Henry Joseph Coote (9 January 1819 – 25 March 1867), known as Major Coote,Army ranks of Captain and above are retained in retirement was a British army officer who served in India,

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

and New Zealand and returned to breed sheep in New Zealand on his retirement from the army. He was a member of the

New Zealand Legislative Council The New Zealand Legislative Council was the upper house of the General Assembly of New Zealand between 1853 and 1951. An earlier arrangement of legislative councils for the colony and provinces existed from 1841 when New Zealand became a co ...

from 8 July 1865 until his death in his 49th year on 25 March 1867. Born in London in 1819, third son of barrister of the court of chancery Richard Holmes Coote and his wife Elizabeth née Callander he was a younger brother of surgeon Holmes Coote 1817–1872. A professional soldier Henry Joseph Coote had been educated at the

Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infantry a ...

. Commissioned

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1839 and

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1844 Coote was appointed

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 1857 when attached to the new arrivals in New Zealand, the

18th Regiment of Foot 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

He was aide-de-camp to General Sir

Charles James Napier General Sir Charles James Napier, (; 10 August 178229 August 1853) was an officer and veteran of the British Army's Peninsular and 1812 campaigns, and later a Major General of the Bombay Army, during which period he led the military conquest of ...

in the 1843 conquest of

Scinde Sindh (; ; ur, , ; historically romanized as Sind) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in the southeastern region of the country, Sindh is the third-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the second-largest province ...

and after he was the first man to enter the enemy position at

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...

( peccavi) described by the General as "the intrepid Coote". Wounded he returned to England, marrying in 1844. He later joined the

36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot The 36th (Herefordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1701. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 29th (Worcestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Worcestershire Regiment in 1881. Its l ...

and served in the Ionian Islands, where he distinguished himself in

Cephalonia Kefalonia or Cephalonia ( el, Κεφαλονιά), formerly also known as Kefallinia or Kephallenia (), is the largest of the Ionian Islands in western Greece and the 6th largest island in Greece after Crete, Euboea, Lesbos, Rhodes and Chios. It i ...

during the time that

Henry George Ward Sir Henry George Ward GCMG (27 February 17972 August 1860) was an English diplomat, politician, and colonial administrator. Early life He was the son of Robert Ward (who in 1828 changed his surname by sign manual to Plumer Ward) and his first ...

was Lord High Commissioner. Coote was appointed

Brigade-Major A brigade major was the chief of staff of a brigade in the British Army. They most commonly held the rank of Major (United Kingdom), major, although the appointment was also held by Captain (British Army and Royal Marines), captains, and was head ...

to the 65th Regiment of Foot in Wellington New Zealand in 1852.Una Platts, ''Nineteenth century New Zealand Artists: a guide and handbook'' Avon Fine Prints, Christchurch 1980
/ref> On

half pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the Eng ...

from 1 July 1853 he returned to England in 1858 soon after his promotion to Major. There he lobbied the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

to put a force together under his command to fight in the

New Zealand Wars The New Zealand Wars took place from 1845 to 1872 between the New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori on one side and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. They were previously commonly referred to as the Land Wars or the M ...

but was unsuccessful. He retired from the army and returned to New Zealand arriving in December 1861. He took up the Carleton run near

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

and won prizes for his

merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

s. He left Canterbury and settled in 1864 first at Opaki north of Masterton then as he had originally intended about four miles west of

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

on Matahiwi Station which he had purchased in 1861. It was later described in an (unsuccessful) 1896 petition for compulsory purchase under Seddon's Lands for Settlement Act as six or seven thousand acres of good land, some first-class some second. An accomplished artist in watercolours he was a regular exhibitor. His portraits of

Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha (c.1768 – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars, receiving the nickname "the Napoleon of the South". He was influential in the original ...

and

Te Rangihaeata Te Rangihaeata ( 1780s – 18 November 1855), was a Ngāti Toa chief, nephew of Te Rauparaha. He had a leading part in the Wairau Affray and the Hutt Valley Campaign. Early life A member of the Ngāti Toa, he was born at Kawhia around 1780. Hi ...

were engraved and published in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

. Major Coote married Rhoda Carleton Holmes, daughter of William Holmes of Worthing, Sussex at

Lyminster Lyminster is a village that is the main settlement of Lyminster and Crossbush civil parish, in the Arun District of West Sussex, England. It borders, to the south, Littlehampton, which has its town centre away. Landmarks Church The Church of E ...

on 22 October 1844. There were no surviving children of the marriage. He died after a long illness aged 48 on 25 March 1867 and she died in England in December 1898.Personal Items from London, ''New Zealand Herald'', volume=XXXV, issue=10942, 22 December 1898, Page 6
/ref> Their property went to his wife's family. The main homestead is now the site of a residence of

Sir Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coote, Henry Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council 1819 births 1867 deaths People from London 19th-century New Zealand politicians