HISTORY FROM AN ALBUM

New Zealand Listener, Volume 6, Issue 148, 24 April 1942, Page 4

HISTORY FROM AN ALBUM

Sir-I must thank you for the interesting comments under the above heading in your edition of April 10, on the Hobson Album, My letter to the London "Times," written as chairman of the National Historical Committee, inviting readers who had material of historic value to New Zealand to make a Centennial gift of it to the Dominion Government, brought several generous responses, but none more valuable than that made by Hobson’s great-grand-son, Lieutenant-Colonel Rendel. Before I left New Zealand for London on the way to the International Labour Organisation conference at Geneva in 1938, arrangements for the entertainment of those who had made these donations were agreed to, and I met them all at a function at the British Empire Club, with our High Commissioner, Mr. W. J. Jordan, present. Your readers may be interested in an amusing incident that occurred when I met LieutenantColonel Rendel. While we were conversing together, he took a rather large greenstone tiki from his pocket and said that it had a history. It had been given to Captain Hobson by a Maori chief, and shortiy after, when one of Hobson’s officers was returning to the Old Country, he gave it to him to hand as a present to Queen Victoria. This the officer failed to do, and ultimately, the tiki returned to the possession of the Hobson family. And there it was! I waited, silent and expectant, thinking that he intended to hand it to me as another gift to the New Zealand Government, but all that happened was that he put it back into his pocket! There was nothing left to do but to pass on and have a cup of tea. ‘I may. say that Lieutenant-Colonel Rendel would never serve for a model for Low’s Blimp, being slight and mildly spoken. New Zealand is greatly in his debt, for his gifts. were priceless, and will never fail to stir New Zealanders who recall the beginnings of their country’s history.

JAMES

THORN

(House of Representatives).