Hampden is situated on a broad bay which extends along the north Otago coast from Moeraki Point towards Aorere Point. Behind this bay the coastal plain rises within about 10 miles to the foothills of the Horse Range and the Kakanui Mountains. The South Island Main Trunk railway and the main Christchurch-Invercargill highway pass through Hampden, which is 22 miles south-west of Oamaru and 16 miles north of Palmerston.

The soil of the surrounding plain overlies a limestone formation and is highly productive. Dairying, cash cropping, and poultry raising are the primary rural activities. On the higher country to the west, sheep raising is important. Commercial sea fishing is also a district activity and a small fleet of motor boats and trawlers is based on Moeraki, 5 miles to the south-east. The town's main function is that of a minor servicing centre for the rural community but, as it possesses a good safe beach and has other attractions, e.g., the nearby Moeraki Boulders, it has also become a popular summer holiday resort.

The early surveyors named the town after John Hampden. It was constituted a borough in 1879.

POPULATION: 1951 census, 285; 1956 census, 307; 1961 census, 303.

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

(1825–83).

Explorer, civil servant.

W. J. W. Hamilton was born at Little Chart Rectory, Kent, the eldest son of the Rev. John Vesey Hamilton, and was educated at Harrow, Brussels, and Paris. At the age of 18 he left for Sydney in the Bangalore with £50 in his pocket, which was all he ever received from his father. Among the passengers was Captain FitzRoy on the way out to take up the appointment of Governor of New Zealand. The Wairau affray had just taken place. His private secretary having resigned on account of ill health, FitzRoy offered the post to Hamilton, who accepted it. He now entered upon a period of extreme activity, drafting dispatches and entertaining guests for the Governor. He visited settlements and native strongholds, and saw fighting during Hone Heke's rebellion as a member of the Auckland Militia. When FitzRoy was recalled late in 1845 he continued for a time to serve Sir George Grey, and then sailed for England in 1846. Two years later he returned to New Zealand as a survey officer in the survey ship HMS Acheron. In 1849 he made an inland exploration of North Canterbury, climbed Mt. Grey and made a plan showing the open country visible up the Hurunui and Waiau Rivers. When the Acheron was in Foveaux Strait, he explored far to the westward and he and Captain Stokes ascended the Oreti and Makarewa Rivers in the ship's jolly boat. He visited the site of Invercargill and in May 1850, with Lieutenant Spencer, made the first overland expedition from Invercargill to Dunedin. Later he thoroughly examined the coastline from Banks Peninsula to Cape Campbell.

In August 1850 he was appointed Resident Magistrate at Wanganui and during this time made journeys far inland, increasing thereby his already considerable knowledge of the Maoris and their way of life. They loved and respected him and he left the district a model of orderliness.

In 1853 he settled in Canterbury, having been appointed Collector of Customs at Lyttelton; and in November 1855 he married Frances, eldest daughter of James Townsend. He made his home in Dampier Bay and his family were born there. He was Provincial Auditor in the first Provincial Government. Sewell said, “He has all the brains of the Government at present, and is the sole authority on finance”. He completed the purchase by the Crown of the Maori lands in Banks Peninsula. In 1866 he left the Customs and became Sub-Treasurer in Christchurch. He bought a share in the Lyttelton Times and took an active part in the conduct of the paper. When he died, men from the Times office carried the coffin in relays all the way from his house in Latimer Square to Barbadoes Street Cemetery. The pall bearers were H. J. Tancred, C. C. Bowen, T. W. Maude, R. J. S. Harman, the Rev. Croasdaile Bowen, and the Hon. William Reeves. He was a man of the highest principles and of an integrity hardly understandable by men of commoner clay. But C. C. Bowen said of him that his great fault was obstructiveness, and E. J. Bourke described him as “a crotchety official – a wearisome Magistrate”. He died on 6 December 1883, aged 58.

by George Ranald Macdonald, Retired Farmer, Kaiapoi R.D.

• Selfe Letters (MSS), Hocken Library
• Life of Sir Julius von Haast, von Haast, H. F. (1948)
• Lyttelton Times, 6 Dec, 7 Dec 1883 (Obits).

(1854–1913).

Scientist and collector, Director of the Dominion Museum.

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

Hamilton was born in 1853 at Poole, Dorset, England, the son of Augustus Priestly Hamilton, M.D., and Mary Eleanor, née Tebbott. He was educated at Dorset County School and at Epsom Medical College, but did not complete his degree. In 1876 he came to New Zealand and entered the teaching profession. He taught in primary schools at Thorndon, Okarito, and Petane. It was during service at Petane that he joined the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Society, becoming secretary, and establishing the first Napier Museum, founded largely on items of ethnographic interest which he had collected from Maori sources. This museum was destroyed in the earthquake of 1931 and many valuable pieces disappeared; but those that remained form the basis of the present collections.

In 1890, when Hamilton was appointed Registrar of the University of Otago, the most productive period (1890–1903) of his life began, as is indicated by the great list of papers on botany, zoology, and ethnology in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute. In that period he also began his outstanding work – The Art Workmanship of the Maori – which dealt with all aspects of Maori material, culture, and life.

In 1903 Hamilton was appointed Director of the Colonial (later, Dominion) Museum and from then until his death, 10 years later, he devoted all his energies in the direction of increasing that institution's ethnological, historical, and entomological collections. Under him worked two remarkable assistants: James McDonald, artist, sculptor, and photographer, and Amy Castle who helped to found the entomological collection. Hamilton was responsible for the appointment of Elsdon Best to the museum staff. His museum custodian, W. A. McKay, a man of rare qualities was a son of the geologist Alexander McKay.

On September 1882, at St. John's Church, Napier, Hamilton married Hope Ellen, daughter of James McKain, a Petane farmer. He died suddenly on 12 October 1913, while on a visit to the Bay of Islands and is buried in the courtyard of the historic Anglican Church in Russell. Hamilton had two children, a daughter Pearl, and a son Harold, who became Director of Arts and Crafts at Rotorua, specialising in the carving of Maori assembly houses.

Whether as a zoologist among the bones at Castle Rocks, as a botanist in southern Westland or distant Macquarie Island, or as the gatherer of his unrivalled collection of New Zealand stamps, Augustus Hamilton was primarily a collector and systematiser. He was above all a collector of objects throwing light on the life, industry, and art of the ancient Maori. His personal collections were mainly from Hawke's Bay sites where with characteristic energy and thoroughness he collected anything of an ethnological nature – his principal interests being carvings of all descriptions, garments and flax fabrics, as well as articles connected with fishing. At Otago, with the assistance of Mr Justice Chapman, Hamilton excavated the camping ground of the moa hunters at Shag Point. As a result, they reached the conclusion that the Polynesians who hunted the moa knew and worked greenstone.

In his 10-year term as Director of the Dominion Museum, Hamilton devoted his boundless energy to augmenting the national collection of ethnological material from Maori sources. Outstanding in this respect were the gifts of the collections made by Sir Walter Buller and A. H. Turnbull, as well as the collection of objects brought to England by Captain Cook and ultimately presented to the museum by Lord St. Oswald. Unfortunately, however, Hamilton failed to persuade successive Ministers of Finance that the priceless collections he had assembled should be adequately housed.

Through the force of his personality and by his outstanding ability, Hamilton rose from the position of school teacher in a Hawke's Bay township to become Director of the Dominion Museum. In 1912 on a first visit to the Dominion Museum, the writer had the privilege of meeting Hamilton. He was indeed a kindly enthusiast, one who was ready instantly to show a junior student all the many things he wanted to see. Carvings were there by the score – Maori carvings of all kinds and conditions, enough for a lifetime's study, and practically all gathered together by the zeal of a single man. A memorial fund in memory of Augustus Hamilton was established by the Wellington Philosophical Society, and vested in the New Zealand Institute (now the Royal Society of New Zealand), to enable a small sum of money to be awarded for pure scientific research at intervals of not less than three years by the annual meeting of governors.

by William John Phillipps, formerly Registrar and Ethnologist, Dominion Museum, Wellington.

• Art Workmanship of the Maori Race in New Zealand, Hamilton, A. (1896–1900)
• Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, Vols. 25–36 (1892–1903) (articles)
• Journal of the Polynesian Society, Vols. 4 (1895) and 12 (1903) (articles).

Hamilton is situated on the Waikato Plains on the banks of the Waikato River, 80 miles from its mouth. The city, surrounded by hills, lies in a basin comprising rolling land, low hills, and extensive swamps. Claudelands, Fairfield, Hillcrest, Hamilton East, Melville, and Beerescourt are residential suburbs, while Frankton has been partly zoned for industry. The Main Trunk railway passes through Frankton (1 mile west) and branch lines run to Thames (61 miles north-east), Rotorua (86 miles south-east), and Tauranga. By road the city is 82 miles south-east of Auckland (85 miles by rail), 67 miles west of Tauranga (95 miles by rail), and 49 miles north of Te Kuiti (42 miles by rail). Auckland, Tauranga, and Raglan (31 miles south-east by road) are the three ports serving the city. At Rukuhia, 7 miles south, there is an airport, used mainly by passenger aircraft, although several aerial-topdressing firms have chosen it as their headquarters.

The most important rural activity is dairying, for the surrounding country is very rich when it is properly drained and supplied with the appropriate fertilisers. The district is also noted for sheep and stock raising on the higher land. Around Hamilton the farms are small and, consequently, the density of rural population is great. The city is a major communications, distributing, and business centre, but also supports a variety of secondary industries. These include dairy factories, brewing, boxmaking, engineering and metal working, aerated-water factories, bacon and ham processing, sawmilling and brickworks. Stock foods, farm implements and machinery, joinery, and prefabricated buildings are also manufactured. The majority of the factories are located between the central business area and Frankton. There is a freezing works at Horotiu, 9 miles north-west.

Two important establishments in the vicinity of Hamilton are the Ruakura Animal Research Station (of 970 acres), near Claudelands, and the Rukuhia Soil Research Station (of 60 acres), 7 miles south. The former was an experimental farm in 1899, but became a farm of instruction in 1912. In 1939 it was organised to investigate various problems associated with farm animals. The station at Rukuhia studies soil fertility, the effects of fertilisers, weed control, and related subjects. Also in Hamilton is a teachers' training college and the new University of Waikato. Other educational institutions include four public and two private post-primary schools, two intermediate, and 19 primary schools.

The town of Hamilton was established on the site of a deserted Maori village called “Kirikiriroa”, on the western bank of the river, by military settlers who comprised the Waikato Militia. The First Waikato Regiment was dispatched to Tauranga, the Second Waikatos to Pirongia and Kihikihi, the Third Waikatos to Te Kowhai, Ngaruawahia, and Cambridge, and the Fourth Waikatos settled at Hamilton. According to rank, each man was allotted a farming section of 50 acres or more and a town acre. The advance party of 118 men under Captain W. Steele landed from the river gunboat Rangiriri on 24 August 1864.

Two settlements came into being, one on each bank, and until the late seventies were separate town districts called Hamilton West and Hamilton East. Canoes and, later, punts provided access between the townships. A fleet of river steamships ran between Port Waikato and Hamilton. In 1867 the road was opened to Auckland and a regular coach service commenced. On 19 December 1877 the railway from Auckland reached Hamilton.

Fibre production from native flax was the staple industry in the early years, but by intelligent methods of husbandry and especially by the introduction of superphosphates during the closing decades of last century, land formerly not valued for agricultural purposes has been made very productive. The city is named after Captain John C. F. Hamilton, the commander of HMS Esk, who was killed while leading the Naval Brigade at the Battle of Gate Pa, near Tauranga. Kirikiriroa, the original Maori name, refers to “a long stretch of gravel” by the riverside. Hamilton was proclaimed a borough on 27 December 1877 and reached city status on 13 December 1945.

POPULATION: 1951 census, 33,137; 1956 census, 40,646; 1961 census, 50,505.

by Susan Bailey, B.A., Research Officer, Department of Industries and Commerce, Wellington.

, K.C.M.G. (1851–1936).

Prime Minister of New Zealand, High Commissioner for New Zealand in the United Kingdom.

A new biography of Hall-Jones, William appears in the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography on this site.

William Hall-Jones was born on 16 January 1851, at Folkestone, Kent, the son of William Hall-Jones, a contractor. As a young man he served his apprenticeship as a joiner, working at this trade until his departure for New Zealand. He married in England and it was his wife's death shortly after the wedding that determined him to emigrate. He landed at Port Chalmers in 1873 and, after spending two years in Dunedin, moved to Timaru. For six and a half years he worked as foreman for George Filmer, a Timaru builder. On 10 May 1877, in the Filmer residence, Hall-Jones married Rosalind Lucy, daughter of Henry Purss, of Surrey, by whom he had two sons and three daughters.

Hall-Jones was enfranchised by the 1879 electoral reform and appeared for the first time on the Timaru Electors' Roll dated 1 September 1880, being classified as a carpenter. In 1882 he set up on his own account as a builder, until obliged to devote his full energies to parliamentary duties. He gained his first experience of public life as a member of the Timaru Borough Council, on which he served for five years, and for three years on the Levels Road Board. In July 1890, following the death of Richard Turnbull who had represented Timaru in Parliament since 1878, Hall-Jones became a candidate for the vacancy.

As there were no organised political parties in those days, candidates were left to conduct their campaigns, and to draw up their own policies. Hall-Jones declared his stand upon a number of important issues. In general he favoured “Liberal” views on such matters as taxation, closer settlement, education, and labour legislation. He was opposed to “Bible-in-Schools”, and State aid to church schools; and thought that local option should decide the problem then exercising the minds of the temperance movement. He had, however, no objection to legalising distilleries. By his lucid and reasoned exposition of these views, Hall-Jones revealed himself as a “moderate” but “progressive” candidate. On 18 August 1890 he was elected to the Timaru seat which he retained until his resignation on 29 October 1908.

In Parliament these views led him into close association with John Ballance, Sir George Grey, and John McKenzie. When the Ballance Government was formed in 1891, Hall-Jones and W. B. Perceval became the Government Whips. In 1893, finding his views on some policy matters to be no longer in conformity with those of his leaders, Hall-Jones resigned from the Liberal Party. For three years (1893–96) he sat almost alone in the House and, with McNab, Buick, Pirani, and Montgomery, formed what became known as the “Fourth Party”. In these years he spoke and voted as an Independent, often levelling trenchant criticisms against policies pursued by his former colleagues. He so impressed Seddon with the candour of his carefully-thought-out arguments, and by his equally careful abstention from the “personalities” in which so many members indulged, that when, in February 1896, W. P. Reeves resigned to take the High Commissionership in London, Hall-Jones was asked to fill the Cabinet vacancy. He accepted and was allocated the Justice, Public Works, and Marine portfolios. A painstaking craftsman himself, Hall-Jones brought exacting standards to the Departments he controlled, and soon earned a reputation of being a capable administrator.

In May 1898 there was a misunderstanding between Lord Ranfurly and his Minister of Marine over the Government steamer Tutanekai, and Hall-Jones, after having ascertained that his action would in no way harm his colleagues, offered to resign because he felt that His Excellency had lost confidence in him. On 11 June 1898, Ranfurly replied, graciously, that “his confidence in him as an adviser was in no way shaken”. Seddon was most impressed with Hall-Jones' attitude on this occasion, and after the retirement of Sir John McKenzie, Hall-Jones as Minister of Public Works and Marine became one of the most influential members of the Cabinet.

When Seddon visited Australia in 1906, he invited Hall-Jones to assume the duties of Acting Prime Minister. Hall-Jones demurred, and suggested that Carroll, as senior member of the Executive Council, should have the honour, but Seddon pressed the point. On the Prime Minister's death a few weeks later, Lord Plunket urged the Acting Prime Minister to form a Ministry; but Hall-Jones asked permission to wait until after the funeral. Lord Plunket agreed reluctantly, and as the procedure appeared unprecedented, he addressed a dispatch to the Secretary of State. On 21 June 1906 Hall-Jones assumed office, but announced that he only held it pending Sir Joseph Ward's return from abroad. He resigned on 6 August 1906, and accepted the Railways and Public Works portfolios in the incoming Ward administration. In 1907 serious illness necessitated his taking a six months' holiday from his duties and in December 1908 he succeeded W. P. Reeves as High Commissioner. While in London he represented New Zealand at the Imperial Copyright and Education Conferences and at the International Refrigeration Conference in Vienna, at which he was instrumental in persuading delegates to adopt a resolution protesting against the restrictions imposed by European nations on frozen meat from the Dominions. He also represented New Zealand on the Pacific Cable Board, and on the Imperial Wireless Committee of the Board of Trade. He was created K.C.M.G. in 1910. Sir William retired from the High Commissionership on 31 May 1912 and, on his return to New Zealand in 1913, he was appointed by W. F. Massey to the Legislative Council where he remained until his death.

Hall-Jones was an enthusiastic supporter of the Friendly Society movement and was made a life member of the Timaru Oddfellows Lodge in recognition of his valuable services to the order. In his earlier years he was an active supporter of temperance. When, in 1928, he visited Folkestone, his birthplace, he received the freedom of the borough – the highest honour that could be bestowed. He died at 6 Burnell Avenue, Thorndon, Wellington, on 19 June 1936.

Although never flamboyant or self-assertive like so many other New Zealand politicians, Sir William Hall-Jones epitomised all that is worthy in political life. He was in no sense a doctrinaire party zealot and preferred to think out all questions for himself, but, having arrived at a logical conclusion, he was prepared to defend his opinion with all the force at his command. His ideas were cogently argued and created a lasting impression on all who heard him. His ability as an administrator could not be doubted. He was cautious, but his caution was that of carefulness rather than of fear of any consequences. Among the tributes paid him in the Legislative Council, Sir Heaton Rhodes, himself a former Minister and lifelong opponent of the Liberals, recounted how Seddon, speaking of his Minister of Public Works once said “He is the best administrator I have in my Cabinet”.

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

• Governors' Papers, G. 17/12(33), (1898), (MSS), National Archives
• N.Z.P.D. Vol. 246, pp. 1–10 (1936)
• Timaru Herald, 11 Aug 1890
• Press (Christ-church)
• New Zealand Herald, Evening Post, 20 Jun 1936 (Obits).

(1824–1907).

Premier of New Zealand.

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

John Hall was born on 18 December 1824 at Hull, the third son of Captain George Hall, of Elloughton, Yorkshire, a master mariner, shipowner, and Elder Brother of Trinity House, Hull; and of Grace, née Williams. Captain Hall commanded a merchantman during the Napoleonic Wars and had been captured by a French privateer and interned in France. His experiences there, prior to his escape, so convinced him of the value of a knowledge of foreign languages that he determined his sons should receive a continental education. Thus until John Hall was 10 years of age he attended school in Hull and, from then until he was 16, was educated at schools in Germany, France, and Switzerland. He returned to England in 1840 where his knowledge of French and German secured him employment in a London merchant's office. In 1843 he was appointed to the Secretary's Department of the London General Post Office and, shortly afterwards, became private secretary to his departmental head. While in this position, Hall was chosen (1845) to investigate a proposed overland mail route from Trieste, across Germany, to replace the existing route from Marseilles. His adverse report led to this scheme being dropped. He was later selected to be Chief Postmaster at Brighton, at a salary of £600 a year – however, Queen Victoria intervened on behalf of a protég and Hall was passed over. During the Chartist riots in 1848 Hall served as a special constable attached to Clerkenwell Police Court, and for many years his long constable's truncheon remained his most treasured souvenir. Hall was a member of the Honourable Artillery Company and won a special medal for shooting.

At this time Hall became interested in the London activities of the Canterbury Association and, partly for reasons of health, he decided to emigrate to New Zealand. He sailed on the Samarang, one of the last ships sent out by the Association, and arrived at Lyttelton on 31 July 1852. Disappointed in his immediate attempt to secure a run in Canterbury, Hall visited the Ahuriri, Wairarapa, and Rangitikei districts, but deeming Canterbury a better proposition for settlement, he decided to take up land south of the Rakaia River where the only settlers at that time were the Rhodes Brothers. Hall acquired a large canoe to ferry his stock and goods across the Rakaia but the first crossing proved so difficult that he abandoned this scheme, and settled on the north bank, buying Stoddart's run and stock.

In August 1853 Hall, with some diffidence, offered himself as a candidate for the first Provincial Council elections and was elected on 10 September 1853 to represent the Christchurch Country District. From then until the abolition of the provinces, except when absent from the colony (1860–62), Hall remained a member of the Canterbury Provincial Council. He sponsored the ordinance constituting the Church of England trustees, and also helped to pass the controversial Scab Ordinance. He served as Provincial Secretary under FitzGerald from October 1854 to May 1855, under Bealey from March 1864 to March 1866 and, again, under Rolleston from October 1870 to August 1871. In Bealey's administration, together with Cass and Dobson, he was responsible for opening direct land communication between Christchurch and the recently discovered Westland goldfields.

On 11 May 1854 Hall was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Canterbury – a post he retained after the Commission was revised in December 1856. On 28 October 1856 FitzGerald offered him the Resident Magistracy at Lyttelton as Tancred, the incumbent, was about to retire. This position combined the Commissionership of Police and the office of Sheriff, and required its holder to reside in Lyttelton. At first Hall determined to refuse the appointment on the grounds that a lawyer should hold the position; however, he accepted and in December 1858 transferred to a similar position in Christchurch where he remained until he visited England in 1860.

When the Christchurch Town Council was called into being in February 1862, Hall presided at the meeting of burgesses and headed the poll in the election for the council. A few weeks later he became chairman. On the proclamation of a new municipal ordinance in 1863, Hall was elected first Mayor of Christchurch, but he resigned in June of the same year in order to give more time to his other public duties.

On 20 December 1855 the Christchurch Country District returned Hall to the House of Representatives. From then until his retirement from politics in November 1893, with but two intervals (1860–62 and 1883–87), he remained in Parliament either in the House of Representatives or in the Council. He served as Colonial Secretary in the Fox Ministry (1856), and it was only because he had misgivings about the “peace at any price” policy that he stood aloof from Fox's second Ministry in 1861–62. As Postmaster-General in Stafford's Ministry (1866–69), Hall attended the Ocean Postal Communications Conference at Melbourne in October 1867. His health, however, prevented him from joining the Fox-Vogel Ministry until 1872 when he undertook to guide Government business through the Legislative Council. Hall was Colonial Secretary under Waterhouse (1872–73), and it was his retirement for health reasons which gave the Premier an excuse to follow suit. In 1876 Hall served without portfolio in the Atkinson Ministry, but agreed to stand down when it was found that Atkinson had infringed the Disqualification Act of 1870.

When Sir George Grey obtained a dissolution, after his defeat in the House in 1879, Fox induced Hall to resign from the Legislative Council to lead the Opposition in the House of Representatives. On 3 October 1879 the Grey Ministry was again defeated by 43 votes to 41. The Governor, Sir Hercules Robinson, scorning his retiring Premier's advice, sent for Hall who formed a ministry on 10 October 1879 with Whitaker, Rolleston, Atkinson, Bryce, Oliver, and Tomoana. Besides the Premiership, Hall took the portfolios of Colonial Secretary, Post and Telegraphs, and Customs. In view of the Ministry's initial slender majority, Macandrew tabled a want of confidence, but Hall, a past master of parliamentary tactics, refused to interrupt Government business for three weeks, during which he negotiated with four Auckland members (soon known as the “Auckland Rats”) to cross the floor to support his Government.

Hall inherited several far-reaching Bills drafted by his predecessor. His Government adopted and passed Grey's Triennial Parliaments Act (1879), and an Electoral Act which conceded universal manhood suffrage. He also had to face an explosive Maori situation – a legacy from the Whitaker-Fox Ministry's (1863–64) policy of confiscating rebels' lands. Te Whiti, the prophet of Parihaka, issued a fiat that all surveys in the disputed territories were to cease. Hall attempted negotiation, but ultimately had to admit that Bryce's “show of force” policy was more likely to be successful. In November 1881 colonial troops invaded Parihaka, arrested Te Whiti, and held him in gaol for some time without pretence of a trial. The Government had to defend its scarcely legal act, but a general election later in the year confirmed Hall's slender majority in the House. In April 1882 a severe illness obliged Hall to resign the Premiership in favour of Whitaker. He left New Zealand politics and went to England. A month after his resignation he was created K.C.M.G.

In September 1887, with no further desire for office, Hall returned to the House of Representatives. He interested himself in the women's suffrage movement and, after many false starts, he piloted through the House in 1893 the Bill giving effect to this. This was his last public act and he retired from politics at the close of the session. His remaining years were spent at Hororata or in Christchurch. As he had been the first Mayor of Christchurch, he was asked, as an honour, to assume the mayoralty during the exhibition year (1906). Failing health, however, prevented his completing this assignment. He died at his home in Park Terrace, Christchurch, on 25 June 1907.

An active adherent of the Church of England all his life, Hall in 1857 attended the General Synod at which the Church Constitution was drafted. He served on the Christchurch Diocesan Synod, and many ecclesiastical institutions in Canterbury benefited from his unfailing generosity. Bishop Harper appointed him lay reader for the church at Hororata on 15 January 1877.

Immensely successful as a farmer (his Hororata property was assessed at over £90,000 in 1883), Hall left bequests amounting to £55,000. These included £30,000 to establish a general charitable trust in Canterbury, £10,000 to build a church and vicarage at Hororata, and £10,000 to establish the Gordon Hall in Christchurch.

Despite his modesty and his eternal willingness to efface himself if he felt that public affairs so required it, Sir John Hall left an enviable record of over 50 years of service in many important public offices. His ability to “get along” with people and his unremitting efforts on their behalf probably account for the enormous popularity he enjoyed throughout his lifetime. In politics, he belonged to the moderates – that all too rare race of politician who carefully consider the many facets of every problem before taking action. But his great strength was in his administrative ability which was challenged by the chaos in the public service left by the Grey Ministry. To the public in general, Hall's name was synonymous with efficiency and economy in the Government service. It is here that his English training stood him in good stead and he deserves credit for introducing business methods into those Departments for which he was directly responsible.

Throughout his life Sir John Hall carefully preserved his personal correspondence and official papers. These (over 100 boxes, diaries, and letter books covering the years 1830 to 1907) are now deposited in the General Assembly Library, Wellington. They provide a valuable and fascinating commentary upon the political and social history of the period, and also give us remarkable insight into Hall's interests and character.

In 1861, at Hull, Yorkshire, Hall married Rose Anne (died 1900), daughter of William Dryden, of Kingston-upon-Hull, and by her he had four sons and two daughters.

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

• Hall Papers (MSS), General Assembly Library, Wellington
• Hall Letters (MSS), General Assembly Library, Wellington
• Press (Christchurch), 26 Jun 1907 (Obit).

(1933– ).

Athlete.

Murray Gordon Halberg was born at Eketahuna on 7 July 1933 and educated at Avondale College, Auckland. Since he came to notice in 1952 by winning the New Zealand junior championship for the mile and 2-mile events, Murray Halberg has achieved international repute as a long- and middle-distance athlete. He won the New Zealand mile championship in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, and 1960, and the Auckland provincial championship in 1954, 1955, 1957, and 1960. He set New Zealand records for this distance in 1954, 1955, 1956, and 1957 (4 min 1·0 sec), and set a new South African mile record at Durban in 1958. In international competitions he has won the Benjamin Franklin mile at Philadelphia (1954); England v. The Rest mile at London (1958); the Victoria test mile (1960) and international miles at Tokyo; Stanford, U.S.A.; and Gateshead, England (1961). He has also won the following special mile events in New Zealand: Royal Festival mile, Dunedin (1954); Empire Games trial (1954); international mile, Auckland (1955); the Dunedin Festival mile (1958); and the international mile, Wellington (1961). His New Zealand mile record, 1954 (4 min 4·4 sec) was the world's fastest time on a grass track for a 20-year-old athlete.

Over the 2 miles Halberg won the New Zealand junior championship in 1952. He set New Zealand records for this distance in 1955, 1956, 1960, and 1962 (8 min 33·6 sec); established a South African record (1958); a United States record (1961); a world indoor record (1961) of 8 min 34·4 sec at Portland, Oregon; and a world outdoor record (1961) of 8 min 30·0 sec in Finland. In international competitions he has won this event at the Australian Olympic trials (1956); the international two miles, London (1960); and in meetings at Tokyo and Los Angeles in 1962. In New Zealand he won special 2-mile events at Otahuhu (1955 and 1960) and at Hamilton (1962), when he beat Tulloch, the British champion.

Halberg won the New Zealand 3-mile championship in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1962. He has also taken the Auckland provincial championship in the same years and in 1954. In 1956 he established a New Zealand record, but improved upon this twice in 1957 and again in 1960 (13 min 11·4 sec). In 1958 he established a South African record and, in 1961 at Stockholm, created a world record time of 13 min 10·0 sec. In international competitions Halberg has won the 1958 Empire Games event, the 1962 Empire Games event, and the United States 3-mile championship title (1962). He won special races in New Zealand over this distance at Otahuhu (1956) and at Auckland (1957 and 1962). In the 5,000 metres event Halberg established New Zealand records in 1957, 1959, 1960, and 1962 (13 min 38·4 sec). At the 1960 Olympic Games he took a gold medal (13 min 43·4 sec) for the distance; and, in 1961, won the event at the World Games at Helsinki. In 1962 he won the 5,000 metres event at an international meeting at Auckland. (NOTE— On 3 December 1964 R. W. Clarke, of Australia, broke the world record for 3 miles, in 13 min 7·6 sec beating Halberg's 13 min 10 sec recorded in 1961.)

Although in New Zealand the 6-miles and 10,000-metres events are usually timed in the one race, Halberg has established records in both on two occasions. His record for the 6-miles (1960) is 27 min 52·2 sec, and, for the 10,000 metres, 28 min 48·0 sec. These times are New Zealand and British Empire records.

In addition to these, Halberg has competed in other events and has established several record times. He was New Zealand cross-country champion in 1953 and, two years later, won the 800-metre event at Auckland in 1 min 51·7 sec. In 1954 and 1956 (2 min 10·4 sec) he established New Zealand records in the 1,000 yards and, in the latter year, ran this distance in Australia in 2 min 8·4 sec. At Otahuhu in 1955 he established a New Zealand record for 1,320 yards (2 min 59·1 sec), and in 1960 won the international 1,500 metres at Melbourne. In 1956, at Melbourne, he established an Australian record for 2,000 metres (5 min 17·0 sec). In 1956 he won the Australian Olympic Trials 3,000-metres race. He also won the international events over this distance at Tokyo, Cologne, and in Sweden in 1961. At Dublin in 1958 Halberg ran 4 miles in 18 min 22·6 sec – the world's best time for this distance.

In December 1962 and again in January 1963, Halberg was a member of the 4 × 1 mile relay team which created New Zealand records for this event (16 min 29·2 sec). On 25 May 1963 he won the Californian Relays 2-miles event; and on 7 June 1963, the Compton Relays 5,000 metres. He also holds the world “leg” record (4 min 2·5 sec) in the 4 1 mile relay (Dublin 1961). Murray Halberg was created M.B.E. in 1961.

Hake is a name applied to several quite different marine fish in different parts of the country. The whiting or haddock, Merluccius australis, is a true hake, very similar to the North Sea species; it is, actually, often called English hake. It occurs in fairly deep water south of Cook Strait. The southern kingfish, Jordanidia solandri, is also known as hake; it is closely related and similar to the barracouta, and found throughout New Zealand. The Cloudy Bay cod, Lotella rhacinus, is sometimes known as southern hake.

by Lawrence James Paul, B.SC., Fisheries Division, Marine Department, Wellington.

From the time when the first New Zealand Rugby Union representatives, the “Native” team of 1888–89, toured the British Isles, the players delighted the crowds with their haka given prior to each game. It is not clear what their haka was, but the All Blacks of 1905 gave the haka of Te Rauparaha. The famous “Invincibles” of 1924–25 had their own haka, written during the voyage to England by Judge Acheson, of the Native Land Court, and Wiremu Rangi, of Gisborne. There were two parts, the second usually being omitted.

Haka - First Part

Leader: Kia whaka ngawari au ia hau.

Team: I … au … E … Hei …

Leader: Ko Niu Tireni e haruru nei.

Team: Au … au … aue … ha … hei.

Leader: Ko Niu Tireni e haruru nei.

Team: Au … au … aue … ha … hei.

Leader: A … haha.

Team: Katu te ihi i hi.
Katu te wanawana
Kirunga te rangi
E tu iho nei.
Au au au.

Leader: Let us prepare ourselves for the fray.

Team: We are ready.

Leader: The New Zealand storm is about to break.

Team: The sound of the breaking.

Leader: The New Zealand storm waxes fiercer.

Team: The height of the storm.

Leader: Now then.

Team: We shall stand as children of the sun.
We shall climb to the heavens in exultation of spirit.
We shall attain the Zenith.
The power! The power!

There is no “official” haka for All Black teams, but Te Rauparaha's “Ka Mate” is generally favoured though sometimes there have been variations. The 1963–64 All Black team gave the standard version of this haka during their tour of Britain.

by Alexander Hare McLintock, C.B.E., M.A., DIP.ED. (N.Z.), PH.D.(LOND.), Parliamentary Historian, Wellington.

• The Maori, Best, Elsdon (1924)
• The Coming of the Maori, Buck, Peter (1949)
• King Potatau, Jones, Pei Te Hurunui (1959).

Some haka such as the poi (ball) were performed only by women. The poi, which was attached to a long string held in the right hand, was twirled and beaten back with the left hand. Various movements were made over the shoulder, to the sides, the thighs, the knees, and the head, the poi being kept twirling in perfect time to the songs sung by the leaders. Buck states that the haka poi performed by a well trained team of young women is the most graceful of all Polynesian dances.

The Maori had a habit of composing songs and haka to mark incidents which, by European standards, would appear trivial in themselves. Elsdon Best lists haka composed for such reasons as—

• Reception of native visitors;

• Reception of Government officials;

• An insulting remark made by a tribesman;

• Ill-treatment of a woman married to a member of another tribe;

• A faithless wife;

• A trivial oversight in apportioning food supplies; and so on.

Perhaps the most famous haka chorus of all is that said to have been composed by the great warrior chief Te Rauparaha. Hard pressed by his pursuers, he took refuge in the pa of the hairy chief Te Wharerangi whose wife hid him in a kumara pit. When Te Rauparaha safely emerged from his shelter, he contrasted the sunlight (life) with the darkness (death) of the pit and, in a stanza which became the haka chorus to Te Ngeri a Te Rauparaha (War Chant of Te Rauparaha), he exulted in his deliverance:

Ka Mate! Ka Mate!
Ka Ora! Ka Ora!
Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru,
Nana nei i tiki mei
I whakawhiti te ra!
 Upane! Upane!
Upane! Ka upane!
Whiti te ra!
(It is death! It is death!
It is life! It is life!
This is the hairy person
Who caused the sun to shine!
One upward step! Another upward step!
One last upward step! Then step forth!
Into the sun that shines!)