The Wakefield Boys - Off to Prison

At once notorious and visionary, Edward Gibbon Wakefield (EGW), his son and his brothers played a key but controversial role in the early British settlement of New Zealand, and at one point in our history, famed as New Zealand's 'Founding Fathers'.

Until about 50 years ago, Edward Gibbon was considered at least partly responsible for the British settlement of New Zealand, his brothers and son its active agents and its occurrence essentially a good thing. However in some quarters they have since become the arch-villains of all post-colonial scenarios of the past.

Wakefield played a seminal role in the shaping of British colonial policy over two decades from the early 1830s, and had a direct influence on the settlement of South Australia and assisted in the creation of a Canadian constitution.

This positive work however was always overshadowed by the notorious cases of fraud and abduction that had led to his earlier imprisonment. Yet many of Wakefield's notable contemporaries, and historians and economists over the century following his death, were willing to look past the notoriety to his vision and political achievements.

Like and admire them or not, they undeniably made a difference to their world and remain an indelible part of British colonial history, and of New Zealand in particular. If we understand them better, we may better understand ourselves.

The Family 

Edward Gibbon Wakefield (1796 - 1862)  (EGW), was born in London, to a Quaker family deeply involved in reform movements of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, during a time of great political and social change. He was the eldest son of a family whose financial resources had unexpectedly contracted.

In times of general upheaval in the country there was also much personal upheaval; tensions both creative and destructive governed the future of a family whose reduced income could no longer adequately support the upper middle-class status and political influence they had come to expect. They became a part of the growing 'uneasy classes' who would turn to emigration in the great wave of British colonisation of North America and Australasia that began in the generation after the end of the Napoleonic Wars.

First Entrepreneurial Venture - Elopement
 

The Draconian laws of the day meant that following a marriage, particularly in Scotland, the daughter of a wealthy family would need to supply the husband with a significant settlement.  In the year 1816 he ran off with a Miss Eliza Pattle and they were subsequently married in Edinburgh. It appears to have been a "love match", but no doubt the fact that she was a wealthy heiress did "sweeten the pot", with Edward receiving a marriage settlement of 70,000 pounds, from the estate of his recently deceased father-in-law, and the prospect of more when Eliza turned twenty-nine. Eliza's mother who was still alive, was denied 2/3rds of her husband's estate.

With Eliza, EGW moved to Genoa, in Italy, where he was employed in a diplomatic service. They had their first child in Italy and returned to England in 1820 for the birth of a son Edward Jerningham Wakefield (EJW). Four days later Eliza died.

Although now wealthy by contemporary standards, EGW was not satisfied. He wished to acquire an estate and enter Parliament, and for this needed more capital.

Second Entrepreneurial Venture - Kidnapping

In 1826, with the help and support of his step mother and brother William, the thirty year old EGW planned and executed the kidnapping of Ellen Turner, a fifteen year old heiress from a very wealthly family. Ellen was the only daughter of William Turner MP, a prosperous cotton magnate, and High Sheriff of Cheshire. The stakes were high and if successful, would make him a very wealthy man. He was wanting to take possession of Shrigley Hall (see photo) amongst other assets.

He abducted her from school, lying about her father's "embarassed state of affairs" and saying that her father had sent him to take her back home. He then travelled with her to Scotland where they were married. Ellen's father pursued the couple, over the next few weeks, through the UK and parts of France, until Wakefield was finally apprehended and charged with kidnapping and abduction.

In the court case that followed, witnesses testified that, EGW "lavished her with his extensive charm and skilled diplomacy,.... and although she must have half-guessed what was happening, she was probably fearful of the consequences of attempting an escape and, perhaps, intoxicated by the growing fantasy of elopement".

In his defence, Wakefield stated that "I behaved to her as I would a beloved sister.... with intimacy but without familiarity..., and with the greatest of kindness". He was hoping to genuinely win her heart, and to "render her the happiest of women, before the ultimate conjugal connection", required to make the marriage legal.

Judgement Day

Edward Gibbon Wakefield and his two accomplices were all found guilty. His step mother was let off, while EGW and his brother were escorted to Newgate prison, where they both served a three year sentence.

A legal commentator at the time said, "nor is every heiress, especially if she is a 'clever' girl, and 'well educated', so credulous as to believe any cock-and-a-bull story told to her by an utter stranger.... or so exceeding pliable as in a few hours to consent to marry him, on the strength of his mere statement as to her father's wishes.... how ages may elapse before such a Quixote.... shall stumble on such a heiress.... and how many thousand chances to one are there against the completion of the scheme. In short, in all human probability, such a case will never occur again.

The Prison Years

So EGW's second entrepreneurial venture was a dismal failure. He had become the laughing stock of the country and spurned by his family. How would he redeem himself.

He began to study, write articles and eventually publish his thoughts and ideas on social and polictical issues of the day. In his 'A sort of Conscience - The Wakefield's', Philip Temple writes, "The culmination of three years in the hell-hole of Newgate, EGW's 'Facts Relating to the Punishment of Death' reveals not only literary skill and deeply engraved experience, but also a baring of social concern that would have made his grandmother proud. This and his other work deriving from the Newgate period, A Letter from Sydney, contributed much to EGW's redemption within his family and established the base from which he could attempt social and political rehabilitation"

Although hostile to his theories, Karl Marx paid EGW the compliment in 'Das Kapital' of describing him as the most notable political economist of the 1830s.

He believed that many of the social problems in Britain were caused by overcrowding and overpopulation and he saw emigration to the colonies as a useful safety valve. He set out to design a good colonization scheme, one with a workable combination of labourers, artisans and capital. The scheme was to be financed by the sale of land to the capitalists who would thereby support the other classes of emigrants.

One glaring hole in his "scheme" however, is that no account or consideration was taken with regard to the rights and position of the indigenous people who had owned and occupied the land for hundreds of years. 

Not A Good Start on the Path to Redempton

One of the first things EGW did on his release from prison in 1830, was attempt to overturn his father-in-law's will and get his hands on the remainder of his deceased wife's money, at the expense of his mother-in-law. This did not work either and, in fact, the entire affair did a lot to further tarnish his reputation - there were strong suspicions that in order to strengthen his case he had resorted first, to forgery and then, perjury, although no charges were ever then brought to a trial.

It is hard to believe that for such an obviously intelligent, charismatic and self assured man on the one hand, could be so blind, callous and calculating on the other.  Some of the lessons had still not been learnt!!

In only a short ten years time, this man's word and character would be believed and trusted, by hundreds of investors and thousands of emigrants. They would put their money, and the future of their families into his hands.

However, would he be able to regain the respect and trust of his peers and family, those closest to him. It was clear that by the end of the 1830s he had been able to convince many others.  The road back would be a long one, and it is a matter of debate and conjecture as to whether that ever happened.



To be continued.......

Source material and additional reading:

A Sort of Conscience - Philip Temple (c) 2002
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Wakefield Edward Gibbon
Gretna Green Marrige Record
William Turner MP
Shrigley Abduction

The Motivation to Come

William Trevarthen, my Gr Gr Gr Grandfather on my mothers side, was born in Crowan, Cornwall, England in 1799. In 1840, the village had a population of 3,000. He married Elizabeth Blackwell in 1828, who was born in 1806 in Penzance, Cornwall. William was an argicultural worker. They had three children in England, Thomas (b1828), Elizabeth (b1834) and Mary (b1836), before making the decision to emigrate to New Zealand.

Another son William, was born in Auckland in 1850. William Jr was 10 years old when his Dad died, after being kicked in the stomach by his horse, on his farm at Devonport, in 1860. In 1871, Elizabeth had a heart attack, in Mr Waddell's bakers shop on Karangahape Road, where she died. She had been "conversing with Mrs Waddell and speaking of the long journey she had just made to Papakura, when she suddenly fell back against the counter of the shop and expired". What an end to two amazing and adventurous lives.

Mary Trevarthen, my Gr Gr Grandmother was 4 years old when she boarded the "Bolton" with her family on the 19th November 1839 in Gravesend, Kent. They finally arrived in Port Nicholson, Wellington on the 20th April 1840, a five month trip and only two months after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.

An interesting little aside to the departure date is that Mary's Gr Gr Gr Grandson, Michael, was born in Southampton, Hampshire on the 19th November 1979, exactly 140 years to the day from their leaving England to go to New Zealand!!

But I am getting ahead of myself here. What was it that may have motivated this young couple with three small children from rural England, to leave all that they knew and venture to the other side of the world? What was happening in England at the time that provided the sort of motivation, energy and passion to give up all that they knew and risk the unknown?

England in the early 1800's

Well you don't have to delve very deep into events in Britian, and the wider Europe, during the early part of the 1800's to get some sort of understanding. It was a time of major upheavel and social unrest.

Britian was in the middle of the Industrial Revolution that changed the face of the country from a manual labour and draft-animal–based economy towards Machine-based manufacturing. It started with the mechinisation of the textile industries, the development of iron making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Transportation methods fundamentally changed with the invention of the steam engine and establishment of the railway system.

Queen Victoria (1819 – 1901), acended the throne in 1837 at the age of 18, when the country was lead by Lord Melbourne. Melbourne was her chief advisor but would not stay in power for long. He was growing unpopular and faced considerable difficulty in governing the British colonies, especially during the Canadian Rebellions of 1837. Victoria's reign marked the gradual establishment of a modern constitutional monarchy.

As the industrial age roared children were pressed into the labor force to work in sickening conditions. Hospitals teemed with rats, and prisons were cesspools. Labor unions arose with revolution coursing through their veins, and they began to rumble the populace toward the same murderous direction that their French forbears had trod. Poor children wandered the streets unschooled, and orphans fended for themselves.

It was the time of Charles Dickens, who attempted in his novels to depict the hardships of the working classes. For the crime of stealing a sheep or loaf of bread you could be transported to Australia. During the 80 years of "transportation" between 1788 and 1868, 164,000 of William and Elizabeth's countryman had been sent to Australia in 806 ships. 

The country was ruled by the land owning Arostocarcy and the general population was getting fed up.

The Swing Riots were a widespread uprising by the rural workers of the arable south and east of England in 1830. The rioters, largely impoverished and landless agricultural labourers, sought to halt reductions in their wages and to put a stop to the introduction of the new Threshing Machines that threatened their livelihoods. Many arrests followed the riots. Across the country, nine of the rioters were hanged and a further 450 were sentenced to "transportion" to Australia.

The Days of May, were also a period of social unrest and political tension that took place in May 1832. Pro-reform organisations such as the Birmingham Political Union played a major part in the protests; their membership swelled, causing politicians to fear an armed riot. In other parts of the country, armed mobs attacked the homes of prominent members of the peerage who were opposing reform. Petitons were also presented from around the country.

During the winter of 1831-32, the nation stood on a knife-edge. In the spring, the Lords showed signs of renewed reluctance to change, and the King, as a desperation measure, invited the Duke of Wellington (of the Battle of Waterloo / Napoleon fame) back to form a government. In response, reform leaders made plans to bring the country to a halt by having their supporters withdraw funds from the banks, using the slogan: 'To stop the Duke, go for Gold'.

The crisis was averted. The Lords backed down and the Reform Act of 1832 was passed introducing wide-ranging changes to Britian's electoral system. According to its preamble, the act was designed to "take effectual Measures for correcting Abuses that have long prevailed in the Choice of Members of Parliament" The picture shows the first sitting of the House of Commons in 1833

The Clapham Sect (1791 to 1830), through their leader William Wilberforce (1759 - 1833), worked tirelessly to influence Parliament to change laws. They endeavoured to lead by their example in philanthropy and moral campaigns, especially the Abolition of slavery, but also the Abolition Society, the Proclamation Society, the Bettering Society for the "reformation of manners", and the Small Debt Society. In the words of one historian, "The ethos of Clapham became the spirit of the age".

Some comentators believe that Britian avoided the revolutions that were happening in Europe in the 1840's and 50's, because of the work of the reformers, the Reform Act of 1832 and the work of groups like the Clapham Sect, the Quakers and others.

A few compelling reasons!!

So there you go then, a few compelling little reasons to get your tail out of there!! William and Elizabeths' families would have probably lived in the same village for generations. There was no possibility of owning their own land and little likelihood of being able to change their circumstances.

The world that they had known was being turned on it's head, why not take the chance of a better future for themselves, their children, and their childrens' children.

And on top of that, if you were hungry and got caught stealing a loaf of bread, or joined a riot to protest the conditions of the day, you could either be sent to the gallows, or end up in Australia, perish the thought!!

Taking destiny into your own hands, heading to "little England", buying a piece of land (for a musket and a couple of blankets) and starting a new life, would have appeared a very attractive option.

So Along comes Mr Wakefield to be continued...........

Note: A lot of the information above, but not all, has been sourced from reading articles and history on numerous websites. Below are some of those links, providing additional nightime reading, for those so inclined :-)

The Industrial Revolution

Judgment at the "Old Bailey"

Off to Australia

The Penal Colony

Queen Victoria

Charles Dickens

The Swing Riots

A Few Days in May

The Reform Act 1832

The Clapham Sect

William Wilberforce

Revolution in Europe

Britian Avoids Revolution

So how did you get here then

Welcome to my, so how did you get here then, blog. This little blogging adventure started for me following a discussion with a friend and colleague about the potential of a new business opportunity. During the course of our conversation he mentioned that his forefathers had arrived on the shores of our wonderful country in the good ship “Bolton”, my ears pricked up, he had my attention.

I am a 5th generation New Zealander on my mothers’ side, good old “British pioneering stock” from the “mother country”, that much I knew. My forebears by 5, had emigrated to New Zealand pretty early on, arriving on the "Bolton" in April 1840. That was about the extent of the knowledge I had gleaned from bits and pieces of information, and brief conversations over the years. But it was the conversation with my friend that started me thinking.

How many other people do I know, work alongside and share my life with that are connected, not necessarily by blood, but through some significant event along the way, many is probably the answer. It fascinated me that our paths had crossed as a result of a decision and choice that our forefathers had made over 170 years ago. Who were those people, our own flesh and blood? They had lived in a tiny village in Cornwall England, for generations probably. What had motivated them to leave all that they knew and venture to the other side of the world, with a young family? What was happening in their lives at the time that provided the sort of motivation, energy and passion to give up all that they knew and risk the unknown? What was the trip like on the sailing ship, what did they find when they arrived, the questions seemed endless and my knowledge was so limited.

I had picked up a bit during my 13 years in the education system, along with my “baby boomer” friends, it wasn’t all wasted. Social Studies had not been a favourite of mine, but thinking about it, not many subjects had.

What I had come to understand was from a pretty “broad brush” perspective, from Tasman to Cook, then the whalers and sealers. Then the missionaries appeared around 1820, they were the good guys. The Maori liked them as well because they bought the muskets, a much more effective way of getting your enemies into the cooking pot. In the mid 1830’s the British government unsuccessfully sent a guy out to New Zealand called Busby, with the task of sorting out the wicked whalers, who had turned the Bay of Islands into the “hell hole of the Pacific”. In the late 1830’s a British capitalist guy called Wakefield decided that New Zealand would be a good place to make some money. Establish a British colony and create a “little Britain”, seemed like a good idea. So in late 1839 he sent his first six ships, the "Bolton" leaving in November, laden with expectant settlers. The British government now had a major problem. Their response was to send William Hobson to New Zealand with the task of formalising a relationship with the Maori and to establish a British colony, before things got completely out of control.

As the New Zealanders among us know, that all happened in February 1840 and “the British kept a coming” in great numbers for the next 40 to 50 years. The resulting clash of cultures, land disputes between the settlers and Maori, culminated in the Maori Wars, focused around Taranaki and the Waikato, which we won of course!! Oh, and there was a gold rush or two in there somewhere as well.

So that was about it really, my 13 years of social studies and NZ history summarized in a paragraph. I have picked up a little more over the last 40 odd years (very odd, I hear some of you saying!!), motivated mainly from a desire to understand why, during our watch, the government was paying out so much compensation to the Maori in treaty settlements, I thought we won!!.  All the claims couldn't be valid, I would hear myself saying, and when was it going to stop!!

Well that little journey, aided by my wife and daughter, reading some New Zealand history papers at University, was an eye opener. I found out that we actually lost!!, and were having to pay some of it back, now I understand!!

So that is where I was at, when I discovered that my friend and I had a common link through the "Bolton".

What it did, was to motivate me to start reading, initially on the web, followed some links, picked up some books, gathered together some family photos and papers and very quickly began accumulating a wealth of information on all sorts of topics. Our family tree, who else came out and when, and what ships they arrived on. What it was like in Britain during the 1830’s both economically and politically, who were these Wakefield’s, were the missionaries really the good guys?. What was the attitude of the British government, were they only the nasty colonial imperialist, that I had been lead to believe, or did they also have a genuine concern for the Native New Zealanders. What was the role of the missionaries, particularly at the time of the treaty, is that where we all got “stuffed”, over a couple of days in February 1840? Was it true that 30% of the Auckland population in the 1860’s was made up of soldiers and their families, there to defend the town, and fight the Maori? What was the likely motivation of my great, great, great grandparent’s, in leaving their home in Cornwall and heading to this new land, what were they told, what were they sold? What was life like for them in Cornwall at the time, what was the voyage like on the "Bolton" and what did they encounter when they arrived on the beach at Port Nicholson. The list goes on and the resources grow.

So where does this blog fit in, I hear you saying.

Well it is a place to “chorale” all the information that I have been gathering, hopefully in an accessible, “user friendly” format. It’s a place to “tell the story”, of family, of early European, New Zealand and world events of the time, and how it fits together. I would love for my grandchildren, to have more understanding than I did about some of our past, so when they get to do the “social studies” thing, they will be able to identify with it in a more personal way and no doubt learn a lot more than I did.

So my blog is a vehicle, to help explain some of how our family got here and maybe to give a little challenge to those who read it, so how did you get here then?