Sir William Hutt,
KCB,
PC (6 October 1801 – 24 November 1882) was a
British Liberal politician who was heavily involved in the colonisation of
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and South Australia.
Background and education
Hutt was born in
Bishops Stortford
Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated popu ...
,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...
. He was the brother of
Sir George Hutt and
John Hutt
John Hutt (24 July 1795 – 9 April 1880) was Governor of Western Australia from 1839 to 1846.
Life
Born in London on 24 July 1795, John Hutt was the fourth of 13 children of Richard Hutt of Appley Towers, Ryde, Isle of Wight. He was educated ...
, the second
governor of Western Australia
The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional ...
. He was educated privately at
Ryde
Ryde is an English seaside town and civil parish on the north-east coast of the Isle of Wight. The built-up area had a population of 23,999 according to the 2011 Census and an estimate of 24,847 in 2019. Its growth as a seaside resort came af ...
, Isle of Wight, and Camberwell, and graduated BA (1827) and
MA (1831) from
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...
.
Political career
Hutt entered
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
as MP for
Kingston upon Hull
Kingston upon Hull, usually abbreviated to Hull, is a port city and unitary authority in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
It lies upon the River Hull at its confluence with the Humber Estuary, inland from the North Sea and south-east ...
in 1832, holding the seat until 1837, when
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce (24 August 175929 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist and leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becom ...
defeated him. He regained it in 1838 when Wilberforce was unseated on petition.
He had an interest in colonial affairs, and became increasingly involved in them. He served as a member of the select committee on colonial lands in 1836; as a commissioner for the foundation of South Australia; as a member of the
New Zealand Association
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 ...
from 1837; and as a member of the select committee on New Zealand in 1840. He also helped form (1839) the re-incarnated
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 ...
, of which he later became a director and chairman.
After he ceased to be MP for Hull in 1841,
he successfully stood for the seat of
Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
, a seat that he retained for over 30 years. He served as
Vice-President of the Board of Trade
The office of Vice-President of the Board of Trade is a junior ministerial position in the government of the United Kingdom at the Board of Trade. The office was created in 1786 but fell into abeyance in 1867. From 1848 onwards, the office was he ...
and
Paymaster-General
His Majesty's Paymaster General or HM Paymaster General is a ministerial position in the Cabinet Office of the United Kingdom. The incumbent Paymaster General is Jeremy Quin MP.
History
The post was created in 1836 by the merger of the posit ...
under
Lord Palmerston
Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, (20 October 1784 – 18 October 1865) was a British statesman who was twice Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century. Palmerston dominated British foreign policy during the period ...
between 1860 and 1865 and under
Lord Russell in 1865 and was sworn of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
in 1860.
In 1865 he became a
Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...
.
Personal life
In 1831 Hutt married Mary (née Millner), Dowager Countess of Strathmore, widow of
John Bowes, 10th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne
John Bowes, 10th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne (14 April 1769 – 3 July 1820) was a Scottish nobleman and peer. He was the eldest son of John Bowes, 9th Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne and Mary Bowes, Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne. ...
, to whose son
John Bowes John Bowes may refer to:
*John George Bowes (c. 1812–1864), Canadian politician
*John Bowes (art collector) (1811–1885), English art collector and thoroughbred racehorse owner
**John Bowes (steamship), ''John Bowes'' (steamship), 1852 steam coll ...
Hutt had been a tutor. She died in 1860, leaving him mining properties worth £18,000 a year.
The following year he married Frances Anna Jane "Fanny" Stanhope, a daughter of the Hon. Sir Francis Charles Stanhope. The couple had a London home in
Grosvenor Square
Grosvenor Square is a large garden square in the Mayfair district of London. It is the centrepiece of the Mayfair property of the Duke of Westminster, and takes its name from the duke's surname "Grosvenor". It was developed for fashionable re ...
.
Hutt died at
Appley Towers, Ryde, on 24 November 1882, aged 81, leaving his landed property to his brother, Sir George Hutt. Frances, Lady Hutt, died in September 1886.
Eponymous geography
Hutt is commemorated in the name of the
Hutt River in the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
of New Zealand and the cities of
Lower Hutt
Lower Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Administered by the Hutt City Council, it is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington metropolitan area.
It is New Zealand's sixth most p ...
and
Upper Hutt
Upper Hutt ( mi, Te Awa Kairangi ki Uta) is a city in the Wellington Region of New Zealand and one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area.
Geography
The Upper Hutt city cent ...
, which stand on its banks. The
Hutt River, South Australia and the
Hutt River and
Hutt Lagoon
Hutt Lagoon is a marine salt lake located near the Indian Ocean coast north of the mouth of the Hutt River, in the Mid West region of Western Australia.
Geography
Hutt Lagoon is an elongate lake that sits in a dune swale adjacent to the co ...
in Western Australia were also named in his honour.
Hutt Street, Adelaide
Hutt Street is the easternmost of the five major north–south roads running through the City of Adelaide. It runs from Pirie Street to South Terrace, from where it continues south as Hutt Road. Flanked by leafy side streets with many late 19th ...
in South Australia carries his name. The
Bowes River
The Bowes River is a river in the Mid West region of Western Australia. It was named on 6 April 1839 by the explorer George Grey while on his second exploration expedition along the Western Australian coast. It was named for Mary Bowes, Dowage ...
in Western Australia was named after his wife Mary.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutt, William
1801 births
1882 deaths
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath
UK MPs 1832–1835
UK MPs 1835–1837
UK MPs 1837–1841
UK MPs 1841–1847
UK MPs 1847–1852
UK MPs 1852–1857
UK MPs 1857–1859
UK MPs 1859–1865
UK MPs 1865–1868
People from Bishop's Stortford