Story: Ngā take Māori – government policy and Māori

Francis Fenton, 1870s

Francis Fenton, 1870s

Judge Francis Fenton, seen here in the 1870s, arrived in New Zealand as a young man in 1850. Working as a magistrate and civil servant, he was impressed by the examples of Māori self-government he saw in the Waikato. He carried out the first colony-wide census of the Māori people before becoming the government's chief adviser on Māori affairs and later the first chief judge of the Native Land Court.

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Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: PAColl-7489-01

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

Mark Derby, 'Ngā take Māori – government policy and Māori - A new colony, 1840s to 1850s', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/34378/francis-fenton-1870s (accessed 19 March 2024)

Story by Mark Derby, published 20 Jun 2012