Captain Nias to William Hobson arranging travel to Aotearoa New Zealand, 1839
On Christmas Eve 1839, Captain William Hobson - the Lieutenant Governor tasked with transferring sovereignty to the British Crown - had arrived in Sydney on the HMS Druid. However he was delayed until Captain Joseph Nias of the HMS Herald was ready to leave for Aotearoa New Zealand. They finally set sail from Sydney on 18 January 1840.
This 28 December letter from Nias to Hobson notes that "Captain Lord John Churchill directed me to receive you on board the ship I have the honour to command, and to convey you as Her Majesty’s Consul to New Zealand." However, not all was happy sailing. There was ill-feeling between the two men, and on arrival in Kororāreka Nias refused to take Hobson ashore. Hobson flew into an apoplectic rage and gave himself a fit shouting at Nias, and spent the next day bed-ridden. This was undoubtedly a precursor to the stroke Hobson suffered in early March, which prevented him from taking te Tiriti o Waitangi around New Zealand himself (one of the reasons there are nine Treaty sheets).
Archives Reference: IA1 Box 1 1840/1
collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search#/?q=R23629541
This record is part of #Waitangi175, celebrating 175 years since the signing of of te Tiriti o Waitangi. You can see other real time tweets on Twitter (twitter.com/ArchivesNZ), or explore the Waitangi 175 album here on Flickr.
Material supplied by Archives New Zealand
Captain Nias to William Hobson arranging travel to Aotearoa New Zealand, 1839
On Christmas Eve 1839, Captain William Hobson - the Lieutenant Governor tasked with transferring sovereignty to the British Crown - had arrived in Sydney on the HMS Druid. However he was delayed until Captain Joseph Nias of the HMS Herald was ready to leave for Aotearoa New Zealand. They finally set sail from Sydney on 18 January 1840.
This 28 December letter from Nias to Hobson notes that "Captain Lord John Churchill directed me to receive you on board the ship I have the honour to command, and to convey you as Her Majesty’s Consul to New Zealand." However, not all was happy sailing. There was ill-feeling between the two men, and on arrival in Kororāreka Nias refused to take Hobson ashore. Hobson flew into an apoplectic rage and gave himself a fit shouting at Nias, and spent the next day bed-ridden. This was undoubtedly a precursor to the stroke Hobson suffered in early March, which prevented him from taking te Tiriti o Waitangi around New Zealand himself (one of the reasons there are nine Treaty sheets).
Archives Reference: IA1 Box 1 1840/1
collections.archives.govt.nz/web/arena/search#/?q=R23629541
This record is part of #Waitangi175, celebrating 175 years since the signing of of te Tiriti o Waitangi. You can see other real time tweets on Twitter (twitter.com/ArchivesNZ), or explore the Waitangi 175 album here on Flickr.
Material supplied by Archives New Zealand