Edward Shortland (1812–1893) was a New Zealand doctor, administrator, scholar and linguist.

Life

Shortland was born at Courtlands near

Lympstone Lympstone is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the English county of Devon. It has a population of 1,754. There is a harbour on the estuary of the River Exe, lying at the outlet of Wotton Brook between cliffs of red breccia.

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

, England, the third son of Thomas George Shortland and brother of Willoughby and Peter Frederick Shortland. He was educated at

Exeter grammar school Exeter School is an independent co-educational day school for pupils between the ages of 7 and 18 in Exeter, Devon, England. In 2019, there were around 200 pupils in the Junior School and 700 in the Senior School. History The School traces its ...

and at Pembroke College, Cambridge, where he graduated B.A. in 1835 and M.A. in 1839. He then studied medicine, and was admitted an extra-licentiate of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

in 1839. In 1841 Shortland went out, apparently at his brother's suggestion, to New Zealand, where on 28 June 1841 he was appointed private secretary to Governor

William Hobson Captain William Hobson (26 September 1792 – 10 September 1842) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New Zealand. He was a co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi. Hobson was dispatched from London in July 1 ...

. On 3 August 1842 he was appointed protector of aborigines. On 10 August 1843 he landed at Akaroa on Banks' Peninsula, to act as interpreter to Colonel Godfrey's court of inquiry into the land claims of the French company, the Nanto-Bordelaise Co. of Jean Langlois,teara.govt.nz, ''Akaroa, French Settlement at''.
/ref> which was then trying to settle there. After the court closed he took a census of the peninsula. Shortland reported on various land claims on 18 March 1844. About 1851 he returned for a time to England, and stayed mainly at Plymouth. In 1860 Shortland served in the

Expedition of the Thousand The Expedition of the Thousand ( it, Spedizione dei Mille) was an event of the Italian Risorgimento that took place in 1860. A corps of volunteers led by Giuseppe Garibaldi sailed from Quarto, near Genoa (now Quarto dei Mille) and landed in Mars ...

Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...

. He was again in England that year, and became M.R.C.P. He then practised medicine for many years in New Zealand, and subsequently lived for some time at Parnell. In October 1889 Shortland finally returned to England. He died at Plymouth on 5 July 1893.

Works

Shortland name is mostly identified with the relations between the English and the Maori in the earlier days of settlement. His major works are: * ''The Southern Districts of New Zealand'', London, 1851. * ''Traditions and Superstitions of the New Zealanders'', London 1854. * ''Maori Religion and Mythology'', London, 1882. He also published a Maori-language textbook, in 1883.

References

;Attribution

External links

* * 1812 births 1893 deaths 19th-century New Zealand medical doctors English emigrants to New Zealand Linguists from New Zealand People from Akaroa {{NewZealand-med-bio-stub