In 1857 Charles Heaphy visited the deserted Coromandel diggings and reported the existence of very considerable quartz deposits. This was confirmed two years later by Hochstetter and Von Haast. No attempt to exploit the field was made until September 1861, when the Auckland Provincial Government became concerned at the exodus to Otago. Although Donald McLean arranged with the Maoris to permit prospectors to explore the region, few miners took advantage of this before mid 1862, when parties of Australians arrived from Otago; however, tensions arising from the “King” movement soon led to the partial abandonment of their workings. Thames was proclaimed a goldfield in February 1864, but, although many quartz miners made their way to the new field, their influx did not reach “rush” proportions until 1867–68, when alluvial miners began to arrive from the West Coast. Those who came soon found that there was little alluvial gold in the district; others, who had staked rich quartz reefs, found they lacked capital to install the costly machinery necessary to work their claims. Groups of miners formed partnerships; in 1868 there were over 600 such partnerships and 320 small companies in existence. The first battery, “Great Expectation”, was erected in November 1867, and set the style for the whole field. Despite this, the cost of working quartz claims remained prohibitive and most of the smaller groups were forced to sell their interests to the large companies formed by such Auckland financiers as F. Whitaker, Thomas Russell, R. Graham, and John Logan Campbell. After 1869, the last year of the small companies' bonanza, returns fell rapidly and many who had originally rushed to the field were forced to become labourers in the employ of the large companies. The Hauraki Thames, and Ohinemuri gold-fields were the scene of the last major gold rush in New Zealand, and after the first boom the surviving companies settled down to a long period of steady production which lasted into the twentieth century.

After the Collingwood fields declined, some prospectors moved eastwards through Nelson Province into Marlborough, where gold had been reported in small quantities. Early in 1864 four prospectors discovered a rich deposit of alluvial gold in the Wakamarina River near Havelock. The news spread quickly and by 14 May there were 4,000 miners on the location. As the Otago alluvial fields had begun to decline, many Australian diggers flocked to Marlborough, and the Wakamarina soon boasted 6,000 men working around Canvastown. Granted that 25,000 oz of gold were won in 1864, the nature of the field — many rich surface pockets and few steady workings — soon showed that the rush could not be long sustained, and before long many miners were attracted to the new fields on the West Coast.

Although the Buller goldfield had been eclipsed by the more spectacular finds in Otago, new miners continued to be attracted to the area. By 1862 there were about 300 men working on this field and, from the reports of surveyors and prospectors, it was known that there were extensive alluvial deposits on the Taramakau River and its tributary, the Hohonu. In the latter part of 1864 many miners drifted into Westland and located claims around Greenstone, Goldsborough, Stafford, and the Waimea diggings. By the end of the year there were 1,500 miners on the West Coast; Hokitika had been founded, and miners were still arriving. As the news spread, miners came from Otago and even from Victoria. By April 1865 there were 7,000 miners in the district, and by September there were over 16,000. These were not concentrated at any single strike, but were spread evenly among many camps in the hinterland between Hokitika and the Grey River. Towards the end of the year there was a rush to the rich field at Okarito, in South Westland, and, shortly afterwards, to another at Bruce Bay. News of fresh discoveries in the Grey district encouraged many to prospect in that direction, and in August 1866 the rush to Charleston began. In November of the same year Fox, of Arrow fame, made a rich strike at Brighton (now Tiromoana), about 10 miles south of Charleston. In May 1867 Addison, an American negro, made a strike near Charleston which precipitated the last real “rush” on the West Coast — the rush to Addison's Flat. By this time the West Coast gold boom was showing signs of steadying as the alluvial deposits were exhausted. About this time also, the proclamation of the Thames goldfield began to attract many miners to that district.

In May 1861 Gabriel Read, an experienced Australian prospector, discovered gold in Otago, and during the two succeeding months many men left Dunedin to try their luck on the Tuapeka field. By the beginning of August there were 2,000 diggers camped on Read's location. From Gabriel's Gully men swarmed into neighbouring valleys where further strikes added to the prevailing excitement. By October 1861 there were 4,000 men working at Waitahuna alone. Between July and December 1861 Otago's population rose from something under 13,000 to over 30,000, more than half of the new arrivals coming from Australia.

The cold winter of 1862 caused the Otago rivers to fall to an unprecedented low level. In these conditions Hartley and Reilly, two Californian miners, were able to prospect sand bars along the banks of the Clutha River. On 15 August 1862 they deposited 1,000 oz of gold at Dunedin and claimed the reward for the discovery of a new field. As soon as it was known that this bonanza had been found on the Dunstan (near present-day Cromwell), many diggers rushed there from Tuapeka; and by 5 September there were 3,000 men on the new field.

In the meantime there were many rumours circulating about the doings of a digger named Fox, who was said to have “struck it rich” somewhere in the Otago interior. Fox had, indeed, found gold on the Arrow on 9 October 1862. He managed to keep the location of his discovery quiet for a short time, but persistent rumours of a rich “strike” attracted many diggers to the area. In November a further discovery in the Shotover Valley (near Queenstown) confirmed the existence of the Wakatipu field and by December there were 3,000 diggers working the two rivers. A month later there were 6,400 diggers in the district and several shanty towns had sprung into being.

The peak of the Dunstan and Wakatipu rushes culminated in disaster brought about by the freak winter conditions of 1863. In May 1863, however, the Parkers, Solan, and Warren struck gold in the Taieri-Manuherikia area near the present town of Naseby. As the new field proved more accessible than earlier finds, many diggers rushed there; and by the end of July there were nearly 2,000 men working around Naseby (Hogburn and Mount Ida). The Taieri was the last occasion in Otago in which the Australian miners took part in large numbers and when the peak of the rush faded, the Otago goldfields lost much of their glamour.

The presence of gold in New Zealand had been known from the beginning of European colonisation. As early as 1842 whalers discovered traces in the Coromandel district, while, almost simultaneously, one of Arthur Wakefield's survey parties found traces in the Takaka River, near Nelson. Nothing was done about these discoveries and, as the early prospectors were only interested in alluvial gold, there appeared little likelihood of any sustained rush to New Zealand sites. By the early 1850s, however, the authorities were concerned at the increasing stream of settlers who were leaving for the Australian and Californian gold-fields. Early in 1852 certain influential citizens of Auckland offered £100 reward (later increased to £500) for the discovery of alluvial gold in payable quantities near the capital. In September 1852 Charles Ring, of Coromandel, claimed the reward. A small “rush” occurred, but this lasted only from November 1852 till January 1853, less than £1,500 worth of gold being found during the whole period. A few miners continued to work at Cape Colville and Mercury Bay, but by June 1853 most had departed.

The next important discovery occurred in Nelson, where many minor “finds” had already been reported. By October 1856 it had been established that gold existed in payable quantities, but the Provincial Government showed no inclination to encourage miners to exploit the field. A few local settlers drifted to the Aorere Valley, near Collingwood; by February 1857 there were about 60 miners in the district. Three months later there were 1,500. The miners' interest centred on the Collingwood-Takaka district and by August 1859 nearly £150,000 worth of gold had been exported from Nelson. Hochstetter, who visited the field about this time, reported that returns were falling rapidly and that there were only 250 miners working around Collingwood. By this time most of the settlers had returned home and there had been no rush from Australia.

Between 1857 and 1859 Government surveyors reported seeing traces of gold on the West Coast districts. In November of the latter year Rochfort reported that his party had found gold “in vast quantities” in the Buller River. It was not until two years later, however, when Reuben Waite exhibited gold won from the Buller River in a jeweller's window in Nelson, that any real interest was taken in the discovery. A few miners hastened to the locality, but no concerted rush occurred.

Gold had been known to exist in Otago long before Gabriel Read's discoveries and, according to one popular tradition, Tuhawaiki is said to have told Tuckett of its presence as early as 1844. Throughout the 1850s settlers reported minor discoveries in many parts of the province. In 1858 Black Peter found gold near Lawrence and, in the following year, near Tokomairiro. In July 1860 Blacklock and Roebeck found it in the Mataura district. By the end of the year gold had been reported from all parts of Otago, but it was still not believed to exist in payable quantities. In March 1861 Samuel MacIntyre, an old Californian miner, found gold in payable quantities in the Lindis Pass area and a small rush developed; however, bleak winter conditions soon forced the miners to abandon their diggings.

In view of later rushes to the New Zealand gold-fields, one may wonder why these did not begin earlier. The answer lies in the fact that while early prospectors had a keen eye for topographical features resembling those of the Australian and Californian goldfields, they possessed little knowledge of the geological formations in which gold might be found; and this, together with the miners' preference for alluvial gold, led them to ignore in certain districts rich quartz reefs.

Go-karting is a mid-twentieth-century sport of an age of movement and speed. Two years after it emerged as a pastime in the United States in 1957 it began to be established as a popular variation of car racing. There is nothing handsome or streamlined about the standard go-kart, which was evolved from the adaptation of tiny 2½-horsepower engines to a miniature scale. Because of its comparative low cost, the sport appeals strongly to those who wish to enjoy something of the thrills of car racing, though without its hazards. The safety factor is ensured by average race speeds of from 23 to 28 miles per hour, with a maximum burst of about 40 miles per hour, and tracks are specially designed to minimise accident risks.

The first New Zealand club was formed in Auckland in June 1959 under the style of the Auckland Mini Kart Club, with 25 members and five vehicles. In the next three years the sport developed into a craze until there were over 70 clubs operating in all parts of the country. From the beginning, the early enthusiasts in New Zealand determined that there should be no haphazard development. Safety considerations demanded that clear-cut specifications should be agreed upon about such matters as the power and size of carts.

The New Zealand Go-Karting Association was formed in September 1959, with an executive council drawn from clubs in the Auckland district. Separate associations were also set up for the North and South Islands. Strict rules and specifications were drawn up, and it was resolved that control of the sport should remain with go-karters themselves and not be dominated by any existing motor sports organisation. In the ensuing years a close watch has been kept on all interprovincial and national championships. Thus early public fears about the hazards of the sport have been allayed, especially as a tendency towards the use of big and costly engines, noticeable in the first year, has been checked. This has been due largely to the enthusiastic efforts of the early promoters, many of whom still control the sport.

The order Charadriiformes comprises the shore birds — a large group including such well-known families as those of the oystercatchers, plovers, sandpipers, avocets, skuas, gulls, and terns. Because New Zealand is a group of oceanic islands with a long coastline and a limited fauna of land birds, this order is important here and its representatives make up approximately 25 per cent of all species present in the New Zealand region. That section of the order known collectively as the waders is very large and is made up, in general, of moderate-sized birds with long bills and legs. These birds are well adapted to feeding in the shallow waters of lakes, ponds, or rivers, on the tidal flats of estuaries, or along the sandy shores of the sea. Capable of powerful sustained flight, they are usually migratory. In New Zealand the great majority of our migrant birds are waders, and the best known and most abundant of these is the eastern race of the bar-tailed godwit, the kuaka of the Maori (Limosa lapponica).

Light brown above and white below, with a long upcurved bill, and often in flocks of some hundreds, godwits are a common sight as they feed on mud and sand flats along our coasts in summer. During the southern hemisphere winter, they have been present on their breeding grounds of Arctic tundra in Siberia and Alaska. Flying south, mainly along the island chains of the western Pacific, they arrive on our coasts during the second half of September. Here they stay until March when the northward migration begins. As autumn advances, godwits in the more southern parts of New Zealand begin to move in a northerly direction and then, after some days of mounting excitement, leave in moderate-sized flocks from many points around our coasts for their return journey overseas. A few birds over-winter here each year and, although they do not breed, they then assume the colourful breeding plumage of black and chestnut above and reddish chestnut below, the females being duller.

Food is small crustaceans, worms, molluscs, etc., obtained by probing with the long flexible beak in the sand at low tide.

by Gordon Roy Williams, B.SC.(HONS.)(SYDNEY), Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology, Lincoln Agricultural College.

(1814–61).

Coloniser and administrator.

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

John Robert Godley was born on 29 May 1814 at 33 Merion Square, Dublin, the eldest son of John Godley, an Irish landowner with estates at Killegar, County Leitrim, and at County Meath. His mother was Catherine, née Daly, whose brothers were Lord Dunsandle and the Bishop of Cashel. In 1824 young Godley was sent to the Rev. Edward Ward's preparatory school at Iver, near Uxbridge, England. Four years later he entered Harrow and soon made his mark, despite the handicap of uncertain health. In 1831 he captained the Harrow XI at cricket — a game he loved all his life — and in March 1832 won an open scholarship at Oxford, being admitted to Christ Church in the following October. He soon took his place among a brilliant company of Tories and High Churchmen who were influenced by the Oxford movement, though Godley was attracted more by its aims of social and political reform than by its ritual and doctrine. Repeated attacks of “chronic laryngitis” affected his studies and, for all his promise, he had to be content with a second-class in classics, B.A., October 1836.

During 1837 – 38 Godley travelled abroad, visiting France, Germany, Norway, and Sweden. On his return he was called to the Irish Bar at Dublin in June 1839, an almost briefless barrister but very much the young Tory squire, on nodding terms with most of the great figures of the day. His mind was of a serious cast, and letters written at this time to his lifelong friend, C. B. Adderley, show his deep concern with current questions. From July to November 1842 Godley was in North America. He was an excellent observer, especially of the working of colonial self-government, and his letters home were, on Adderley's advice, published in early 1844 under the modest title of Letters from America. Gladstone thought well of them, and it was apparent that at the age of 28 Godley had already an appreciation of colonial problems well in advance of contemporary thought. He now turned his attention to Irish affairs. In 1843 he had been appointed High Sheriff of County Leitrim and, in the following year, Deputy Lieutenant and a Justice of the Peace. At this juncture he announced his engagement to Charlotte, daughter of C. G. Wynne, of Voelas, Denbighshire, the marriage taking place on 29 September 1846.

The appalling distress in Ireland directed Godley's thoughts to colonisation, and he proposed settling a million Irish in Canada. Perhaps with the idea of advancing this plan he decided in 1847 to stand for County Leitrim as a Tory candidate, but failed. For the moment, journalism seemed a more promising venture, and in the following year he was in London writing leaders for the Morning Chronicle in the Liberal-Conservative interest, with the emphasis on colonial questions. Godley now became intimate with Edward Gibbon Wakefield, whose views on colonisation he heartily endorsed. The result was an alliance of Godley's High Church and, in a sense, radical Toryism, with the theories of the Colonial Reformers who comprised the left wing of the Whig Party. Out of this emerged a scheme for an Anglican Church settlement in New Zealand under the aegis of the Canterbury Association whose list of members showed the strength of Godley's personal and family connection. In September 1849, when plans in England were nearing a climax, Godley suffered a serious relapse in health, the upshot being that he somewhat reluctantly agreed to go to New Zealand as chief agent for the Association. On 13 December, with his wife Charlotte and infant son Arthur, he sailed from Plymouth in the Lady Nugent to prepare the way for the arrival of the first body of emigrants. The Godleys arrived at Otago Harbour on 25 March 1850 and spent Eastertide at Dunedin with Captain Cargill, one of the leaders of the Scottish Free Church settlement. Godley was not greatly impressed by what he saw and his criticisms, later published, were very much to the point, though in no sense uncharitable. The Lady Nugent reached Port Cooper (Lyttelton) on 12 April, where Godley met Capt. Jos. Thomas, agent for the Association, who since the previous July had been pushing ahead with surveying and roadmaking. But as funds were already overspent Godley ordered that all except essential work should cease, a decision which, though justified, aroused local irritation. Aware that there was little he could do on the spot, Godley decided to move to Wellington and await news of the Association's activities. The move gave him the opportunity to learn something of the political problems of the colony and it brought him into close touch with the Governor, Sir George Grey, with whom he was soon to clash on constitutional issues. From April until November 1850, therefore, the Godleys were very much at home in Wellington society. It was a time of political tension, and the New Zealand Company settlers at Nelson and Wellington were agitating for self-government which Grey was not prepared to concede. On 15 November 1850 Godley took part in a great public meeting organised by the Constitutional Association, and he urged the settlers to demand the right to manage their own affairs. It was Godley, in effect, who first outlined in New Zealand the full significance of the term “responsible government”.

On 28 November 1850 Godley returned to Lyttelton to meet the first four emigrant vessels which arrived between 16–27 December, and for the next two years he was the head of the young settlement. He soon showed fine qualities of leadership and did not hesitate to criticise the policy of the London committee of the Association, which was a sort of absentee landlord. “The business of the Association”, said Godley, “was to found Canterbury, not to govern it”. He was well aware that pastoral farming, and not small-scale agricultural holdings as planned by the association, must be the mainstay of the settlement. He therefore reversed the regulations regarding squatting and encouraged the entry of stock and stockmen from Australia, a sound policy which received its final sanction when the Land Regulations were adopted by the Superintendent and Provincial Council of Canterbury in 1855. Further difficulties with the Association, and an estrangement with Wakefield, strengthened his decision to return to London, though he was warmly pressed by the settlers to stand for election, under the Constitution Act of 1852, to the Superintendency of the province. But Godley had made it clear from the outset that a term of three years abroad was all that he could spare, and he rightly refused to become involved in new problems. On the eve of his departure he gave a series of lectures on the responsibilities of self-government in the light of the new Constitution Act whose main features he shrewdly criticised.

On 22 December 1852 Godley sailed from Lyttelton, via Wellington and Sydney, for England, which he reached in the following June. Along with Adderley and his old associates, he kept in close touch with Canterbury affairs and continued to battle for an acceptance by the Colonial Office of the principle of colonial self reliance, a theme which he enlarged upon in articles contributed to the Spectator. Hopes of an appointment at the Colonial Office were destroyed by Newcastle's coldness, but Gladstone, then at the Exchequer, offered Godley a Commissionership of Income Tax in Ireland, which was followed in March 1854 by a transfer to London. Twelve months later he was appointed to the Ordnance Office as Director of Stores, a post which was far from being a sinecure during the administrative chaos of the Crimean War. In August 1855 the Ordnance Department was merged in the War Office and Godley as Assistant Under-Secretary came under the authority of Lord Panmure. Administrative problems again engaged his attention and he drew up a plan for a single Ministry of Defence, which, however, was far too revolutionary for its time to win official acceptance. Godley spent much of 1856 in travelling about the British Isles, inspecting military stores, and suggesting further administrative reforms. In early 1859 he submitted a report on Imperial defence, a model of its kind, in which he again advocated a policy on colonial self reliance. Gladstone was impressed and the Colonial Reformers warmly approved, while Adderley in the House pressed for a parliamentary committee of inquiry, which functioned in 1861. In May, Godley gave evidence. He strongly condemned Sir George Grey's policy at the Cape of maintaining troops by grants from the British Exchequer, and he regretted the reliance in New Zealand on British regulars rather than on colonial volunteers. The outbreak of the Taranaki War distressed him greatly and he urged his friends in New Zealand to claim full responsibility for native affairs and oppose any interference by the Colonial Office in internal matters. His views were vindicated in 1863 when Newcastle at the Colonial Office adopted the principle of self reliance, followed by the gradual withdrawal of overseas garrisons from all but Imperial posts.

During these years Godley's health, always precarious, had deteriorated rapidly. A visit to Rome in 1860 and a holiday the following year at Whitby, Yorkshire, brought no improvement, and he returned to London where he died on 17 November 1861. He was survived by his wife, four daughters, and son, John Arthur (1847 – 1932), who became Secretary of State for India and was raised to the peerage as Baron Kilbracken.

Although Godley's early death left the promise of his life largely unfulfilled, his achievements were far from negligible. He was certainly not a Great Victorian, but among the lesser figures of his day he stands high. In character he was sincere, deeply religious, and earnest, with an independent mind that scorned hypocrisy and cant. He had the capacity to give and inspire friendship, and to his intimates he was a delightful companion. Gladstone thought him “a king among men”, and Lyttelton, as one “born to control affairs and manage men”. Yet he had his defects, in part those of his background and training. He was habitually reserved to those who lacked “a good manner with gentlemen” and he made little effort to cultivate the common touch. As a public speaker he was concise, dry, and somewhat matter of fact, though never pedestrian or pedantic; indeed, if contemporary New Zealand reports of his speeches are at all reliable, he was capable of arousing enthusiasm and stimulating action. As a writer he was more restrained than brilliant, though on certain issues his strong convictions gave urgency to his pen. He was at his best in private correspondence which displayed his wide interests and warmth of feeling.

Godley's views on imperial questions were far in advance of contemporary thought. Like Burke, he firmly believed in “salutary neglect” and would gladly have reduced imperial control to something approximating to our present-day concept of Commonwealth relations. The idea of a self-reliant policy for the colonies pervaded his thinking. “Do not be afraid to leave them to themselves”, he urged; “throw them into the water, and they will swim.” Towards the end of his life, however, he despaired of any change of heart at the Colonial Office, and his letters to his old friend in New Zealand, James Edward FitzGerald, reveal his growing doubts as to the wisdom of maintaining the Imperial tie.

Godley Statue

When news of Godley's death reached Canterbury, the Provincial Council resolved to erect a bronze statue to his memory. Lord Lyttelton commissioned Thomas Woolner, the pre-Raphaelite sculptor, to undertake the work, and in July 1865 the statue was on view at the South Kensington Museum, London, where it was warmly praised by public and critics. On 6 August 1867 the statue was unveiled at Christchurch, when tribute was paid to Godley's rare qualities of mind and character. Today it stands in Cathedral Square, Christchurch, one of the few portrait statues in this country with any claim to artistic merit.

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

• Godley of Canterbury, Carrington, C. E. (1950)
• A History of Canterbury, Hight, J., and Straubel, C. R. (1957)
• Crown Colony Government in New Zealand, McLintock, A. H. (1958)
• A Selection from the Writings and Speeches of John Robert Godley, FitzGerald, J. E. (1863).

(1821–1907).

Pioneer Canterbury settler.

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

Charlotte Godley was born in 1821 at Voelas, Denbighshire, North Wales, a daughter of Charles Griffith Wynne. Her father, a grandson of the Third Lord Aylesford, had assumed the name and nationality of his mother, Jane Wynne, and was for many years member of Parliament for Carnarvonshire. In 1846 Charlotte married John Robert Godley and accompanied him to New Zealand in 1850. Their son, Arthur, was born in 1847, a daughter, Rose, in 1852, and three more daughters following their return to England.

During her two years in Canterbury, Charlotte Godley exercised in her own sphere an important and beneficial influence on the early developments of society in the settlement, and after her departure she continued to maintain a keen interest in New Zealand affairs. She outlived her husband by 45 years and died in her house at Gloucester Place, London, on 3 January 1907, being survived by her son, Sir Arthur Godley (afterwards Lord Kilbracken, Under-Secretary of State for India), and three daughters.

She was a woman of grace, dignity, and gentleness, with a charming gaiety of manner and keen powers of observation. A collection of her letters to her mother, describing her Canterbury experiences, was printed for private circulation in 1936 under the title Letters from Early New Zealand. A public edition was issued in 1950. These letters contain a detailed and accurate account of social life and conditions in Wellington and Lyttelton during the eighteen fifties, including descriptions of town and countryside, gossip about church and political leaders and local personalities, Maori behaviour, and details of prices, wages, and clothing. Though she was a somewhat stolid writer, lacking the brightness of later correspondents such as Lady Barker, her Letters are valuable and informative because of her unique position as wife of the founder of Canterbury.

by Phillip John Wilson, M.A., Author, Wellington.

• Letters from Early New Zealand, Godley, Charlotte (1950)
• The Times (London), 5 Jan 1907 (Obit).

, G.C.B., K.C.M.G. (1867–1957).

Regular soldier.

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

Born at Chatham on 4 February 1867, Godley was the eldest of the three sons of Colonel W. A. Godley, 56th Regiment, a younger brother of John Robert Godley. His mother was the daughter of the Rev. Godfrey Bird, Essex, and niece of Admiral James Bird. His grandfather was John Godley, of Killegar, County Leitrim. Godley's first inclination was towards a naval career and his education was begun at the Royal Naval School, but changing his mind in favour of the Army he in turn went to Haileybury, United Services College, and the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. His father died when he was 13 years of age, leaving the family very poorly off, and his education was made possible only by his mother's determination and with the help of his large family connection.

In 1886 he took his first commission in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers, of which he became adjutant. He then transferred to the Mounted Infantry, Aldershot, as adjutant, in which capacity he served in the Special Service Battalion, Mounted Infantry, in South Africa. With a brevet majority he entered Staff College in 1898, but returned to South Africa the following year with a group of special service officers briefed to raise two irregular mounted regiments. He became adjutant in one of them, the Protectorate Regiment, and was present at the Western Defences and the siege of Mafeking. After serving as staff officer to Generals Baden-Powell and Plumer, Godley commanded the Rhodesian Brigade (brevet lieutenant-colonel). In 1900 he transferred to the Irish Guards, and in 1901 was posted to the staff at Aldershot, where he commanded the Mounted Infantry until 1903. He commanded the Mounted Infantry at Long-moor, 1903–06. Brevet colonel in 1905, he was colonel on the General Staff of the 2nd Division, 1906–10. He then became major-general on the Imperial General Staff and G.O.C. New Zealand Forces.

Godley's transfer to the Mounted Infantry had brought him in touch with the innovations and the reformers of the period. It is significant that many of the most senior officers in the Army were interested in this new arm — French, Wolseley, Hamilton — and in it accelerated promotion on merit was possible. The impression of the New Zealand mounted infantry in the Boer War gained by such officers, and Godley's mounted infantry experience and seniority, may well have been the reason for his selection as G.O.C. in New Zealand.

Here the Defence Act 1909 had created the Territorial Force and had imposed universal training. Modifications suggested by Lord Kitchener, who briefed Godley before his departure, were soon introduced, and Godley, with other British staff officers under his command, was lent by the War Office to implement the scheme. The threat of a major European war gave it impetus, and although the target of 30,000 trained men was never quite reached, it was remarkable what was achieved. The degree of enthusiasm engendered in the new force, and the state of efficiency achieved, was largely due to Godley's energy and good sense. He toured the country and instilled something of his own high sense of duty into the new Territorial units and successfully transformed the inefficient and varied volunteer hotchpotch into an integrated Territorial cadre that was so readily able to provide the nucleus for the First Expeditionary Force. It was due to his foresight that the Army was prepared for the occupation of Samoa.

Appointed to command the New Zealand Expeditionary Force by the New Zealand Government, which granted him special powers, Godley commanded the NZ and A Division in Birdwood's Anzac Corps at Gallipoli, where he became noted for his indefatigable rounds of the position, and for his unfailing equanimity. After the evacuation, and the subsequent rearrangement of divisions, Godley commanded II Anzac Corps, which he took to France in June 1916. Promoted lieutenant-general in September 1916, he held this command until January 1918 when another rearrangement of divisions took him to XXII Corps. In August he commanded III Corps for a month, returning to XXII Corps, and to IV Corps during the occupation of the Rhine. For the length of the war Godley remained Commander NZEF, although for some of it the New Zealanders were not in his corps.

From 1920 to 1922 Godley was Military Secretary to the Secretary of State for War, and then returned for two years to Germany where he was C-in-C British Army of the Rhine. He next served as G.O.C. Southern Command (1924–28), and finally as Governor of Gibraltar until his retirement in 1933. He commanded a platoon of Home Guards with great enjoyment during the Second World War.

During the years of the First World War Godley maintained a personal correspondence with the New Zealand Minister of Defence, Allen , and in it displayed his great interest in the health and training and general welfare of the New Zealand troops, to whom he always referred as “my New Zealanders”, and whom he considered second to none. He kept a close watch on promotion, staff training, and equipment. To the Government he was invaluable as one who was intimate with the most senior British officers, who knew both the mind of the New Zealand Government and the potential of the country, and who could thus immediately and effectively represent the needs of the New Zealanders under his command.

Major-General Sir Andrew Russell(q.v.) said of his decade of service to the New Zealand Army that “… his work during those years of association as organiser, as instructor and as commander have left a permanent impression for good”.

As a man Godley presented a picture of austerity and dedication. Aristocratic in outlook, he remained aloof from all but his intimates, to whom he was known to be generous, sensitive, and loyal. Responsible for so much, it was inevitable that he should make some enemies and, as he was isolated by both rank and temperament, for he never courted popularity, it was certain that he would become the target for considerable criticism. Yet merit was his only yardstick, and having recognised the splendid raw material in the undisciplined New Zealand forces, he firmly, but with wisdom and understanding, prepared them for the test of war, and afterwards made certain that they had the best in administration and leadership. The results speak for themselves. As a divisional commander at Gallipoli, Godley had no opportunity to demonstrate any exceptional skill. As a corps commander in France, Godley by his reputation stood above controversy. He was greatly impressed by the natural capacity of the New Zealander, and in his farewell message to the NZEF recorded his conviction that the country was able, and was destined, to play a part in the world out of all proportion to its size and population. To mark for all time his pride in his association with the country, when created G.C.B. he chose as one supporter for his coat of arms a New Zealand infantry soldier.

Godley was an MFH, and was keen on all equestrian sport. He played cricket, and became a good yachtsman. In 1898 he married Louisa Marion (d. 1939), eldest daughter of Robert Fowler, Rahinston, County Meath. Lady Godley shared his interests, supported his career, and was herself mentioned in dispatches for her welfare work for New Zealand troops in the Middle East. Godley died at Oxford on 6 March 1957.

Besides many articles of a professional character, he published his autobiography, Life of an Irish Soldier, 1939, and British Military History in South America, 1942.

by Ian McLean Wards, M.A., Research Officer, Historical Publications Branch, Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

See also Defence (Army); War, First World.

• The New Zealand Division, 1916–1919, Stewart. H. (2 vols. 1921)
• The Times (London), 22 Feb 1927
• Evening Post, 8 Mar 1957 (Obit).

(Arachnocampa luminosa).

The New Zealand glow-worm is one of the most interesting insects of the New Zealand fauna. It occurs throughout the country in limestone caves, unused mining tunnels, along stream banks, in damp bush-clad ravines, in damp shady crevices, and under tree-fern fronds in rain forests. The Glow-worm Grotto in Waitomo Cave has become world famous because of the tens of thousands of glow-worm larvae which live on the walls, ceilings, and stalactites of the grotto.

The insect is not related to the European glowworm which is a beetle. The New Zealand glowworm is a fly belonging to the gnat family. The larvae, pupae, and adults of both sexes are all luminous. In the larval stage the light attracts prey in the form of other organisms, while in the pupal and adult stages the light attracts the opposite sex.

The larva prepares a nest in the form of a tunnel of mucous and silk, and suspends from this an array of fishing lines composed of the same materials. Prey is snared in the long sticky fishing lines. The larva hauls up the fishing line on which the prey is entangled and consumes the trapped insect. Up to 70 lines are let down by one larva and, depending on the size of the larva, the lines vary in length from under 1 cm to 50 cm. Each fishing line consists of a long thread of silk which bears at regular intervals a series of mucous droplets giving the appearance of a string of beads. The droplet size is about 1 mm in diameter. Nests and lines can be reconstructed and repaired. Fully grown larvae measure up to 40 mm in length and adult flies average 15 mm in length. The life cycle appears to take 11–12 months, with the larval stage lasting eight or nine months. Breeding shows little evidence of being a seasonal phenomenon.

by Roy Alexander Harrison, D.SC., Senior Lecturer in Agricultural Zoology, Lincoln Agricultural College.