b. 1812-04-14
d. 1898-09-19
George Grey, son of Lieutenant Colonel George Grey and Elizabeth Anne Vignoles, was
governor of South Australia, twice governor of New Zealand, governor of Cape Colony
(South Africa), and the 11th premier of New Zealand.1
Grey was offered governorship of South Australia in 1840, after writing a report to
Lord John Russell on the assimilation of Indigenous peoples.
2 He was appointed governor of New Zealand in 1845 and managed affairs between the
Maori peoples and the colony from 1845 to 1853.
3 In late 1853, Grey departed New Zealand to become governor of the Cape Colony and
high commissioner for South Africa.
4When war broke out in 1857 in Taranaki, New Zealand, Grey returned to New Zealand
to help make peace.5 He was terminated as governor in 1868 after evading instructions from the British
government to withdraw troops from New Zealand.6
In 1875, Grey was elected superintendent of Auckland province and then became premier
in 1877.7 He resigned in 1879 but remained in Parliament as a backbencher.8 Grey was chosen to represent New Zealand at the Australian Federal Convention in
1891, where he played a prominent role despite his old age.9
Grey was keenly interested in animal and plant life, old books, and Aboriginal cultures.10 He wrote books on Australian Aboriginal vocabularies, on Maori language and culture,
and on his western Australian explorations.11
In
this letter to
Pakington,
Straith includes a despatch from Governor George Grey regarding the development of industrial
schools for Indigenous peoples in New Zealand.
- 1. Keith Sinclair, Grey, George, Te Ara.
- 2. Ibid.
- 3. Ibid.
- 4. Ibid.
- 5. George Grey, New Zealand History Online.
- 6. Ibid.
- 7. Keith Sinclair, Grey, George, Te Ara.
- 8. Ibid.
- 9. Ibid.
- 10. Ibid.
- 11. Ibid.