Story: Capital city

Australian commissioners: Joseph Docker (3rd of 3)

Australian commissioners: Joseph Docker

Joseph Docker was a surgeon and a justice of the peace, and became a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, as well as postmaster general and colonial secretary. Docker served on the Legislative Council for nearly 21 years and, while doing so, accepted appointment to the commission responsible for choosing a site for the New Zealand capital. As non-New Zealand residents, the three commissioners were regarded as able to make an independent recommendation, free from the New Zealand colony’s provincial rivalries.

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National Archives of Australia
Reference: NAA: C4078, N4064D

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How to cite this page:

Stephen Levine, 'Capital city - A new capital', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/34168/australian-commissioners-joseph-docker (accessed 27 April 2024)

Story by Stephen Levine, published 20 Jun 2012, updated 1 Aug 2016