Captain John Jermyn Symonds (4 January 1816 – 3 January 1883) was a 19th-century Member of Parliament in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand. He purchased land for the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...

and was later a judge of the Native Land Court.

Biography

Symonds was born in 1816 as the youngest son of the family. His father was Sir William Symonds. On the recommendation of

Lord Normanby Marquess of Normanby is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in 1694 in the Peerage of England in favour of John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of M ...

, he joined the survey department in

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

in 1839. He arrived at

, New Zealand, on 1 October 1840 to join his elder brother

William Cornwallis Symonds Captain William Cornwallis Symonds (1 August 1810 – 23 November 1841) was a British Army officer who was prominent in the early colonisation of New Zealand. Symonds was born at Lymington, Hampshire in 1810, the eldest son of William Symo ...

, but his brother drowned in a boating accident in November 1841. For a while, he was acting protector of aborigines, and was in charge of purchase of land from

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

, and the survey of that land. In 1843, he obtained a commission as Ensign in the 40th (the 2nd Somersetshire) Regiment of Foot, then stationed in India. However, he never joined the regiment, but remained in New Zealand. In 1844, he purchased the Otago block with

Frederick Tuckett Frederick Tuckett (1807–1876) was a New Zealand surveyor, explorer and New Zealand Company agent. He was born in Frenchay, Gloucestershire, England in about 1807. He surveyed Nelson and Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second- ...

on behalf of the

. Some time in 1844, he transferred to the

99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot The 99th (Lanarkshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1824. It amalgamated with the 62nd (Wiltshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Duke of Edinburgh's (Wiltshire Regiment) in 1881. History Formation The ...

, then stationed in Australia. In April 1845, he joined his regiment in Sydney, only to return to New Zealand with the 99th Regiment at the end of May 1845. He took part in the

Flagstaff War The Flagstaff War, also known as Heke's War, Hōne Heke's Rebellion and the Northern War, was fought between 11 March 1845 and 11 January 1846 in and around the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. The conflict is best remembered for the actions of Hō ...

and was present at the

Battle of Ohaeawai A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

and fall of

Ruapekapeka Ruapekapeka, a pā southeast of Kawakawa in the Northland Region of New Zealand, is one of the largest and most complex pā in New Zealand; Ngāpuhi designed it specifically to counter the cannon of British forces. The earthworks can still be ...

. In January 1846, he became private secretary to Governor

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Go ...

. The governor transferred an island in the

Firth of Thames The Firth of Thames ( mi, Tikapa Moana-o-Hauraki) is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town of ...

to Symonds to create a test case regarding the Crown's pre-emptive right of purchase to

land deriving from the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

; in ''

R v Symonds ''R v Symonds'' ''(The Queen v Symonds)'' incorporated the concept of aboriginal title into New Zealand law and upheld the government's pre-emptive right of purchase to Māori land deriving from the common law and expressed in the Treaty of Wa ...

'', the court decided in favour of the Crown's case. In 1847, he was one of the founding members of the Auckland Savings Bank. He returned to England in 1848, where he married in 1849. He came back to New Zealand in 1849 in charge of a detachment of the

Fencibles The Fencibles (from the word ''defencible'') were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the Frenc ...

, which he settled in

Onehunga Onehunga is a suburb of Auckland in New Zealand and the location of the Port of Onehunga, the city's small port on the Manukau Harbour. It is south of the Auckland CBD, city centre, close to the volcano, volcanic cone of Maungakiekie / One Tree ...

. He became a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

in 1853, was appointed Native Secretary in 1855, and became Onehunga's resident magistrate and returning officer in 1856. He resigned from those roles when he was elected to represent the Pensioner Settlements electorate from to 1860, when he retired. In 1861, he was again appointed Resident Magistrate. He was a judge of the

Native Land Court Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and enterta ...

from 1862 to his retirement in 1882. Symonds died suddenly on 3 January 1883. He was ill for only half an hour and in the beginning did not think it necessary to call for his son-in-law, who was a doctor. He was survived by his wife, four daughters, and one son. His wife (Alethia Seymour, née Wilson) died in November 1898. Symonds Street in Onehunga is named after him.

Symonds Street Symonds Street is a street in Auckland, New Zealand's most populous city. The road runs southwest and uphill from the top of Anzac Avenue (originally Jermyn Street), through the City Campus of University of Auckland, over the Northwestern Motorw ...

and

Symonds Street Cemetery Symonds Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery and park in central Auckland, New Zealand. It is in 5.8 hectares of deciduous forest on the western slope of Grafton Gully, by the corner of Symonds Street and Karangahape Road, and is crossed by th ...

in Auckland are named after his brother.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Symonds, Jermyn 1816 births 1883 deaths Māori Land Court judges Members of the New Zealand House of Representatives New Zealand MPs for Auckland electorates Colony of New Zealand judges 19th-century New Zealand politicians Jermyn