the Waikato War (1863–64), Waiuku became a frontier town guarded by a blockhouse. The Waikato War ended the traffic responsible for the early development of the town as a trading post. The Kentish Hotel dates from the 1850s and nearby can be seen the ruins of the original town wharf. Waiuku later grew as a farming centre under road board administration, and in 1914 became a town district. It was constituted a borough in 1955.

The accepted meaning of “Waiuku” is muddy or discoloured waters.

POPULATION: 1951 census, 1,192; 1956 census, 1,417; 1961 census, 1,611.

by Brian Newton Davis, M.A., Vicar, St. Philips, Karori West, Wellington and Edward Stewart Dollimore, Research Officer, Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington.

There are numerous limestone caves in the South Auckland District, the best known being the Waitomo, Raukuri, and Aranui Caves. These have been developed as tourist attractions at Waitomo, about 50 miles south of Hamilton. They have their setting in attractive surroundings of bizarre limestone outcrops, patches of bush, and streams and fields. Guides from the nearby hostel lead visitors along paths which are lit both for safety and for easy inspection of the limestone formations. The boat journey along the underground river to the Glow-worm Grotto, which is lit by the countless, tiny, clear lights of glow worms, is one of the many unique attractions of the caves.

The caves are channels that have been dissolved out of limestone by underground streams over many thousands of years. Water seeping down through the limestone becomes fully charged with lime in solution. As this drips from the cavern roofs some of the water evaporates leaving a minute deposit of lime behind. Thus, with time, all the caves have become elaborated by stalactites, stalagmites, and incrustations. Many of these, namely, the Bride's Jewels, the Organ, the White Terrace, the Blanket Chamber, etc., are of intricate design and beautiful form.

The name Waitomo means “water entering a hole” or, more aptly, “water passing through a hole”.

by James Cecil Schofield, M.SC., New Zealand Geological Survey, Otahuhu.

The approach to Auckland down Rangitoto Channel culminates in a sweeping starboard turn into some 70 sq. miles of water known as Waitemata Harbour. This harbour is the focal point of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city (population 500,000). It is aligned roughly east and west and debouches into the Hauraki Gulf, which in turn opens to the mighty Pacific Ocean in the north. Numerous islands within the Hauraki Gulf and at the entrance to Waitemata Harbour, together with deep navigable channels (average 6½ fathoms), slow currents, and minimum tide range (average 8 ft), ensure good shelter and berthage for the largest of overseas ships even in the severest of storms.

Waitemata Harbour occupies a drowned valley system cut in marine sediments of Miocene Age (15–25 million years ago). The present-day shore line is intricate in outline and follows numerous ancillary tidal rivers, particularly in the upper reaches and western shores. Tidal mudflats covered by mangrove (Avicennia marina) and salt marsh (predominantly Salicornia, Juncus, and Stipa) are ubiquitous and indicate subtropical conditions.

In the west and north-west, geologically recent fluctuations of sea level have left widespread terraces that formed convenient landing stages in the days when harbour transport was often the only means of communication. In the early days of settlement, whaleboat and scow racing was popular, and from this the Waitemata has emerged as the venue for the largest single-day regatta in the world. On 29 January each year (Auckland Anniversary Day), upwards of 900 yachts and launches of all sizes assemble to compete in the many racing events, and thousands of spectators gather along the shores and on the cliff tops to watch the cluster of white or many coloured sails dancing on the sparkling water.

In 1959 the long-awaited Auckland Harbour Bridge became a reality. This fine single-span, four-lane bridge, 3,348 ft long, links Point Erin on the south shore with Stokes Point on the North Shore and gives direct road access to an area that was hitherto served by passenger or vehicular ferries or by a long winding route of some 30 miles by road around the harbour. The name Waitemata is generally considered to mean “sparkling waters”.

by Barry Clayton Waterhouse, New Zealand Geological Survey, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Otahuhu, Auckland.

The Waitara River rises in mountainous country near Tahora on the Okahukura-Stratford railway, running south-west to within 12 miles of Stratford, where it turns a right angle to flow into the North Taranaki Bight at Waitara. A very early hydroelectric station was established by damming the headwaters of the Tariki, a tributary of the Waitara. Another early power station was set up on the Makara Stream, also a tributary of the Waitara. At the mouth of the river the port of Waitara used to handle the output of the Waitara Freezing Works, but this meat now passes through the port of New Plymouth, and Waitara serves only small boats.

The river has a relatively low gradient and does not appear to be as seriously affected by the formation of a sand bar as does the Patea on the south coast.

Waitara is said to mean “mountain stream”.

by Thomas Ludovic Grant-Taylor, M.SC., New Zealand Geological Survey, Lower Hutt.

Waitara is situated on the banks of the Waitara River about three-quarters of a mile upstream from the mouth on the North Taranaki coast. The surrounding country consists of alluvial flats and terraces, but inland it soon becomes undulating and hilly. Waitara is the terminus of a branch goods railway from Lepperton. The main New Plymouth – Te Kuiti highway passes through the town. By road Waitara is 10 miles north-east from New Plymouth (14 miles by rail), 96 miles south-west from Te Kuiti, and 13 miles north from Inglewood by road or rail.

The main primary industry of the district is dairy farming. Factories producing butter or cheese are located at Brixton (3 miles south-west), Tikorangi (3 miles south-east), Waipapa (4 miles east), Waitoetoe (12 miles east), and at Lepperton (5 miles south). Sheep farming is of secondary importance. Sawmilling is carried on at Waitoetoe. A plastic-goods factory is established at Onaero (8 miles east). Localities near Tikorangi continue to be investigated in the course of current petroleum exploration activities in Taranaki. Waitara is the main trade and servicing town of North Taranaki. Industrial activities include meat freezing and the processing of associated by-products; sawmilling; butter and cheese making; the manufacture of furniture, joinery, bricks, pipes, tiles, and footwear; and general engineering.

In pre-colonisation times Waitara lay on the main overland route between the Waikato and Taranaki districts. Vestiges of numerous pas on all strategic heights in the district indicate that the area was closely settled and that its possession was from time to time contested. In the 1820s many of the resident Ngati Awa Tribe migrated to the Otaki district. During their absence the Waitara territory was invaded and conquered by Waikato warriors. The New Zealand Company purchased from the few remaining Ngati Awa a block of 60,000 acres, including the Waitara district, in 1839. In 1841 the first European immigrants arrived. Their surveyors considered Waitara for the port of New Plymouth, but this plan was abandoned because of the river bar. Some Ngati Awa returned from the Otaki district after 1839 and, during 1840, they were joined by many others who had been freed by their Waikato captors. Neither group had benefited by the sale of their land and, when the immigrants arrived, the question of ownership caused trouble between Maoris and settlers and also within the tribe. In 1844 Land Commissioner William Spain confirmed the Europeans in the possession of the land, but afterwards Governor Robert FitzRoy returned the 60,000-acre block, with the exception of 3,500 acres around New Plymouth, to the Ngati Awa. In 1845 the settlers petitioned Governor Sir George Grey to restore the land. Francis Dillon Bell purchased more than 1,400 acres, including part of the Waitara land, and other purchases were made, but Grey's policy was one of caution.

In 1848 the land problem became acute with the return of Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake and some 587 Ngati Awa who soon settled on the town site and elsewhere in the district. An offer of land at Waitara was made to Governor Thomas Gore Browne by Teira, a minor chief, in 1859, and was accepted. Wiremu Kingi opposed the sale. The title to the block was tested on 20 February 1860, but the Government agent and the survey party were obstructed and turned back. Martial law was proclaimed, the militia called out, and the settlers brought into New Plymouth. On 8 March 1860 Colonel Gold marched on Waitara and built Pukekohe Redoubt. The Taranaki War began on 17 March with the attack and capture of the L Pa at Te Kohia. Fighting continued around Waitara until the surrender of Te Arei works on Pukerangiora to Major-General Pratt on 19 March 1861. In 1864 fighting again broke out in the district during the Hauhau campaign. Waitara was connected to New Plymouth by road in the early 1840s and by railway on 14 October 1875. The Waitara-Inglewood line was opened in 1877. Waitara functioned as a port until 1920. The first settlement, called Raleigh, is considered to have been founded in 1867. In 1904 the borough of Waitara was constituted. The commonly accepted meaning of the name is “mountain stream”.

POPULATION: 1951 census, 3,348; 1956 census, 3,796; 1961 census, 4,369.

by Brian Newton Davis, M.A., Vicar, St. Philips, Karori West, Wellington and Edward Stewart Dollimore, Research Officer, Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington.

When it was put up for sale with its surrounding farm in 1931, the former dwelling of James Busby, built in 1834 and site of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, was in a poor state of preservation. A suggestion to have the spot preserved as a national memorial was supported by the then Governor-General, Lord Bledisloe, and Lady Bledisloe. Their Excellencies visited the property and decided to purchase it themselves for the nation.

The area comprised 2,300 acres and, as this was considered to be over large, at first only 1,000 acres were set aside for a historical reserve. The gift had been kept secret, but on 10 May 1932 it was officially announced in a letter to the Prime Minister, Their Excellencies expressing the wish that Waitangi should be restored as near as possible to its state of 1840, with perhaps one room devoted to housing historic relics. The gift was to be administered by a trust board including Government representation and, as Lord Bledisloe wished, representatives of families, both Maori and Pakeha, concerned in the signing of the famous treaty. Pending the setting up of the trust board and the completion of a deed of gift, a deed of trust was executed on 6 May 1932.

Lord and Lady Bledisloe consented to be life members of the board, of whom other original members were Riri Maihi Kawiti, representing notable Maori families; Kenneth Stuart Williams, a grandson of the Rev. Henry Williams; and Sir Francis Dillon Bell, as a connection of the Wakefield family. Sir Heaton Rhodes was included as a representative of the South Island, and Vernon Reed represented the Pakeha residents of the Bay of Islands; while Tau Henare, for the North Auckland Maoris, and Te Rata Mahuta, for the Maori people of the North Island, also had places. Ex officio members were the Prime Minister (G. W. Forbes); the Minister in Charge of Scenery Preservation (E. A. Ransom); and the Minister in Charge of Maori Affairs (Sir Apirana Ngata). Finally, Hon. J. G. Coates was selected as a person prominent in the life of the country. By the deed of trust these men were given power to obtain incorporation as a corporate body or board of trustees. Vacancies on the board were to be filled by the selection of persons considered suitable representatives for the particular vacancy concerned, and Governors-General, following Lord Bledisloe, might, if they so wished, be appointed to the board. By an amendment of 1958 to the Waitangi National Trust Board Act, it was made possible to include a representative of the family of James Busby. The first meeting of the board was held at Government House on 16 December 1932, with Lord Bledisloe as chairman. On 30 March 1933 the first meeting was held at Waitangi.

Lord Bledisloe made a further gift of the balance of his purchase, and proposed an afforestation scheme for beautification and as a source of revenue, to be shared by Government and Trust. An Endowment Act 1932–33, gave statutory force to the terms and conditions of the donors for the planting of exotic trees for timber. Lord and Lady Bledisloe hoped to have a bush and bird sanctuary in the hinterland, and in the early years there was much planting of native trees, greatly assisted by funds from the Robert Cunningham Bruce estate. It was also Their Excellencies' wish that sporting facilities be provided, and plans were made for a golf course. Eventually the Bay of Islands Golf Club, in conjunction with the Waitangi Golf Club, signed a 21-year lease with the Trust Board in 1950.

Another proposal of the donors was for a renovation fund, in the hands of the trustees, for the rehabilitation of the Treaty House and its surroundings; if the Government were prepared to follow suit, Lord Bledisloe offered to start the fund with a £1,000 donation. Plans were made for renovation and rebuilding of the original house, and this was completed two years later.

Waitangi had of course a prominent part in the 1940 New Zealand centenary celebrations, and a motor camp was provided to cater for visitors–in 1934 road access had been opened across the Waitangi River. The Maori people built a great canoe as their contribution. Previously, they had been responsible for building a whare runanga for which Lord Bledisloe had laid the foundation stone during the ninety-fourth anniversary festivities in March 1934. To mark the exact site of the signing of the treaty, a flagstaff with commemorative stone (once again an instance of Lord Bledisloe's generosity) had been erected and, when refitted in 1945, reached a height of 112 ft. Each year on 6 February (Waitangi Day), a ceremony is held to mark the anniversary of the treaty signing. In this, the Royal New Zealand Navy plays a prominent part, as do the northern Maori people – more especially the children.

At the outset, entry into the historic reserve was free but after 1937 admission was charged. The early years saw few donations and, indeed, during the first 18 months no revenue was earned or received for maintenance. A £500 gift enabled the trust to function and it was fortunate that running costs were few–local helpers assisted voluntarily as staff. War brought military occupation and administrative difficulties, and handicapped development. But in 1950 the Minister of Lands became administrator of the trust and in recent years some 350 acres have been developed by the Government for farming purposes. These have been handed over to the trust board as a source of revenue.

by Judith Sidney Hornabrook, M.A., National Archives, Wellington.

• The Gift of Waitangi, Reed, V. H. (1957).