George Conrad Petersen (19 June 1900 – 25 October 1978) was a New Zealand lawyer, consul, local politician and historian.

Early life and family

Petersen was born in Mauriceville West,

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service ...

, New Zealand in 1900, son of Danish immigrants Jens Peter and Anna Katrina (nee Nielsen) Petersen. At age 17, Jens Peter arrived at Napier on 24 August 1875 on an assisted immigrant on the sailing ship, ''Friedeburg,'' as part of PM

Sir Julius Vogel Sir Julius Vogel (24 February 1835 – 12 March 1899) was the eighth premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works. He was the first Jewish prime min ...

's 1870 Public Works and Immigration Scheme to attract Scandinavian settlers to the Mānawatu and Wairarapa build the railway, establish farms and to fell the 70 Mile Bush, between Masterton and Napier. Many of the Danes who settled in the Wairarapa were veteran of the Prusso-Danish War of 1864 or refugees from Slesvig. Living amongst these early Scandinavian settlers and listening to their many tales sparked George’s life-long interest in history. He received his education at Mauriceville West School and Masterton District High School. During school, Petersen had boarded with the Cairns family. He trained as a barrister and solicitor under Edward Orr Hurley and was admitted in 1924, then moving to live in Palmerston North. Petersen married his former Mauriceville West classmate Elizabeth "Stella" Osberta Cairns on 27 December 1926, and they had a daughter, Phyllis Potter born in 1927 and twins George Bouet Petersen and Wendy Cutfield born in 1933. Stella, a school teacher, died in 1963. Following her death, George married her sister, Coyla Samuella May Foote on 4 September 1965. Coyla, also a school teacher, died in 1974.

Community contribution

George was author of six historical publications, four editor of Who’s Who in NZ, PN City Councilor between 1947 to 1950, and received the Coronation Medal in 1953. As a member of the Danish Society in Palmerston North, he raised money for the Danish underground during the Second World War, being awarded the

King Christian X's Liberty Medal King Christian X's Liberty Medal ( da, Kong Christian den Tiendes frihedsmedaille) was a commemorative decoration awarded by King Christian X for special services to Denmark during World War II. Appearance The medal is circular and made of silver. ...

in 1946. From 1948, he acted as NZ’s vice-consul for Denmark, and was appointed consul in 1966. He was New Zealand’s liaison person for the second

Galathea expedition The ''Galathea'' expeditions comprise a series of three Danish ship-based scientific research expeditions in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, carried out with material assistance from the Royal Danish Navy and, with regard to the second and thi ...

(Danish Navy’s world circumnavigation) for which he was awarded the Danish Galathea Medal in 1952, and for his overall contribution to Denmark was made Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1958, and was promoted to Knight 1st Class in 1968. In 1964 he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

, Massey University’s second ever awarded doctorate.

Selected publications

* 1948 William Colenso ''(with A.G. Bagnall)'' * 1952 Pioneering days of Palmerston North * 1956 Forest Homes * 1956 The Mair Family ''(with J.C. Andersen)'' * 1966 D.G. Monrad * 1972 Portraits of New Zealand Maori ''(with S.M. Mead)'' * 1973 Palmerston North, A Centennial History

Career

Petersen was a city councillor for

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

. He edited four editions of the ''

Who's Who in New Zealand The ''Who's Who in New Zealand'', originally called the ''Who's Who in New Zealand and the Western Pacific'', is a collection of biographies that was first published in 1908, and the latest version is from 1991. History The first edition was edi ...

''. Of Danish parentage, he was active his whole life for Danish interests. As a member of the Danish Society in Palmerston North, he raised money for the Danish underground, and he was awarded the

in 1946 for his actions. From 1948, he acted as vice-consul for Denmark, and was appointed consul in 1966. He was the New Zealand liaison person for the second

. For this work, he was awarded the Galathea Medal of Denmark in 1956, and for his overall contribution to Denmark was made Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog in 1958, and was promoted to Knight 1st Class in 1968. He was awarded an honorary

by Massey University in 1964; this was only the second honorary doctorate awarded by this university.

Later life

Petersen died at Palmerston North on 25 October 1978. Petersen is buried alongside his first wife in a family grave at Kelvin Grove Cemetery in Palmerston North.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, George Conrad 1900 births 1978 deaths 20th-century New Zealand historians 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Knights First Class of the Order of the Dannebrog Burials at Kelvin Grove Cemetery 20th-century New Zealand politicians Palmerston North City Councillors