NEW ZEALAND MANUSCRIPTS HELD IN AUSTRALIA

Turnbull Library Record, Volume 4, Issue 2, 1 October 1971, Page 67

NEW ZEALAND MANUSCRIPTS HELD IN AUSTRALIA

R. F. Grover

In 1969 I was awarded an Anzac Fellowship to seek out New Zealand historical research material held in Australia. Anzac Fellowships were established in 1967 in response to a suggestion by the then Prime Minister of Australia, the Right Honourable Harold Holt. Each country reciprocally awards two a year and the fields of interest which come within the conditions of the Fellowship are wide; agriculture, commerce, industry, the arts, and public service. The Fellowship’s purpose is to further good relations and co-operation between the two countries.

New Zealand’s historical research resources have benefited greatly from the co-operation of the Australian repositories which I visited. All of them willingly gave permission and staff-assistance for the copying of manuscripts and historical pictures. I am particularly grateful for the encouragement and help I received from Mr Gordon Richardson, obe, Principal Librarian of the Library of New South Wales, and Sir Harold White, the then National Librarian.

It is not possible yet to issue a list of the manuscripts identified. In this article I will indicate only the type of manuscripts located and mention a few examples. One feature that seems to have emerged as the manuscripts have been catalogued is that, looked at as a whole, they reflect a pattern of relationships between New Zealand and Australia since the beginning of European settlement. That the pattern is sometimes disturbed a little is probably due to the activities of two notable collectors, David Scott Mitchell (1836-1907) and Mr Rex de C. Nan Kivell. Mr Mitchell purchased far outside his own state and country, and Mr Nan Kivell has made most of his purchases in Britain and Europe. That two-thirds of the New Zealand manuscripts identified are held by the Mitchell Library is a tribute to the Library’s founder and to those who vigorously acted on his collection policy after his death; it also evidences the degree of inter-relationship between New Zealand and New South Wales during the past 180 years. The decade represented by the greatest number of manuscripts is the 1840 s. The holdings for the 1830 s, fifties and sixties are fairly heavy and are closely followed by the 1820 s. With the exception of literary manuscripts - which begin appearing regularly in the 1890 s - surviving manuscripts for other decades are spread evenly but thinly. A summary listing of the New Zealand highlights is in Miss Ida Leeson’s book The Mitchell Library, (1936). The bulk of the pre-1840 New Zealand records held in Australia is, as in New Zealand, of missionary origin. Chief amongst these, in influence and in the amount of shelving taken up by what has survived him, is Samuel Marsden (1764-1838). Some of the correspondence and

journals relating specifically to New Zealand have been separated out within the Mitchell Marsden collection, but there is other New Zealand material to be found in sequences that are mainly concerned with New South Wales and elsewhere. Because of the time that would have been needed to select the New Zealand material, and because there are sound arguments for not being able to approach an understanding of Marsden without his Australian context, many of the records of Marsden as landowner, litigant, clergyman, and magistrate, have been copied for the Turnbull.

For many years Sydney was the centre of Methodism in the South Pacific. Official papers of the Methodist Church of Australasia - Department of Overseas Missions, which was based on Sydney, are now in the Mitchell as well as important holdings of private papers of Methodist missionaries in the Pacific and New Zealand. Among these is a journal, 1830-82, of James Watkin (1805-1886) which includes 1840-44 entries, made at the mission at Waikouaiti, established at the request of Johnny Jones, the well-known whaler. The difficulties of proselyting one aspect of European life while another was in full swing not very far away are enlarged upon. Other Methodist material held is the diary, 1818-25, of Walter Lawry (1793-1859) which covers Lawry’s departure for Tonga; a visit to the Bay of Islands in July 1822; and his sojourn in Tonga, 1822-23.

One of the large family collections held in the Mitchell is that of the King family which, in three generations, has had some contact with New Zealand. Philip Gidley King (1758-1808) was LieutenantGovernor of Norfolk Island when Tuki and Huru were kidnapped to instruct convicts in the penal colony in flax dressing. Accounts of this affair and the return of the two men to New Zealand is given in papers held in both the Mitchell and National libraries. Philip Parker King (1791-1856) was a friend of Governor Fitzßoy and Sir James Everard Home. Each of the men wrote to King and an interesting aspect of Home’s letters, 1844-45, is his change in attitude to Fitzßoy from relative sympathy to exasperation. The third generation of the family to be reminded of this country’s existence was Philip Gidley King (1807-1904) who received many letters from G. W. Rusden (18191903) during, and just after, the Bryce v Rusden hearing, 1886. The magnificent Macarthur collection contains a reference to New Zealand in a letter, 10 May 1810, written by G. Blaxcell (1777-1817) to John Macarthur in London, which encloses a copy of an earlier letter written 6 November 1810 .. in consequence of a report which prevails here that the “Boyd” has been cut off by the natives of New Zealand and every person on board massacred . . .’. Fifty-five years later John Macarthur’s fourth son James (1798-1867) received a letter from Invercargill by a Duncan Macarthur which began: ‘Sir, You may

probably remember being in the Caledonian Hotel Oban Scotland when you were on your European tour. I was proprietor of the Hotel at the time and before leaving you were kind enough to say that if ever I came to New South Wales you would be glad to be of service to me ... In 1847 I gave up the hotel my wife and myself being of opinion that it was an unsuitable place to rear a family in . . .’. The letter goes on to describe how Duncan arrived in Otago in 1861 and ‘. . . From want of colonial experience I unfortunately speculated and then mentions that his ‘. . . object now in writing to you is to solicit the favour of your kind interference on my behalf. . .’.

Among the whaling records held in the Mitchell are those of Weller Brothers who operated in New Zealand out of Sydney. Covering the years 1832-41, they include drafts or copies of letters concerned with whaling in Otago; land transactions, shipments of timber, fish, and potatoes from Otago to Sydney; and a letter to the Colonial Secretary of New South Wales requesting permission to purchase a howitzer and ammunition to protect their Otago shore party against the Cloudy Bay tribes. Governor Macquarie’s papers include a transcript of a letter 27 January 1810 signed by Sydney merchants Simeon Lord, Alexander Riley, Thomas Kent, and Francis Williams, applying for permission to establish a settlement to obtain flax in the North Island and asking for Kent to be granted a Commission of Peace to assist him in dealing with marauding sailors. Fifteen pages, 1833-36, concerning Thomas McDonnell’s (1788-1864) ownership and registration of the barque

Sir George Murray built at Hokianga (and which, therefore, had registration problems); McDonnell’s trading at Hokianga; Maoris in the timber trade, and the spread of Christianity among them are found in the papers of Alexander Riley (1784-1825) and his successors. An interesting journal, 1831-34, also copied, was kept by Henry Ransome, an ordinary seaman on board the whaler Elizabeth of London. Ransome paid three visits to the Bay of Islands totalling about two and a half months and gives what appears to be a description of the Bay and its European and Maori inhabitants that is neither exaggerated nor sensational. For those curious about the more notorious brig Elizabeth chartered by Ngati Toa to avenge themselves on Ngai Tahu, the Mitchell original of the agreements between Captain Stewart and his crew have been copied. Finally for the period up to the end of the 1840 sit should be mentioned that the Australian background of many government officials in New Zealand at that time becomes evident when one sees the amount of material held on Sir George Grey (18121898), E. J. Eyre (1815-1901), and the Busby family. Records of the 1850 s are found in the journals of naval and merchant officers who called at New Zealand. George Newall, Master and Supercargo of the Sea Breeze provides an insight into the difficulties of

exchanging a cargo of coffee for one of gum in Auckland, in 1855. From 1851-59 HMS Pandora charted the New Zealand coast. One of the officers, Morton Jones, kept private journals during that time in which he included many maps and watercolours and descriptions of the settlers’ society. Regarding these journals and other matters connected in one way or another with this article it is worth quoting a letter, 29 June 1911, written by Alexander Turnbull to S. P. Smith although the letter itself, having never left the Turnbull Library, is hardly a New Zealand manuscript held in Australia.

Dear Mr Smith, Many thanks for so kindly sending me a leaf of the ‘Lyttelton Times’, dated 24 inst. containing the article headed ‘Early Records’. The catalogue referred to by the writer of this article was issued by a comparatively new firm of dealers in London who evidently are very enterprising in laying hands on literature and MSS. relating to Australasia, New Zealand and the South Seas: Morton Jones’Journal however must have been a new acquisition because it was not reported to me for sale but I have cabled and trust I may be in time to secure it for my collection. I likewise ordered some original sketches of Auckland but the set of six pictures by G. Hyde Page I had to let go as I did not feel able to pay the price especially in view of the fact that I do not make a point of collecting pictures. There is nothing much else on Australasia in the catalogue not already in my library.

I told Mr Hamilton [the then Director of the Dominion Museum] about Page’s pictures and he interviewed Mr Buddo [Minister of Internal Affairs] who, in turn, saw Sir James Carroll [Native Minister]. I likewise spoke to Mr Buddo and impressed upon him the necessity of cabling at once if the Government wished to secure them. I have not heard what has been done. [Five of the Pages were acquired by the Library by private sale after the Second World War.] With so many keen and wealthy Australian collectors in the market one has to be ‘spry’ in seizing opportunities which present themselves in getting MSS. and rare books on Australasia and ‘Taihoa -he no good’ in cases such as the one I am alluding to. Private collectors, such as the late Dr. Hocken of New Zealand and the late Mr Mitchell of New South Wales made considerable personal sacrifice to do the work that should have been done by the governments of their respective colonies, without hope or wish for reward, and only those who come after them will know and acknowledge the extent of the services rendered by these two gentlemen. In New Zealand we have no National Library, no National Museum [apparently Mr Hamilton’s institution did not qualify. See footnote i,

p 32, Dr E. H. McCormick’s The fascinating folly . . . Dunedin, 1961.] and no National Art Gallery whilst the important Australian States are supplied with these institutions by their governments who seem to recognise that besides the material welfare of the people, their mental welfare should also be provided for. As you may wish to keep the ‘Lyttelton Times’ article I return it to you herewith and with kind regards. I remain, . Yours sincerely, Alex. H. Turnbull.

The soldiers who fought in the wars of the 1860 s often had Australian connections. Regular regiments were sent to New Zealand from Australia and some volunteers were recruited there. A feature of the material written in the 1870 s is the increasing number of diaries of a visit to the country by tourists. The bulk of literary manuscripts held in the Mitchell written during the final years of the nineteenth century and in the early years of the twentieth seem to indicate that Sydney periodicals such as the Bulletin were a means of publication for many New Zealand writers to the degree that Sydney might then be regarded as one of New Zealand’s literary centres. Many pieces of verse as well as literary correspondence are found in the papers of editors such as A. G. Stephens who corresponded with people like A. E. Currie, Edward Tregear, Jessie Mackay, and Hubert Church.

The second largest collection of New Zealand manuscripts held in Australia is in the National Library in Canberra. In the papers of Federal politicians held there you sometimes find reports on New Zealand issues similar to those they were concerned with and letters from New Zealand politicians. Similarly there is correspondence with New Zealand authors in personal papers of Australian writers held by the National Library. But the main source of New Zealand historical material held in the National Library is in the Nan Kivell Collection, one of the finest New Zealand, Pacific, and Australian collections of historical manuscripts and pictures acquired in the twentieth century. Much of the New Zealand material in it was bought in the 19205, 30s, and 40s when the Turnbull was poorly financed. The remainder has been acquired in later years. If any proof were needed to show why a senior member of the Turnbull staff should be employed in London to seek out New Zealand research material held in Britain and Europe, it is furnished by seeing what Mr Nan Kivell collected. Many of the manuscripts in the collection are by missionaries and churchmen who probably sent them home to relatives in England. Among these were James Buller, G. A. Selwyn, and Richard Taylor. The Taylor papers, for example, cover the years 1839-68 and refer to the discovery

of Moa bones in 1839, the wars of the forties and sixties, and letters from Maori parishioners. The Anzac Fellowship allowed me to visit the state libraries of South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania and Trinity College Library and the Archives of the University of Melbourne. South Australia was the first Wakefield settlement so it is not surprising that the Archives of its State Library contains records with New Zealand connections. Chief among these are the papers, 1836-1942, of the Tinline family, particularly of John Tinline (1821-1907). Among the papers are deeds, accounts, sheep returns, and correspondence relating to Tinline’s ‘Lyndon’ estate at Amuri. Also copied for Turnbull were papers relating to the South Australian activities of Sir George Grey, E. J. Eyre, and Sir Richard Hanson (1805-1876), and letters, 1844-45, written by Lady Grey to a South Australian friend.

In Hobart, Sir William Crowther has gathered one of the finest whaling collections in this part of the world and then generously donated it to the State Library of Tasmania. He has also given his kind permission for those of his whaling logs of interest to New Zealand to be copied. There are over a dozen of them and they cover the years 1829 to 1905. A notable old New Zealander who had close relatives in Hobart was F. E. Maning and the originals of his letters, 1844-66, to them on matters financial and personal but with comments on New Zealand and Hokianga, are found in the Allport Library and Museum of Fine Arts of the State Library of Tasmania.

In the Library of Trinity College, University of Melbourne, is the G. W. Rusden collection, 1805-92, which contains much inwards correspondence from New Zealand beginning with Rusden’s visit to New Zealand, the writing of his History . . . , its publication, and then Bryce’s libel case. W. B. D. Mantell (1820-1895), whose personal papers are one of the Turnbull’s most interesting and useful collections, was a close friend of Rusden’s and evidence of this is found by the large number of his letters among Rusden’s papers. Many of the other correspondents were either living in New Zealand at the time or associated with it. Among them are Octavius Hadfield, Sir Frederick Weld, Sir Arthur Gordon, F. E. Maning, F. D. Fenton and Sir John Gorst. Other Rusden manuscripts are found in the Library of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria which also holds a letter 29 September 1913 from Alexander Turnbull answering an enquiry about sketches or engravings of W. F. Evelyn Liardet of which Mr Turnbull had a few. Melbourne is said to be the financial centre of Australia and if you go to the Archives of the University of Melbourne you soon discover that it is one of New Zealand’s financial centres. Among the business records in the Archives are those of the Kauri Timber Co for the years 1888-1954 containing photographs and maps of timber mills in the

Auckland and Westland provinces. Finally I want to thank the Anzac Fellowship authorities for providing me with the generous means which allowed me to spend six months searching for these research sources.