GOVERNOR HOBSON.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19455, 11 October 1926, Page 8

GOVERNOR HOBSON.

Sir,—l. hope the grave of Captain Hobson will not bo touched, but that it will be well cared for, and allowed to remain where it is. But surely the time has come when a monument should be erected in a spot where many people will see it every day. To call a small mountain and a pretty bay after him is not enough. The street called Hobson Street is probably so named because of him, but this is perhaps not quite certain, and is not a striking means at all of keeping his memory before the people of Auckland. I have wondered if Hobson Street was called after the Mr. Hobson who lived in it and owned a good part of it in the early sixties. Swanson Street was so named after "Billy"' Swanson, who lived in it and owned a part of it, and other streets in Auckland are so called. Mr. Hobson used to attend St. Matthew's Church, and was a fine looking old man. I think somewhere in Albert Park, or better still, at the top of Shortland Street, would be the place for the Hobson monument. I can imagine Captain Hobson landing from his man of war, and walking through the fern to the hill, and looking all round and saying. "Yes, the parson is right; this is the place for the capital of New Zealand." We must remember that the Governor would have made the Bav of Islands the capital if Archdeacon Henry Williams had not persuaded him to wait until he saw Auckland. Williams had been in the Navy himself, and that fact, combined with his great ability, his noble conduct, and his splendid looks, must have influenced Captain Hobson. He did as Williams asked him, and as soon as he saw Auckland he knew Williams was right. There is a monument to the memory of Archdeacon Williams in the Bay of Islands. There should be one to the memory of Governor Hobson in Auckland; and, as he was a naval captain, I think it should overlook the harbour. John Haselden.