The Hon. Sir Arthur Hamilton Gordon (later Lord Stanmore) was born in London,1829.
Gordon was a successful Governor of Crown Colonies but far from happy in New Brunswick and New Zealand which both had strong governments which he strongly desired to participate in himself. He was happier in the Crown colonies where he had scope for his liberal paternalism, particularly in Fiji where he was able to practice his own native administration principles. A. P. Maudsley, his private secretary there, wrote a character sketch of him: “The governor - a short man, dark, not good looking, careless of his appearance, shortsighted. Nowhere has he been popular, since he has a very bad manner with strangers, and he is perfectly aware of it and regrets it very much, but with people with whom he is in sympathy, though not agreeing, he is perfectly open to discussion and even diffident to subordinates. His personal staff have always been strongly attached to him; with them he is always on the most perfectly easy terms, and not in the least exacting.”
In fact Gordon did not wish to be Governor of New Zealand because he abhorred its native policy of which he strongly disapproved. He accepted the post of British High Commissioner for the Western Pacific, which enabled him to oversee Fijian affairs, the reason he consented to come here. His major conflict with the government was over its treatment of Te Whiti who led a passive resistance against European confiscation of Maori land. Te Whiti was educated at a mission school and identified as a teacher and spiritual leader. When he left the school he set up a flour mill near New Plymouth, living peacefully there till colonial troops burned his village in 1865. He then moved to Parihaka south-west of New Plymouth where he gave sanctuary to disaffected Maori but would not let his followers engage in warfare. However, he was opposed to any land being sold to Europeans and claimed that 16,000 acres seized in Taranaki should be returned.
When Gordon arrived in New Zealand in 1880 his first report was about this dispute which caused concern in Britain. His sympathies were with Maori and he angered his ministers by informing the Secretary of State that they were in the right. In 1881 he left New Zealand to visit Fiji and the government took advantage of his absence, using a provocative speech by Te Whiti as a pretext to invade Parihaka. On 5 November, 1600 armed constabulary led by the Native Minister, John Bryce, descended on the settlement to arrest Te Whiti. The 2000 Maori inhabitants put up no resistance. Instead they greeted Bryce’s contingent with bread and song. The soldiers wrecked the settlement and Maori tradition speaks of brutality and rape. Te Whiti was charged with contriving to disturb the peace and imprisoned without trial.
Gordon heard of these developments only through his private secretary and hurried back to New Zealand but two hours before he docked in Wellington the government made legislative moves against Te Whiti and Gordon had to reluctantly take no action as he believed his ministers had the support of the Assembly. A month later the government was returned to power but Gordon firmly refused to allow ministers to see and comment on his account of these controversial matters in his confidential dispatches to the Secretary of State. A constitutional crisis developed when he accused the the ministry of taking unwarranted action against Maori leaders, and was illegally holding them without trial. Te Whiti was released with his mana intact, built up his following again and renewed his policy of passive resistance.
Gordon left New Zealand in 1882 and after his retirement in 1893 was raised to the peerage. He was an active member of the House of Lords committees and frequently spoke on colonial matters. He died in London in 1912 and was buried at All Souls, South Ascot. (DEIRDRE ROELANTS)