Major General Robert Henry Wynyard (24 December 1802 – 6 January 1864) was a British Army officer and

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 ...

colonial administrator, serving at various times as

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

New Ulster Province New Ulster was a province of the Colony of New Zealand that existed between 1841 and 1853. It was named after the Irish province of Ulster. Creation Between 1841 and 1846, the province included all the North Island. With the passing of the Ne ...

, Administrator of the Government, and was 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 ...

Auckland Province The Auckland Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Area The province covered roughly half of the North Island of New Zealand. It was the largest of the six initial provinces, bo ...

Early life

Robert was born in

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

to William Wynyard, Colonel of the

5th Regiment of Foot Fifth is the ordinal form of the number five. Fifth or The Fifth may refer to: * Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as in the expression "pleading the Fifth" * Fifth Avenue * Fifth column, a political term * Fifth disease, a cont ...

and Equerry to King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. He was educated in Dunmow,

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

Career

Wynyard obtained a commission in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, without purchase, as an ensign of the

85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers) The 85th (Bucks Volunteers) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 53rd (Shropshire) Regiment of Foot to form the King's Shropshire Light Infantry in 1881. ...

, aka The King's Light Infantry Regiment, on 25 February 1819. Stationed with the 85th Regiment in

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, between June 1821–June 1826, now unattached and on leave of absence subsequent to his appointment to the

58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot The 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1755. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1881. Hi ...

, he married Miss Anne McDonnell (1805–1881) at Malta on 12 August 1826. They were to have four sons. He served in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

to 1841 on the staff of the adjutant general, and was promoted to rank of major in 1841. A son, George Henry Wynyard, had been born at

Armagh Armagh ( ; , , " Macha's height") is a city and the county town of County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, as well as a civil parish. It is the ecclesiastical capital of Ireland – the seat of the Archbishops of Armagh, the Primates of All ...

on 3 October 1827. Wynyard returned to England in 1842 and was appointed to the rank of lieutenant colonel in command of the 58th Regiment.

New Zealand

When the regiment was posted to

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 ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, Australia, in 1844, Wynyard was sent on to

with 200 men to take part in the

Flagstaff War The Flagstaff War, also known as Heke's War, Hōne Heke's Rebellion and the Northern War, was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The conflict is best remembered for the actions of H� ...

against

Hone Heke Honing is a kind of metalworking. Hone may also refer to: * Hone (name) (incl. Hōne), a list of people with the surname, given name or nickname * Hõne language, spoken in Gombe State and Taraba State, Nigeria * Hône Hône (; Valdôtain: (lo ...

and

Kawiti Te Ruki Kawiti (1770s – 5 May 1854) was a prominent Māori people, Māori rangatira (chief). He and Hōne Heke successfully fought the United Kingdom, British in the Flagstaff War in 1845–46.James Belich (historian), Belich, James. ''The New ...

. Wynyard was present at the siege of

Ruapekapeka The Battle of Ruapekapeka took place from late December 1845 to mid-January 1846 between British forces, under command of Lieutenant Colonel Henry Despard, and Māori warriors of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe), led by Hōne Heke and Te Ruki Kawi ...

on 11 January 1846 and in recognition of services

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

appointed him to be a Companion of the Most Honourable Military Order of the Bath on 2 July 1846. In December 1846 Wynyards returned to New South Wales, then, after an absence of some seven months, returned with the 58th Regiment to

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, in July 1847. He was promoted to the rank of colonel in 1854. Somewhere along the line he had a sexual relationship with a Maori woman that produced a male child. When a fire broke out in

, New Zealand, in 1858, eventually destroying an entire city block, Wynyard was personally on the scene directing the men of the 58th Regiment in firefighting efforts.

Lieutenant-Governor of New Ulster

From 26 April 1851 to 7 March 1853, Wynyard was Lieutenant-Governor of

New Ulster New Ulster was a province of the Colony of New Zealand that existed between 1841 and 1853. It was named after the Irish province of Ulster. Creation Between 1841 and 1846, the province included all the North Island. With the passing of the Ne ...

, a province of New Zealand encompassing much of the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. He replaced

George Dean Pitt Major General George Dean Pitt (1781 or 1772 – 8 January 1851) was Lieutenant-Governor of the former New Zealand Province of New Ulster from 14 February 1848 to his death on 8 January 1851. Early life He was born George Dean, the illegiti ...

, who had died in office. During his term of office, he persuaded the local chiefs

Ngāti Tamaterā Ngāti Tamaterā is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Hauraki region of New Zealand, descended from Tamaterā, the second son of Marutūāhu. It is a major tribe within the Marutūāhu confederation and its leaders have been prominent in Hauraki ...

and Ngāti Raupunga to allow gold mining in the province. The office was abolished when New Zealand was divided into several smaller provinces under the

New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 ( 15 & 16 Vict. c. 72) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the Colony of New Zealand. It was the second such act, the New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 not ...

Superintendent of Auckland Province

Wynyard elected Superintendent of the new

on 12 July 1853, beating William Brown. He held the office until he resigned on 5 January 1855. Wynyard's election to the office was controversial, as he was in charge of the colonial armed forces at the time, and effectively deputy to the Governor. The Colonial Office, on learning that Wynyard had been elected to the office of superintendent, demanded he resign from the role, which he soon did. He was replaced in the role by his previous electoral opponent William Brown.

Administrator of Government

Wynyard served for two periods (3 January 1854 to 6 September 1855 and 3 October 1861 to December 1861) as

Administrator of the Government An administrator (administrator of the government or officer administering the government) in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a governor or a governor-general. ...

, in each case between the recall of one

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and the arrival of the next. Wynyard opened the

1st New Zealand Parliament The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 24 May 1854, following New Zealand's first general election (held the previous year). It was dissolved on 15 September 1855 in preparation for that year's ...

on 24 May 1854. He was quickly confronted by the demands of the new Parliament that

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

be granted immediately; on 2 June the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

passed a resolution, sponsored by

Edward Gibbon Wakefield Edward Gibbon Wakefield (20 March 179616 May 1862) was an English politician in colonial Canada and New Zealand. He is considered a key figure in the establishment of the colonies of South Australia and New Zealand (where he later served as a ...

, to that effect. Wynyard refused, stating that the Colonial Office made no mention of responsible government in its dispatches. The appointed Executive Council advised Wynyard against implementing responsible government, and in the meantime, he sent a dispatch to London requesting clarification. Wynyard then offered to add some elected members of parliament to the Executive Council, and appointed James FitzGerald,

Henry Sewell Henry Sewell (; 7 September 1807 – 14 May 1879) was a New Zealand politician. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-government, and is generally regarded as having been the country's first premier (a post that would later be offici ...

and

Frederick Weld Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld (9 May 1823 – 20 July 1891), was an English-born New Zealand politician and colonial administrator of various British colonies and territories located in Oceania and Southeast Asia. He was the sixth Prime Minis ...

to the council. The compromise worked for a few weeks, but on 1 August Parliament demanded complete power to appoint ministers. Wynyard refused, and all three MPs resigned from the council. In response, Wynyard prorogued Parliament for two weeks. On 31 August he appointed

Thomas Forsaith Thomas Spencer Forsaith, JP (18 July 1814 – 29 November 1898), was a New Zealand politician and an Auckland draper. According to some historians, he was the country's second premier, although a more conventional view states that neither he no ...

Jerningham Wakefield Edward Jerningham Wakefield (25 June 1820 – 3 March 1879), known as Jerningham Wakefield, was the only son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. As such, he was closely associated with his father's interest in colonisation. He worked for the New Zealan ...

and

James Macandrew James Macandrew (1819(?) – 25 February 1887) was a New Zealand ship-owner and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1853 to 1887 and as the last Superintendent of Otago Province. Early life Macandrew was born in Scotland, pro ...

to the Executive Council, but when Parliament met again it moved a motion of no confidence in the members. Parliament met on 8 August 1855, by which time Wynyard had received instructions from the Colonial Office to introduce responsible government. The new Governor, Sir

Thomas Gore Browne Colonel Sir Thomas Robert Gore Browne (3 July 1807 – 17 April 1887) was a British colonial administrator, who was Governor of St Helena, Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Tasmania and Governor of Bermuda. Early life Browne was born on ...

, arrived on 6 September 1855 and relieved Wynyard of his duties. He resumed his military career and belonged to the 58th Regiment. On 28 January 1858, Wynyard was appointed to the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council () was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of New Zealand Legislative Council (1841–1853), legislative councils for the colony and provinces ...

. He resigned on 3 November of that year, as the 58th Regiment was recalled to England. Wynyard's second term as Administrator in 1861 was much less eventful. Filling in between Gore Browne and Sir

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

, he governed New Zealand for a short period with the advice of responsible Ministers, under

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

William Fox. File:Coatee (AM 1990.287-11).jpg, Civil Uniform coatee worn by Lt Col Robert Wynyard, c. 1850s.

Auckland Museum The Auckland War Memorial Museum (), also known as Auckland Museum, is one of New Zealand's most important museums and war memorials. Its neoclassical architecture, neoclassical building constructed in the 1920s and 1950s, stands on Observatory ...

File:Coatee (AM 1990.287-4).jpg,

File:Coatee (AM 1990.287-3).jpg,

File:Belt (AM 1990.287-8).jpg, Belt worn by Lt Col Robert Wynyard.

File:Epaulette (AM 1990.287-5).jpg, Epaulette.

File:Epergne (AM 2014.8.1-2).jpg,

Epergne An epergne ( ) is a type of table centerpiece that is usually made of silver Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the hig ...

: Wynyard Testimonial, 1858. Maker: Smith & Nicholson, London.

File:Epergne (AM 2014.8.1-11).jpg,

: Wynyard Testimonial, 1858. Maker: Smith & Nicholson, London.

Robert Henry Wynyard (48753649512) (cropped).jpg, Silhouette portrait of Robert Wynyard

Cape Colony

He acted for Sir

Governor of Cape Colony This article lists the governors of British South African colonies, including the colonial prime ministers. It encompasses the period from 1797 to 1910, when present-day South Africa was divided into four British Empire, British colonies namely ...

twice, from 1859 to 1860 and from 1861 to 1862.

Later life

Wynyard served as Colonel of the

98th Regiment of Foot The 98th (Prince of Wales) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. It was originally raised in 1824 as the 98th Regiment of Foot, before assuming the title of the 98th (Prince of Wales) Regiment of Foot in 1876. Later, in 1 ...

from 1863 until his death at

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, England, on 6 January 1864.

Paintings by Wynyard

File:Robert Henry Wynyard - Pah on Rotorua Lake with Hot Springs.jpg, Pah on Rotorua Lake with Hot Springs, 1849 File:Robert Henry Wynyard - Mockatoo Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.jpg, Mockatoo Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, 1849

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wynyard, Robert Henry 1802 births 1864 deaths Military personnel from Windsor, Berkshire 85th Regiment of Foot (Bucks Volunteers) officers 58th Regiment of Foot officers 98th Regiment of Foot officers British colonial governors and administrators in Oceania Superintendents of New Zealand provincial councils Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council 19th-century New Zealand politicians 1840s in New Zealand Flagstaff War British military personnel of the New Zealand Wars 19th-century New Zealand military personnel British Army major generals Governors of the Cape Colony 19th-century British Army personnel