Our first man in Rarotonga

Press, 12 October 1985, Page 20

Our first man in Rarotonga

Destiny Well Sown: A Biography of Lt.-Col. W. E. Gudgeon. By E. W. G. Craig. Whakatane and District Historical Society. 156 pp. $l5. (Reviewed by Angus Ross). Walter Edward Gudgeon has not been as well-known by modern New Zealanders as he should have been. He was not given a biographical note in “An Encyclopedia of New Zealand,” published in 1966, as was his less historically significant predecessor as British Resident in the Cook Islands, Frederick Joseph Moss. But now a real gap in the writing of New Zealand biography has been filled by this Whakatane and District Historical Society monograph No. 12. The full sub-title gives a useful summary of this interesting character’s career: It reads “A biography of Lt. Col. W. E. Gudgeon, C.M.G., Soldier, Settler, Judge Native Land Court, Under Secretary for Defence, Commissioner of Police, Maori Scholar, Linguist, Author, Resident Commissioner Cook Islands. 1841-1920.” In other words, in his 79 years, Gudgeon lived a full life during

which he occupied a variety of interesting and important posts. The author of this book, the late Elsdon Craig, was Gudgeon’s grandson. A distinguished journalist, who was awarded the Cowan Memorial Prize in 1971, he was, as his Christian name suggests, the great-nephew of Elsdon Best, whose biography he also wrote. Although no fewer than 27 Gudgeons, other than Walter Edward, and seven Bests are mentioned in this book, it must not be thought that it is simply a family history or an exercise in hagiography. Craig does not hesitate to criticise Gudgeon or to point out when his policies were mistaken. For example, he holds that Gudgeon’s land policy in the Cook Islands was “destined to fail.” The most noteworthy consequence of the family relationship is that Craig had full access to Gudgeon’s diaries and other unpublished papers, the sources which make this book a valuable addition to the historiography of the Cook Islands. Serious students will regret that no indication is given as to the location of these Gudgeon papers. Incidentally, the omission of Richard Gilson’s “The Cook Islands 1820-1950,” the most important history of the Cooks, from the bibliography is to be explained by the fact that Elsdon Craig died in 1980, the year in which Gilson’s work was published. Gudgeon arrived at New Plymouth from England in 1850 when he was only eight years of age. He worked on Taranaki farms in his youth, but on the outbreak of war with the Maoris joined the Forest Rangers and saw army service both in Taranaki and the East Coast. Craig holds that Gudgeon viewed the army as a means to an end, “his ambition to be of service to colonial New Zealand,” and as a move towards financial security. Gudgeon apparently saved £6OO out of his army pay and was thus able to buy 500 acres and lay “the foundations of a small fortune.” The account of some of the incidents in which Gudgeon participated, such as his part in the arrest of Te Whiti at Parihaka in 1881, make fascinating reading. Despite fighting against the Maoris, he took for those days a tremendous interest in the Maori people, learning their language and a great deal about their land laws and customs. As he himself put it, he also became “a devourer of old Maori legends and traditional history.” This led to his becoming acquainted with Maori chiefs in the post-war years, often writing to them in their own language. In due course he became a Judge of the Native Land Court. Further proof of his genuine interest in the Maori people and culture may be found in his chairing the meeting which in January, 1892, founded the Polynesian Society, and in his contributions to the “Journal” of that society. But Gudgeon’s major claim to fame lay in his service in the Cook Islands, first as British Resident and, secondly, after the annexation of the group to New Zealand, as the first Resident Commissioner for this country. In all,

he occupied the top European administrative position in the Cook Islands for 11 years. During that time he secured the passage of the important Federal Court Bill and fulfilled what he conceived to be his “manifest destiny” by converting the arikis to the idea of annexation to New 1 Zealand, thus helping Richard John Seddon to achieve one of his imperialist ambitions. On the economic side, despite opposition from self-seeking traders both in the islands and in Auckland, Gudgeon improved the islands’ fruiji trade with New Zealand and also the Rarotonga Treasury position. He also improved the lot of the islanders by instituting various reforms, including! the establishment of a better system of land titles. After Seddon’s death,! Gudgeon lost the interest and support] of the New Zealand Government and, this, together with problems in! transport and communications, led to! the scattered group becoming, something of a burden on the New Zealand taxpayer. It was not all a success story. Gudgeon quite clearly warranted' having his biography written. The late ; ! Elsdon Craig has provided a fitting memorial for his grandfather as well as for himself in this book. But it deserved a better format and more careful proof-reading. j