Isaac Earl Featherston (21 March 1813 – 19 June 1876), popularly known as the Little Doctor, was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

politician, known for his advocacy for the establishment of New Zealand self-government, and the importance of the provincial governments.

Biography

Early life and family

Featherston was born in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

on 21 March 1813, to Thomas Featherston and Jane (Earl) Featherston. Although he spent a significant amount of time playing sports, specifically football, as a youngster he was also quite academic and qualified in medicine at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 1836. On 10 December 1839, he married Bethia Campbell Scott (1816–1864), a daughter of Andrew Scott, of

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

. After working as a physician in Italy and across Europe, he emigrated to New Zealand due to problems with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, leaving in December 1840 in hope of a cure in more suitable climate. He arrived in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

in May 1841 on the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model that was focused on the systematic colonisation of New Ze ...

ship ''Olympus'' as surgeon-superintendent.

Political career

In 1845, Featherston became the first editor of the '' Wellington Independent''. He served in the

first First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

, and fourth Parliaments. He represented the

Wanganui and Rangitikei Wanganui and Rangitikei was a parliamentary electorate that existed from 1853 to 1860, represented by two Members of Parliament. Population centres The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852, passed by the British government, allowed New Zealand to ...

electorate in the first parliament until he resigned on 9 August 1855, and then represented the City of Wellington electorate in the second, third and fourth parliaments. In 1858, he resigned his seat in Parliament and his Wellington superintendency, apparently wanting to return to England. Instead, he successfully stood for re-election in both positions within months. Featherston was Colonial Secretary (forerunner to the modern

Minister of Internal Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

) in 1861, and a Minister without Portfolio from 1869 to 1871, having been appointed in both instances by William Fox. Featherston was also heavily involved in the politics of

Wellington Province Wellington Province, governed by the Wellington Provincial Council, was one of the provinces of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. It covered much of the southern half of the North Island until November 1 ...

. He was elected unopposed as the first

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Building superintendent, a manager, maintenance or repair person, custodian or janitor, especially in the United States; sometimes shortened to "super" *Prison warden or superintendent, a prison administrator *Soprin ...

from 1853. He resigned from this post on 23 April 1858. He was re-elected on 28 June 1858 and held the post until 1870. His superintendence oversaw some slow growth in Wellington before in 1865 it became the capital of the colony. From 1871 he was the first Agent-General for the colony in London, the precursor to the High Commissioner.

The Taranaki Wars

When war broke out in 1860, Featherston criticised the Government's handling of events, and lent his influence to tribal peacemaking and keeping much of Wellington Province out of the conflict. During the

Second Taranaki War The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who ei ...

(1863–1866), Featherston raised auxiliaries of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, but they refused to fight unless he himself led them. Despite suffering from tuberculosis and at times being unable to sit on his horse, he indeed led them and accompanied Major General

Trevor Chute General Sir Trevor Chute, (31 July 1816 – 12 March 1886) was an Irish-born officer who served in the British Army during the Victorian era. Born in County Kerry, Ireland, Chute joined the British Army in 1832. Posted to British India with the ...

on his west coast campaign and march to

Mount Egmont Mount Taranaki (), officially Taranaki Maunga and also known as Mount Egmont, is a dormant stratovolcano in the Taranaki region on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. At , it is the second highest mountain in the North Island, afte ...

. He led a Māori contingent in several engagements, notably at Otapawa, and later alongside

Gustavus von Tempsky Gustavus Ferdinand von Tempsky (15 February 1828 – 7 September 1868) was a Prussian adventurer, artist, newspaper correspondent and soldier in New Zealand, Australia, California, Mexico and the Mosquito Coast of Central America. He was also a ...

. This saga gave rise to the Featherston legend: he was described leading his men into battle "in his dressing gown, with a cigar in his mouth, having no weapon whatever with which to defend himself". He was subsequently awarded the New Zealand Cross for bravery.

Wakefield–Featherston duel

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

on 24 March 1847 was fought in

between Colonel

William Wakefield Colonel William Hayward Wakefield (1801 – 19 September 1848) was an English officer of the British Legion (1835), British Auxiliary Legion, and the leader of the second New Zealand Company's first colonising expedition to New Zealand; one of ...

and Featherston over a newspaper editorial of Featherston on the New Zealand Company land policy which questioned Wakefield's honesty. Featherston fired and missed. Then Wakefield fired into the air, saying he would not shoot a man with seven daughters.

Legacy

In his many escapades Featherston had acquired great ''mana''. He also left a political legacy in his eight daughters. They included: Laetitia, who married James Menzies; Kate, who married John Cargill; Frances, who married William FitzGerald (son of James FitzGerald); Alice, who married Sir Charles Johnston; and Octavia, who married

Alfred Newman Alfred Newman (March 17, 1900 – February 17, 1970) was an American composer, arranger, and conductor of film music. From his start as a music prodigy, he came to be regarded as a respected figure in the history of film music. He won nine Acad ...

. He was described as a complex and resolute figure, awed by his peers; yet also quiet with a soft, well-spoken voice, very genial and fond of a joke. The town of

Featherston Featherston is a surname of English origin, at least as old as the 12th century. The link with "Featherstone" is probably not traceable, but people researching both spellings (and others such as "de Fetherestanhalgh") contribute to the collection o ...

in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

is named after him, as are Featherston Street in

and Featherston Street in

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; , colloquially known as Palmerston or Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatū Plains, the city is near the north bank of the Manaw ...

References

Citations

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Featherston, Isaac 1813 births 1876 deaths Burials at Bolton Street Cemetery Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives Members of the Cabinet of New Zealand Members of the Wellington Provincial Council Superintendents of New Zealand provincial councils 19th-century New Zealand medical doctors People of the New Zealand Wars British emigrants to New Zealand Politicians from Newcastle upon Tyne Alumni of the University of Edinburgh New Zealand duellists Recipients of the New Zealand Cross (1869) New Zealand MPs for Wellington electorates New Zealand MPs for North Island electorates Colonial secretaries of New Zealand High commissioners of New Zealand to the United Kingdom Johnston family