When Auckland Was the Capital of New Zealand

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 874, 18 January 1930, Page 17

When Auckland Was the Capital of New Zealand

Politics Were Never Dull. . . Members Who Didn’t Want to be Members . . . Free Fights in the House . . . Attorney-General Who Played the ’Cello for Dances (Written tor THE SIX by L. W. P. REEVES.)

IS4O, to the Colnmal office in England, ‘'to acquaint vour Lordship, that, after mature con- ' deration, T have decided upon formin* the seat of Government upon the 1 iuth shore of the Waitemata, in the district of the Thames." . month later he wrote: “I have the honour to inform your Lordship hat I have lately returned from a v sit to Waitemata, where 1 fouud the officers .of the Government and the mechanics and labourers under .heir orders proceeding with tHe necessary works for establishing the loan which I contemplate being the future seat of government and which 1 propose distinguishing by the name of •Auckland ." Until this time Hobson had made his capital at Russell, within a few miles of the ancient whaling settlement at Kororareka, in the Bay of Islands. But the activities of the New Zealand Land Company, In the south, had made it plain that a more central ,ite was necessary and, disregarding the frantic requests front the company to make Wellington, then known as port Nicholson, the capital, he chose the Waitemata site and promptly set about building a town and moving himself and his suite there. The British flag had already been hoisted at Auckland on September IS, IS4O. by Captain William Cornwallis Symonds; saluted with 21 guns from the Government vessel in the harhour. Tents had been pitched and preparatory surveys made. In January, 1841, the Lieutenant-Governor and the whole of the Government .-tali' took up permanent residence, and the first sale of town allotments took place in April, when 44 acres were sold at the rate of a little less than £555 an acre. A somewhat pretentious and complicated city plan had been drawn up by the surveyors, based on the existing waterfront which was r.long Fort Street and Customs Street West, but by the time the settlement had grown so populous as to need such a plan it had been dropped and a simpler one substituted. The town progressed slowly. A ship’s captain who arrived in July, ISil, says that there were then only

three wooden cottages in the place, ] iha majority of the inhabitants being housed in tents or in whares built by the Maoris. A more exciting picture | is painted, however, by a resident of the capital at the end of the same year. “The Town of Auckland,” he says, "although so very recently established, contains a large population, from 1,500 to 2,000 persons and every t species of speculation seems to be | going on with much the same reckless- ; ness as in South Australia and Port ; Phillip at their first formation. In | Point of extravagance in living and j drinking the Aucklandites are also much on a par with their neighbours.” The same writer also speaks scornfully of the first plau of the town which was prepared by the SurveyorGeneral. He says, “By a strange and unaccountable blunder in laying out the town there is not a single square house in the whole settlement. I do not believe there is a rectangle from one end of it to the other. By a still stranger perversity every street is | made either to slant or curve in suc i a manner that there is not a ; single allotm“nt laid out at right I angles with * s street, nor a single I street at right angles with a street, nor. as & consequence, a single house i huilt upon a square.” As capital of New Zealand and the seat of Government, the town lived peacefully and quietly tor nearly 15 tears. The first Maori war alarmed it a little, but “good Governor Grey” arrived and the citizens were never seriously threatened with attack. There was a small and not very exclusive “society” Jn the place which amused itself by such placid diversions as riding, boating and fishing, while 'n the summer a regimental band would play on the lawn at Government House so that where “the band” played became a favourite promenade among fhe best people. Two or three balls would be held in the year, as many concerts and these, with an occasional riding party, picnic or waterParty, were the chief amusements of ’he fashionable world of Auckland between 1840 and 1860. Mr. William Swainson. in 1809 published a description of New Zealand in which he gave a chapiter to describing Auckland and the life there. Calling himself “formerly and for upwards °f fifteen years her Majesty’s Attor-ney-General for New Zealand,” he -ays: “To those who remember tue settlement in its infancy, the appearance of the neighbourhood has alleady undergone a remarkable change.

Lt is not many years since the main road leading out of Auckland was hardly passable in the winter season for the distance of a mile. In 1841 land on the outskirts of the town was a morass overgrown with tall ti-trees; beyond again for about a mile and a-half was a dense thicket, through which to find the way it was necessary to take the bearings of some of the loftier trees.” Shades of Upper Symonds Strert! Oh, Newmarket! He continues: "The delightful village of Epsom consisted of three tents: the land beyond stretching across the isthmus was a treeless, open country clothed with a sombre covering of brown fern. At that time Oaelmnga was unoccupied save by the small remnants of a native tribe and the Bay of Manukau was a lone expanse of unfrequented water. “But now the Isthmus between Auckland and Onehuuga is traversed from shore to shore by a well-formed macadamised highway, equal to any piece of road in England. Leaving the. boundary of the town and ascending front Mechanics Bay the road is beginning to present the appearance oi a street. On the left hand side, c-n i the summit of the rise, is an open ! space of level land which, though not I yet built upon, is not without interest \ to the prophetic eye.” : No one was sure at the time | whether Hobson had made a blunder ■ or a success in setting his capital | where he did. The New Zealand Land Company did its best to have him removed from the Governorship because he had not chosen Wellington, and even some of his supporters were doubtful. “For picturesque effect.” says a writer of the time, "the site of the town has been well chosen, but the inequalities of the ground are too great to be convenient .for traffic and a large proportion of the level land within its limits is occupied by the present military barracks. With few exceptions the streets are narrow: ; most of them as yet being but partially built upon. The shops, for the most part built of wood, are of every variety of colour, size and style. Though they are generally small, some few of them would by no means disgrace provincial towns in England. The principal public buildings, ] churches, chapels, barracks, public offices, house oi assembly, court house, | gaol, etc., almost without exception

have been built without any regard for beauty or design.” One seems to have heard that last complaint before. In the very early days there was of course no attempt at municipal government. The streets were mere tracks, and drays would be abandoned for weeks together, in the main street.

sunk axle-deep in mud. For over a year after the foundation, a native whare served as post office and ‘police court for six days in the week and os a “place of public worship” on the seventh. Even the later years, in the “fifties” and on into the "sixties,” the citizens of Auckland refused to go to the trouble of governing themselves. They were granted more than one charter of incorporation, and special legislative enactments were brought down in order that they might have local . self-government, hut for years there was no efficient drainage system, no lighting and few conveniences of any kind. From a social point of view,” says Swalnsou, “Auckland in many respects resembles an English wateriug-

place.” He explains that there was little formal society, no State visiting, and that life went on easily audi familiarly with little ostentation or extravagance, and that there was “none of that foolish and expensive rivalry once so ruinously common in some of our colonial possessions.” Dancing was always a popular amusement in Auckland, it seems. Hear Mr. Swainson again on the sub ject:—“From the earliest period of the Settlement, the lovers of dancing have had an opportunity of gratifying their taste at a ball given by the Queen’s representative on the occasion of her Majesty’s birthday. In what may be termed the dark ages tthe ’4o’s, presumably) of the colony a piano played by the gracious hostess with a violoncello accompaniment

vampecl with all due gravity by the Queen’s Attorney-General formed the modest orchestra. Yet a hall at Government House was then probably as enjoyable and as much enjoyed as the birthday ball of yesterday.” Auckland’s great days began when Great Britain granted New Zealand a constitution and representative Government and Parliament sat in the capital. Members came flocking to the City, and tradesmen profited from the crowd of civil servants which speedily began to accumulate. The first session of the Parliament of New Zealand was a stormy one. No bills were passed and there was a riot in the chamber on the last day. The trouble arose out of the errors of omission in the constitution, and from the desire of the existing Executive Council to keep the powers it had been enjoying in peat:e for so many years. There was no provision in the first constitution for a Cabinet, or indeed for responsible government of any kind. The Governor was to continue to lead his Executive Council and to appoint its membeis and Parliament—well, the only reason lor the existence of Parliament seemed to be that the people had wanted It There was another curious phenomenon to be observed in the first Parliament—that is. of members who didn’t want to be members. The constitution also provided for the system of provincial government which lasted until IST4. and, to quote an historian: “In the election of members of the Provincial- Council and of the House

of Representatives which immediately :wq.a in the second half -gf' ~Beeaun e evident -that ‘the could bbtaih a far better choicedbf men for the local than for the general legislature. There, yv ere few men Who would refuse, the jhone*tiable and powerful and paid ./position of superintendent and not many who would not accept an opportunity to spend their evening in their own local councils or to join in the home debates that their neighbours and their own wives and children could listen to. But few qualified men could be found willing to give up all attention to their own affairs for five or six months; to be tossed in a schooner for some weeks or months until they could be landed in the extreme north, where

they would often get their first news from home by way of Australia, and to pine in vain for opportunities to write to their loved ones, who could otherwise hear or know nothing of their late or of their proceedings.” As a result of this mournful position there are examples of electorates which sent any member whom they could persuade to accept the post, and it is said that, even then, several thus appointed, refused to go, after all, when summoned to Auckland. The first Parliament of New Zealand met on May 24, 1854. Thirty-nine membeis had been summoned to the House of Representatives, but only 31 were present at the first division on Mair 26. Mr. Charles Clifford (later Sir Charles) was elected Speaker. “The first important debate,” says the historian Saunders, “was on the question of whether the House should, or should not, be opened by prayer. The division was 20 for and 10 against.” 11l spite of this auspicious beginning, affairs went badly. Three members of the House were appointed to the Governor’s Executive Council. and took oath on July 14. but they sat without holding any portfolios, and ! without any obligation on the part of the Governor or the Civil Service | members appointed by him to be ; guided by their advice. This council : possessed sole executive power, and 1 the three Parliamentarians found i themselves in the - minority. Parlia- ! ment had come prepared for this, and

ready to take the power from the council by constitutional means —that is, by exercising the basic prerogative of all Parliaments, and refusing to vote supplies. But the Governor, Colonel Wynyard, and liis council, as distinct from the three Parliamentary members, thought the country was getting along well enough under their control, and also believed that they had no right to grant responsible government without instructions from the Crown. The brilliant Attorney-General, our friend Mr. William Swainson, pointed out that by all means Parliament could refuse to vote supplies, but the lion, members would kindly note paragraph so-and-so, section such-and-such, of the constitution, which forbade them to meddle with any of the existing enactments passed by the Governor and his council. These enactments. Mr. Swainson added, were sufficiently comprehensive to keep the State in funds for some years. There was in the House, it must be remarked, a considerable number of members who. for one reason or another, supported the Governor. The most notable of these was Edward Gibbon Walcefleld, founder of the New .Zealand Company, who, without much delay; constituted himself unofficial adviser to the Governor. The struggle for responsible government kept the House occupied for seven weeks, and finally affairs were brought to a head by the resignation of the three Parliamentary members of the Executive Council. For a fortnight thereafter the members were kept busy composing addresses to the Governor and listening to his replies. “Addresses and replies and debates on addresses now became the ordei of each day,” says Saunders, "until the unproductive session was brought to a close in a manner worthy of its character. On August 17, immedi ately the House sat, two messages were received from his Excellency and read, the one enclosing returns of electoral rolls and the other reply ing to a very hostile address and notifying to the House that his Excellency 'is painfully convinced that as respects legislation for the service of the colony the session has come to the end.’ As soon as the latter message had been read a third message was handed to the Speaker, which was known to contain the proroga tion. Mr. H. Sewell, member for Christchurch, and one of the ex-mem-bers of the Executive Council, moved that the preceding message be at once taken into consideration. A free j fight ensued while her Majesty’s last . message lay unopened.” This debate was not conducted m Parliamentary language. The member for Wairarapa, Mr. Samuel Revans, spoke of Mr. Gibbon Wakefield as “a convicted felon,” and wondered how the Governor “could take the coward felon to his breast.” When called to order by the Speaker, Mr. Revans said that his expressions were strong and he would retract them if the House thought he should do so, although he must state them to be both warranted and true. The member for Lyttelton. Mr. J. E. Fitzgerald, moved that the door be locked, and, in spite of objections, thi3 was done. But one of the members from Nelson, Mr. Mackay, found hi 3 way in, and “being admirably suited by nature for such a performance, he advanced to the table with his hat on his head, a broad smile on his face, flourishing a gazette in one hand and an umbrella in the other.” He never reached the table, but flung the Gazette on it and exclaimed: “Oh. you are no Parliament; here’s the Gazette in which you are prorogued.” What happened next is usually described in the police court by the brief, but elastic word, “assault.” The hat was soon being kicked about on the floor and Mr. Sewell got possession of the umbrella and flourished it over the owner’s head. The hat, of course, was -wrecked, but the umbrella “survived and is still highly prized by Mr. Maekay’s descendants.” The House, dead though it was. pronounced Mr. Mackay to have been guilty of “gross and premeditated contempt,” but the final word lay with the Sydney “Morning Herald” of the day. " In an editorial, after describing the scene as one more to be lamented than the French Revolution, it said: “We defy the annals of any representative assembly to present us with a parallel scene to that which took place at Auckland on August 17 last. We may call up recollections of Cromwell's dissolution of the Long Parliament, of the celebrated scene of the Jeu de Paume at Versailles, or of the outrages committed in the name of order and reason in the National Convention; but they dwindle into insignificance when compared with the

very disgraceful display of disorder and even personal violence which characterised the proceedings of the House of Representatives of New Zealand on that occasion.” An ignoble session perhaps, but at least its end earned it a swaggering epitaph. Anyhow, Parliament wasn't always dull. After a prorogation of 14 days the House met again and the next sitting was not marked by anything more ridiculous than the •‘cleanshirt" Ministry, which existed for two days and which earned its name from the fact that its leader ingenuously informed the House that, when asked by the Governor to form an administration, he had gone upstairs to put on a clean shirt before presenting himself at Government House. After that, compromises were effected and after a short time the constitution was amended sufficiently to give full responsible government to the country. Auckland settled back into peace again until 1860 brought the second Maori War and a form of conscription very distasteful to the prosperous shopkeepers, who were called away

to "the front.” Five years later, however, something still more distasteful happened. Whether or not—one can never be sure—the legislators found the Maoris too close tor them for comfort, or whether they at last heard the despairing claims of Well ington or whether they did it solely for the good of the country, a Bill was slipped in between a debate on war supplies and something else equally important, which transferred the capital to Wellington. There the members and the Government and the civil service moved before the next session and Auct-'and was left lamenting.