1980 - Sewell, Henry. The Journal of Henry Sewell, 1853-7. Volume I - [Front matter]

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[Book jacket]

HENRY Sewell briefly became the first Premier of New Zealand under responsible government in 1856. His extensive 'secret' Journal has long awaited publication. Though originally written as an open circular letter for friends and relatives in England, he willed that its contents should be kept dark until after his death. The manuscript was held in the safe keeping of successive bishops of Christchurch and it was not until the 1920s that it was passed on to the library of the University of Canterbury.

Today there is little obvious reason for such secrecy, though it remains a fascinating exercise to study the causes of Sewell's concern. On the contrary, the Journal for the years now published in this edition, 1853-7, emerges as the most absorbing and undoubtedly the fullest private manuscript relating to New Zealand in the 1850s. It contains an enormous amount of eyewitness description and pungent comment on the two distinct levels of personal and public life. Sewell was a shrewd observer of all that was new and different on the colonial scene and though somewhat given to heart-searching on certain pet subjects, a great deal that is highly readable and discerning comes through in his daily record of both domestic and public happenings.

The two volumes as now printed divide fairly closely on the two main areas of Sewell's public life in New Zealand--Canterbury and Auckland. Here in Volume I we find him (and his long-suffering wife Elizabeth) coming to grips both with colonial life in the raw and the task he had come out to perform--the winding-up of the affairs and finances of the short-lived Canterbury Association. Early Canterbury is the scene, only two years after the settlement was founded, and we get revealing glimpses of their exploring the ground, mainly on foot, with visits outwards from Lyttelton to Christchurch, Kaiapoi and Akaroa. We also find Sewell meeting head-on with much opposition, particularly from the disgruntled, even cantankerous pioneer clergy. A highlight of this volume is his early visit to Wellington to meet Governor Grey, whom he promptly antagonised by challenging in true lawyer fashion the constitutionality of the governor's land regulations.

People naturally provide the main interest of any historical journal and Sewell rubbed shoulders--and frequently crossed swords--with everybody who was anybody in those years, and with many others besides. Among those encountered in the flesh in Volume I are Edward Gibbon Wakefield, James Edward FitzGerald, Sir George and Lady Grey, Dillon Bell, Colonel Campbell, Charles Clifford, plus dozens of Canterbury notables, runholders, merchants, surveyors, doctors, architects, politicians and, last but not least, about a dozen clergymen, from Bishop Selwyn, R. B. Paul and Henry Jacobs through to Sewell's inveterate 'enemy', the Rev. Octavius Mathias. One incidental but truly notable pen sketch is of an 'elderly female', little Miss Dicken, in true pioneer spirit, braving the nor'westers on foot over the exposed 'mountain-tops' of Banks Peninsula.

Working from the manuscript of Sewell's Journal now held in the library of the University of Canterbury, Professor W. David McIntyre has scrutinised every word and restored all crossed-out passages in presenting this fully annotated edition of the 1853-7 text. His annotations are both explanatory and factual, accurate source references being complemented by potted biographies of all characters Sewell met. He has also written an Introduction and Aftermath, surveying in detail both the period of the printed Journal and Sewell's early and later career. He has compiled the index himself and personally selected a series of illustrations to show the main personalities and places encountered in the two separate volumes.

Professor of History at the University of Canterbury since 1966, David McIntyre graduated BA from Cambridge, MA from the University of Washington and PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. A specialist in Commonwealth history, he wrote The Imperial Frontier in the Tropics (1967) and his textbook, Colonies into Commonwealth, is used all over the world. He edited with W. J. Gardner the valuable reference collection Speeches and Documents on New Zealand History (1971, 1979) and since then has published The Commonwealth of Nations (1977) and The Rise and Fall of the Singapore Naval Base (1979). He is married with a family of five children ranging in age-level from undergraduate to kindergarten.

JACKET PAINTING: 'The plain round Christchurch looking west from the Bridle Path above the Heathcote Ferry', watercolour by J. E. FitzGerald, 1851 (Canterbury Museum).

ISBN 0 7233 0623 0

Vol. I -- ISBN 0 7233 0624 9

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THE JOURNAL OF HENRY SEWELL 1853-7

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FIRST PUBLISHED 1980

© 1980 W. David McIntyre and Whitcoulls Ltd

WHITCOULLS PUBLISHERS

CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Whitcoulls Limited

ISBN 0 7233 0623 0

Volume I

ISBN 0 7233 0624 9

Printed in New Zealand by Whitcoulls Ltd

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CONTENTS OF VOLUME I

EDITOR'S PREFACE......................11

INTRODUCTION......................21

Sewell's Background......................23

The Canterbury Association......................31

Sewell's Policies as Deputy-Chairman......................36

Sewell's Mission to Canterbury......................53

Sewell's Political Career......................67

The First General Assembly......................72

His Political Future in Doubt......................96

First Premier of New Zealand......................102

SEWELL'S TESTAMENTARY NOTES, 1879......................117

THE JOURNAL......................121

First Impressions of Canterbury......................122

Visit to Wellington to Meet the Governor......................178

Plans for Settling Canterbury Church Affairs......................236

Visit to Akaroa......................322

Canterbury Elects a Superintendent......................333

Showdown with the Church Committee......................347

The First General Election......................355

Wellington-Provincial and Colonial Politics......................379

Wellington Provincial Council......................391

Canterbury Land Office Seized by Colonial Government......................396

Visits to Kaiapoi and Rangiora......................421

Rapaki Pa......................435

Second Visit to Akaroa......................441

Examining the Association's Accounts......................445

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ILLUSTRATIONS

PLATES

Between pages 128 and 129

1. Henry Sewell in his mid-fifties
Photograph by A. C. Barker; Canterbury Museum

2. Thomas Sewell, 1775-1842
M. C. Owen, The Sewells of the Isle of Wight, 1906

3. Jane Sewell (nee Edwards)
M. C. Owen, The Sewells of the Isle of Wight, 1906

4. Rev. William Sewell, founder of Radley College
M. C. Owen, The Sewells of the Isle of Wight, 1906

5. Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Painting by E. J. Collier; Canterbury Museum

6. Lord Lyttelton, chairman of the Canterbury Association Painting by George Richmond; from B. Askwith,
The Lytteltons, 1975 (Chatto & Windus)

7. Entry in the Canterbury Association's land sales book
Canterbury Museum

Between pages 160 and 161

8. James Edward FitzGerald
Photograph by A. C. Barker; Canterbury Museum

9. Rev. Octavius Mathias
Canterbury Museum

10. Rev. Henry Jacobs
Photograph by A. C. Barker; Canterbury Museum

11. William Guise Brittan
Canterbury Museum

12. 'Town of Lyttelton'
Painting by E. Norman, 1852; Canterbury Museum

13. 'Holy Trinity Church, Lyttelton'
Watercolour by J. E. FitzGerald; Canterbury Museum

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14. Original design of Holy Trinity Church
Drawing by Benjamin Mountfort; Canterbury Museum

15. Deans' farm, Riccarton
Sketch by A. C. Barker; Canterbury Museum

16. 'Akaroa Harbour'
Watercolour by J. E. FitzGerald; Canterbury Museum

Between pages 320 and 321

17. Christchurch, June 1851--looking north
Sketch by A. C. Barker; Canterbury Museum

18. Christchurch, June 1851-looking south
Sketch by A. C. Barker; Canterbury Museum

19. Sewell's original land order for R. S. 9
Canterbury Museum

20. 'Land Office at Christchurch'
Watercolour by J. E. FitzGerald; Canterbury Museum

21. St Michael's parsonage and church, February 1852
Sketch by A. C. Barker; Canterbury Museum

22. River Avon and the church and parsonage, December 1852
Sketch by A. C. Barker; Canterbury Museum

23. Sidey's store and hotel, Kaiapoi, 1854
Sketch by A. C. Barker; Canterbury Museum

24. Rhodes's house, Timaru, 1853
Sketch by 'W. D.'; from O. A. Gillespie, South Canterbury, 1958

Between pages 352 and 353

25. Sir George Grey
Drawing by George Richmond; from James Rutherford, Sir George Grey, 1961

26. Lady Grey
Engraving after a painting by B. Eyles; from James Rutherford, Sir George Grey, 1961

27. Government House, Wellington, and St Paul's Church
Watercolour, artist unknown; Alexander Turnbull Library

28. Panorama, Wellington Harbour, c. 1849 (Part 1)
Sketch by Lieut. T. B. Collinson; Alexander Turnbull Library

29. Early photograph of Government House, Wellington
Alexander Turnbull Library

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30. Panorama, Wellington Harbour (Part 2)

31. Early photograph of St Paul's Church, Wellington
Alexander Turnbull Library

32. The Courthouse, Wellington
University of Canterbury Library

33. Government Offices (formerly Barrett's Hotel)
Part of watercolour by S. C. Brees; Alexander Turnbull Library

FIGURES

1. Map of the Isle of Wight.............25

2. Map of the Six Provinces and Canterbury Block.............88

3. Christchurch--church and college town sections.............115

4. Rural sections purchased under ecclesiastical and educational fund.............116

5. Map of Canterbury--places visited by Sewell.............143

6. Map of New Zealand showing electorates for the first General Assembly.............202

7. Lyttelton-church and college town sections.............305

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