Joseph Masters (1802 – 21 December 1873) was a New Zealand cooper, community leader, farmer, politician, and writer. Born in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, Derbyshire, England, he is the namesake of

Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...

, New Zealand. He had three daughters, including one named Mary-Ann.

Early life and career

Masters' father passed away when he was young, prompting him to work in a silk mill, threading bobbins. He later lived with his uncle in Rugby, where he served an apprenticeship as a cooper. Eager to improve himself, Masters served as a Grenadier Guard, a policeman, and a jailer. In 1826, he married Sarah Bourton.

Migration to Australia and New Zealand

In 1832, Masters, his wife, and two daughters migrated to

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

. There, he initially worked as a cooper in the

whaling Whaling is the hunting of whales for their products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that was important in the Industrial Revolution. Whaling was practiced as an organized industry as early as 875 AD. By the 16t ...

industry and subsequently as a jailer at Oatlands. Masters continued seeking self-improvement and left for New Zealand via

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

in 1841. He arrived in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...

before relocating to

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 ...

, where he initially started a

ginger beer Traditional ginger beer is a sweetened and carbonated, usually non-alcoholic beverage. Historically it was produced by the natural fermentation of prepared ginger spice, yeast and sugar. Modern ginger beers are often mass production, manufactur ...

manufacturing business. However, by the mid-1840s, he returned to working as a cooper in

Lambton Quay Lambton Quay (once known as The Beach) is the heart of the Wellington Central, Wellington, central business district of Wellington, the capital city of New Zealand. Geography Originally, as the name implies, it was the high-water line of the f ...

Small Farms Association and settlement in Wairarapa

Masters advocated for

small farm Small means of insignificant size. Small may also refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text Arts and ...

settlements, proposing that groups of working men should pool their resources to purchase blocks of land from the government and subdivide them. Each member would own a small town section and a 40-acre farm. In March 1853, the Small Farms Association was established. Masters and C.R. Carter convinced Governor Grey to support their settlement in

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 ...

, contingent on securing land sales from local

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 ...

. Masters and H.H. Jackson met with Retimana Te Korou at Ngaumutawa pā. Te Korou agreed to the settlers' presence near his village after consulting with his family. His son-in-law, Ihaiah Whakamairu, accompanied the small farm proponents to Wellington to arrange the sale.

Masterton settlement

Masters did not join the first group of small farmers that arrived on 2 May 1854; he arrived shortly after. He vigorously pursued opportunities for himself and his family, successfully farming his lands and representing the area in the Wellington Provincial Council. Masters was a staunch advocate of the Trust Lands Trust and had a significant influence on the Masterton community, which he guarded until his death in December 1873.

References

1802 births 1873 deaths New Zealand farmers New Zealand writers English emigrants to New Zealand 19th-century New Zealand politicians People from Derby {{NewZealand-writer-stub