Governor of New Zealand

Governors

From 1832 James Busby was assigned the post of official British resident in New Zealand. He played a role in drafting the Treaty of Waitangi, which established British colonial rule over New Zealand. Captain William Hobson was first appointed lieutenant-governor of New Zealand by letters patent on 24 November 1840 (having previously been the British consul to New Zealand), when New Zealand was part of the colony of New South Wales. While Hobson is usually considered the first governor of New Zealand, Sir George Gipps was the first governor over New Zealand, albeit only in his capacity as governor of New South Wales, until New Zealand was established as a separate colony on 3 May 1841. Hobson continued in office until his death on 10 September 1842. In Hobson's place the Colonial Office appointed Captain Robert FitzRoy. FitzRoy struggled to keep order between Māori and settlers keen to buy their land, with very limited financial and military resources at his disposal. Outbreak of the first armed conflicts of the New Zealand Wars and FitzRoy's siding with Māori claims against the New Zealand Company and its settlers over land deals led to his recall by the Colonial Office in 1845.