Wellington Place Names.

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 284, 26 August 1922, Page 11

Wellington Place Names.

Further light on an interesting topic by Mr. H. Fildes, who writes to the Editor under date 22nd August, 1922.

4 4 F“" M "T HE Historical Secretary, Early Settlers and Historical AssociaH tion of Wellington, in correcting and amplifying the H improvised list of Wellington place names and their Jj| origins, prepared by Canon Nevill, and which appeared in your number for the 12th inst., made statement that we have no definite evidence as to who was responsible for such early local nomenclature. I believe the pronouncement is incorrect, and I beg to refer him to E. J. Wakefield’s book, ‘Adventure in New Zealand,’ where in chapter four, tha author has written that following Captain Oho.ffers’ survey of the harbour of Port Nicholson, an excellent chart of the harbour was drawn, when Colonel Wakefield proceeded to name the various points and bays. “If confirmation of this is needed, we find it in Colonel Wakefield s journal, 30th Sept., 1839, where, for the information of his London Board of Directors, he sets out that:— Captain Chaffers was away from the ‘Tory’ for five days last week, and thoroughly surveyed the entrance to Port Nicholson, its headlands and bays. His chart will inform you that I have taken upon myself, subject to the approbation of the directors, to give names to the most remarkable bays and points, preserving such European appellations as have been recognised and adopted in charts ; and such native ones in the company’s possessions, which, are easy of pronunciation.

“This interesting chart is reproduced on a small scale in Elsdon Best s ‘Discovery and Re-discovery of "Wellington Harbour’ (1918), and is also an inset to the largo birds-eye view of Port Nicholson, showing river and valley of the Hutt, 1839, published by the New Zealand company in the next year. “Nor do I incline to the opinion there is need to speculate whether Somes Island was named after Mr. Joseph Somes, or Somes Bros., of bewcastlo on Tyne. It should bo sufficient that Joseph Somas, M.P. for Dartmouth, was successively Deputy-Governor and Governor of the Now Zealand Company, 1840-5, and head of the shipping firm of Somes Bros., London, then described as the largest ship owners in the world, and from whose fleet more than one of our first ships were drawn, whose vessels were to be found in every part of the globe, and a large number of the finest seamen England possessed trained in them. However, apart from this, Mr. E. J. Wakefield has stated in his book, ‘it was christened Somes Island after Mr. Joseph Somes.’ ”

That Ward’s Island was named after Mr. John Ward, first secretary to tho New Zealand Company, has long been accepted, but I consider it is purely a hazardous deduction, and is much more likely to commemorate the name of one of the leading committee members of the New Zealand Association of 1837, than that of a paid servant of the company. Tills member of the Association was Sir Henry George Ward, G.C.M.G., M.P., for Sheffield, and one time Governor of Ceylon and Madras, and who, by the way, was, I believe, tho father of one of our Supreme Court Judges, His Honour the late C. D. R. Ward. One has but to scan the list of names given at page twelve, “Adventure in New Zealand” (1845), compare it with the nomeclaturo of Chaffers’ Port Nicholson chart, to realise how reasonable is my assumption. I should prefer to believe that Point Jerningham was named after Edward Jerningham Wakefield, but have never read of anything to confirm it. It is just as likely to have been named after Mr. Frederick W. Jerninghcm, a close

friend of the Wakefields, who in 1839-42 did much to despatch settlers to New Zealand, being then agent for the New Zealand Company at Southhampton and Weymouth, and in company with Sir Frederick Weld, arrived at New Plymouth in the ship “Theresa,” 1844. Following two years residence in the Wairarapa and at Wellington, he returned to London, where he acted in the capacity of a general agent for New Zealand. This deduction however, is but a conjecture.