Image: Grave of Captain William Hobson (20477925434)

Description: Captain William Hobson was officially appointed as Lieutenant Governor General of New Zealand in June 1939, while still stationed in England. On 24 December 1839, he arrived in Sydney on the HMS Druid, finally reaching the Bay of Islands on January 29. Hobson was instructed to obtain sovereignty over all or part of New Zealand with the consent of a sufficient number of chiefs. He was tasked with negotiating with Māori rangatira (chiefs) the ceding of sovereignty to the British Crown. This would lead to the creation of te Tiriti o Waitangi and its initial signing on February 6, 1840. On March 1st, while te Tiriti sheets were still being circulated for signing, Hobson suffered a stroke. Although he survived and continued to work, Hobson never fully recovered. On 10 September 1842, he had another stroke and died that day. This photo is from Archives New Zealand's National Publicity Studio's collection. Taken in 1949, it shows Hobson’s grave, which is located beside the Grafton Bridge, Auckland. The National Publicity Studio was established in 1945, but its beginnings can be traced back to the establishment in 1924 of a Publicity Office - part of the Department of Internal Affairs. The emphasis of this Publicity Office was on films, photographs and booklets. The purpose of the National Publicity Studio was to provide advice to government departments and state agencies on the provision of photographic, art, and display services and in particular to assist in the production of publicity material aimed at conveying a favourable image of New Zealand. Caption information from: NZ History: www.nzhistory.net.nz/files/documents/The_Story_Part_1.pdf Te Ara Encyclopaedia of New Zealand: www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1h29/hobson-william Description: Founder of Auckland - Grave of Captain William Hobson R. N. who in 1840 selected the site of Auckland and set up the capital of the colony there. Hobson died two years afterwards and is buried beside Grafton Bridge near the heart of the city. Photographer: E.P. Christensen Date: 1949 Archives New Zealand Reference: AAQT 6539 A15795 For more information email Research.Archives@dia.govt.nz For updates on our On This Day series and news from Archives New Zealand, follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/ArchivesNZ
Title: Grave of Captain William Hobson (20477925434)
Credit: Grave of Captain William Hobson
Author: Archives New Zealand from New Zealand
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
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