Thomas Forsaith
Encyclopedia
Thomas Spencer Forsaith, JP
(18 July 1814 – 29 November 1898), was a New Zealand
politician
and an Auckland
draper. According to some historian
s, he was the country's second Premier
, although a more conventional view states that neither he nor his predecessor (James FitzGerald
) should properly be given that title.
on 18 July 1814 to Samuel Forsaith (1776–1832) and Elizabeth Forsaith née Emberson (1782–1844). His father was a linen draper
and haberdasher
. His parents belonged to the Congregational church
.
His father's first marriage was to Elizabeth Smyth (1771 – 23 September 1809). They had five children:
Of those, Samuel emigrated to New Zealand, arriving in Auckland
prior to May 1851. He died in Thames
in 1894.
After his first wife's death in September 1809, Samuel Forsaith married Elizabeth née Emberson on 4 October 1810. They had nine children:
Apart from Thomas Spencer Forsaith, his sister Hephzibah also emigrated to New Zealand; in 1847 on theElora. All other siblings and his parents remained in England.
Thomas Forsaith became an apprentice as a silk merchant in Croydon
, but he rather wanted to go to sea. As a cabin boy, he travelled on a collier
to the River Tyne
. He then made three journeys to the West Indies
as a cadet officer for Charles Horsfall
and Co. on the Huddersfield (named after Horsfall's birthplace). He returned home with a good reference, but found that his father had died in the meantime. As a fourth officer, he sailed on the convict ship
Hoogley to Botany Bay
in 1834. Two years later, he again sailed to Australia
, this time on the Lord Goderich. He first came to New Zealand on the return journey, when Kauri
spars were loaded in Hokianga
.
Forsaith was married on 17 May 1838 at the Congregational Church in Old Broad Street, London to Elizabeth Mary, a daughter of Robert Clements of Hoxton
. Their wedding was one of the first in a dissenting church that was legalised. They decided to emigrate to New Zealand and Forsaith took woodworking machinery and trading goods with them on the Coromandel later in 1838.
. He bought land in 1839 on the Wairoa River
near present day Dargaville
. He was likely to have been the first European settler in the area. He built a timber mill for cutting Kauri spars, as the British Government was purchasing these at £17 each. He cleared land for wheat and running cattle, which he had to import. By May 1841, he had fenced 12 acres of cleared land, most of it growing wheat.
While the Forsaiths were visiting Sydney
in February 1842, the discovery of a Māori skull on their property caused serious trouble, as Māori chiefs claimed a tapu and ransacked the station as utu
. An upset Forsaith asked the Governor
(William Hobson
) for compensation, who sent the Protector of Aborigines, George Clarke, to investigate. Forsaith was cleared of any wrongdoing, and the Māori chiefs settled by giving him a block of land of 10 square kilometres (2,471.1 acre). Forsaith, still unsettled by the incident, swapped his land holding with another nearer Auckland
. Clarke, who had held his role since April 1840, had not visited the Kaipa District before and made recommendations for a magistracy there.
On 30 October 1843, Charlotte Clements Forsaith was born in Auckland; she was their only child. She was baptised on 5 December that year. She married Thomas Morell MacDonald at her father's residence in Khyber Pass Road, Auckland, on 7 January 1862. Their grandson Thomas Lachlan MacDonald (1898–1980) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament
for over 20 years. Charlotte died on 12 December 1894 in Invercargill.
and his knowledge of their customs, offered him the role of Sub-protector of Aborigines, which he accepted. Forsaith was thus reporting to Clarke. They were working in the Protectorate Department created by Hobson, following instructions from the British secretary of state for the colonies. The department's role was "to watch over the interests of the Aborigines as their protector" and had religious, social and intellectual aspects. It was also given a second role, which conflicted with the first; since the Treaty of Waitangi
, the Crown was the sole purchaser of Māori land, and the department's role was to action the purchases. Clarke managed to persuade Hobson to free him of the land purchase role, but it remained within the scope of the Sub-protectors.
In 1843, Forsaith was promoted to Protector in succession of Clarke. Forsaith worked closely with the second Governor, Robert FitzRoy
. They travelled in the Cook Strait
area in 1844, and to the Māori meeting at Waikanae
following the Wairau Affray
near Tuamarina
, the first serious clash of arms between Māori and colonists. Forsaith was then stationed in Wellington
and witnessed the Te Aro
land purchase in February 1844. He negotiated with Te Rangihaeata
about the evacuation of land in the Hutt Valley, but the actions of the New Zealand Company
and the impatience of the settlers to move onto disputed land resulted in the Hutt Valley Campaign
. He acted as interpreter for Mathew Richmond, the Government Superintendent for the Southern District, and Bishop Selwyn
, the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand
. When the influential chief Te Rauparaha
visited Wellington in 1845, he was shown around by Forsaith.
In 1846, the department was abolished by the next Governor, George Grey
, as he wanted to have influence over Māori issues himself. Grey appointed a Native Secretary instead. Forsaith left Government employment in the following year.
. He had this business from 1847 to 1862. He also edited the Southern Cross newspaper for a while. He became a Justice of the peace
in 1857.
) and Forsaith were returned. The Council had not met by the time the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852
arrived, which resulted in the abolition of New Ulster and New Munster, and established, amongst other things, a bicameral
Parliament of New Zealand
, consisting of the General Assembly
, the Governor, and a Legislative Council
.
Forsaith once again stood for election and he and Walter Lee
were returned on 23 August 1853 to the 1st New Zealand Parliament
as representatives of the Northern Division electorate
, which covered the area north of Auckland
but south of Whangarei
.
The Fitzgerald Executive was the first Executive Council under the 1852 Constitution led by James FitzGerald
. When it became clear that the first ministers had no power, they resigned as the Executive after seven weeks on 2 August 1854. Robert Wynyard
, the administrator
filling in after Grey's departure and before the arrival of the next Governor, Colonel Thomas Gore Browne
prorogued Parliament as the members refused to accept his claim that responsible government was not possible without royal assent, which had not been given. In the second session of the 1st Parliament, Forsaith, as a member of the minority which supported Wynyard, was appointed by Wynyard to lead an Executive. The other members of this Executive were Edward Jerningham Wakefield
, William Travers and James Macandrew
. This appointed Cabinet
did not have the confidence of Parliament and lasted only from 31 August to 2 September 1854. Forsaith's Ministry is the shortest in New Zealand's parliamentary history.
When Browne arrived, he announced that self-government would begin with the 2nd New Zealand Parliament
. No new Cabinet was formed before then, but when it did, responsible government
was obtained under the Sewell Ministry
led by Henry Sewell
.
In the 1855 general election
, Northern Division was contested by four candidates. The two incumbents, Forsaith and Lee, stood against Thomas Henderson
and Joseph May (who would later become a prominent member of the Auckland Provincial Council). They received 292, 294, 363 and 213 votes, respectively. Henderson and Lee were thus declared elected, and Forsaith was beaten by two votes.
Forsaith and Reader Wood
contested a vacancy in the City of Auckland electorate. The nomination meeting on 26 April 1858 sparked little interest. A show of hands was in favour of Forsaith, and Wood called for a poll. The election was held the next day and Forsaith was elected. Parliament at the time was in session, and he took the oath on 28 April, being welcomed back by the speaker.
Wiremu Kingi
, the paramount chief of Te Āti Awa
, refused to sell land to the government. When Te Teira, one of the minor chiefs of the tribe, agreed to sell land, many missionaries and a previous Chief Justice, William Martin, warned that the purchase was illegal. The events resulted in the First Taranaki War
. Forsaith supported
Kingi in Parliament and made himself deeply unpopular, which effectively ended his political career. He retired at the end of the 2nd Parliament.
Forsaith was a deeply religious person, and he gave religious lectures to the public while he was a member of parliament. During his time in the 1st Parliament, he tried to secure religious toleration. He successfully defeated Hugh Carleton
's motion of having Bishop Selwyn
's salary paid by the Government, thus preventing the Anglican Church
to become the one religion endorsed by the state.
, but the Presbytery in Dunedin
voted against licensing him, as he hadn't completed his studies yet. The view was held that a "minister of the Gospel should be able to read at least the New Testament
in the original [Greek] text". Instead, Forsaith was offered a missionary post to the gold fields, which he declined. In July of that year, he was instead ordained as a pastor
at the new Congregational Church at Port Chalmers
.
In 1867, Forsaith accepted an invitation for a pastorate at Woollahra
. His health had suffered over the winter, and apparently he hoped for an improvement in the warmer climate. He left New Zealand on board the Parisian on 23 September 1867. In 1868, he moved to Parramatta
, where he initially held services in the School of Arts. A church was built for the community, which opened on 19 May 1872. Also in 1872, Forsaith became chairman of the Congregational Union of New South Wales
. In 1874, he acquired Morton House in Melville St, Parramatta, the house of the solicitor John Morton Gould, father of Albert Gould
. Morton House remained the principal family residence for the rest of his life.
In 1878, he became resident chaplain at Camden College
, a theological college
founded in 1864. From there, he initiated a branch mission at Haslam's Creek
, but moved back to Parramatta in 1882.
Subsequent to this, a period of travel started. He went to New Zealand (he left Melbourne
for New Zealand in March 1882 on the Rotomahana), America, Canada and Europe, including lecture series in Britain (which attracted many new immigrants to New Zealand) and officiating at the Presbyterian Church in Venice
. He returned to Melbourne from Britain in April 1884 on the Berengaria. He then relieved at churches in Australia, Dunedin
and Invercargill
.
in Canberra
. Forsaith died on 29 November 1898 in Parramatta. He is buried at Rookwood Cemetery
, sharing a grave with his wife, who died on 29 January 1900. Their daughter had died before them in 1894, and her husband Thomas Morell MacDonald was one of the executors of Thomas Forsaith's will.
He was described as "calmly spending the evening of life in the midst of the orange groves at Parramatta, a venerable, vigorous, and versatile octogenarian colonist."
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
(18 July 1814 – 29 November 1898), was a New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
and an Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
draper. According to some historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
s, he was the country's second Premier
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
, although a more conventional view states that neither he nor his predecessor (James FitzGerald
James FitzGerald
James Edward FitzGerald was a New Zealand politician. According to some historians, he should be considered the country's first Prime Minister, although a more conventional view is that neither he nor his successor should properly be given that title. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand...
) should properly be given that title.
Early life
Forsaith was born in London, MiddlesexCity of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
on 18 July 1814 to Samuel Forsaith (1776–1832) and Elizabeth Forsaith née Emberson (1782–1844). His father was a linen draper
Draper
Draper is the now largely obsolete term for a wholesaler, or especially retailer, of cloth, mainly for clothing, or one who works in a draper's shop. A draper may additionally operate as a cloth merchant or a haberdasher. The drapers were an important trade guild...
and haberdasher
Haberdasher
A haberdasher is a person who sells small articles for sewing, such as buttons, ribbons, zips, and other notions. In American English, haberdasher is another term for a men's outfitter. A haberdasher's shop or the items sold therein are called haberdashery.-Origin and use:The word appears in...
. His parents belonged to the Congregational church
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
.
His father's first marriage was to Elizabeth Smyth (1771 – 23 September 1809). They had five children:
- Sarah Smyth Forsaith (4 August 1801 – 26 April 1854)
- Samuel Smyth Forsaith (21 January 1803 – 1 April 1894)
- John Smyth Forsaith (8 October 1804 – 31 July 1883)
- Elizabeth Smyth Forsaith (21 May 1806 – 12 August 1809)
- Mary Smyth Forsaith (19 February 1808 – 3 June 1845)
Of those, Samuel emigrated to New Zealand, arriving in Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
prior to May 1851. He died in Thames
Thames, New Zealand
Thames is a town at the southwestern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Firth of Thames close to the mouth of the Waihou River. The town is the seat of the Thames-Coromandel District Council....
in 1894.
After his first wife's death in September 1809, Samuel Forsaith married Elizabeth née Emberson on 4 October 1810. They had nine children:
- Elizabeth Forsaith (10 July 1811 – 2 July 1841)
- Thomas Forsaith (7 December 1812 – 16 February 1813)
- Thomas Spencer Forsaith (18 July 1814 – 29 November 1898)
- Hannah Forsaith (1 March 1816 – 2 May 1819)
- Phebe Forsaith (6 July 1817 – 6 February 1819)
- David Forsaith (21 June 1819 – 5 September 1819)
- Robert Forsaith (11 July 1820 – 23 May 1883)
- Josiah Forsaith (29 April 1822 – 8 May 1883)
- Hephzibah Forsaith (24 July 1824 – 21 December 1897)
Apart from Thomas Spencer Forsaith, his sister Hephzibah also emigrated to New Zealand; in 1847 on theElora. All other siblings and his parents remained in England.
Thomas Forsaith became an apprentice as a silk merchant in Croydon
Croydon
Croydon is a town in South London, England, located within the London Borough of Croydon to which it gives its name. It is situated south of Charing Cross...
, but he rather wanted to go to sea. As a cabin boy, he travelled on a collier
Collier (ship type)
Collier is a historical term used to describe a bulk cargo ship designed to carry coal, especially for naval use by coal-fired warships. In the late 18th century a number of wooden-hulled sailing colliers gained fame after being adapted for use in voyages of exploration in the South Pacific, for...
to the River Tyne
River Tyne
The River Tyne is a river in North East England in Great Britain. It is formed by the confluence of two rivers: the North Tyne and the South Tyne. These two rivers converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Waters'.The North Tyne rises on the...
. He then made three journeys to the West Indies
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
as a cadet officer for Charles Horsfall
Charles Horsfall
Charles Horsfall was Bailiff and then Lord Mayor of Liverpool from 1832–1833.Horsfall was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, and was the son of Joseph Horsfall and Anna Hodgson....
and Co. on the Huddersfield (named after Horsfall's birthplace). He returned home with a good reference, but found that his father had died in the meantime. As a fourth officer, he sailed on the convict ship
Convict ship
The term convict ship is a colloquial term used to describe any ship engaged on a voyage to carry convicted felons under sentence of penal transportation from their place of conviction to their place of exile.-Colonial practice:...
Hoogley to Botany Bay
Botany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
in 1834. Two years later, he again sailed to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, this time on the Lord Goderich. He first came to New Zealand on the return journey, when Kauri
Agathis
The genus Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammar, is a relatively small genus of 21 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient Araucariaceae family of conifers, a group once widespread during the Jurassic period, but now largely restricted to the Southern Hemisphere except for...
spars were loaded in Hokianga
Hokianga
Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as The Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand....
.
Forsaith was married on 17 May 1838 at the Congregational Church in Old Broad Street, London to Elizabeth Mary, a daughter of Robert Clements of Hoxton
Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...
. Their wedding was one of the first in a dissenting church that was legalised. They decided to emigrate to New Zealand and Forsaith took woodworking machinery and trading goods with them on the Coromandel later in 1838.
Early life in New Zealand
Forsaith established himself as a farmer and trader in the Kaipara DistrictKaipara District
-Geography:Kaipara District is located in the low hills around the northern shores of the Kaipara Harbour, a large natural harbour open to the Tasman Sea...
. He bought land in 1839 on the Wairoa River
Wairoa River, Northland
New Zealand's longest Wairoa River runs for 150 kilometres through the northern part of the North Auckland Peninsula. In the upper reaches, the river is formed from two separate rivers, the Manganui River and - confusingly - the Wairua River. The two streams meet to the northeast of Dargaville,...
near present day Dargaville
Dargaville
Dargaville is a town in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the bank of the Northern Wairoa River in the Northland region. The town is located 55 kilometres southwest of Whangarei....
. He was likely to have been the first European settler in the area. He built a timber mill for cutting Kauri spars, as the British Government was purchasing these at £17 each. He cleared land for wheat and running cattle, which he had to import. By May 1841, he had fenced 12 acres of cleared land, most of it growing wheat.
While the Forsaiths were visiting Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
in February 1842, the discovery of a Māori skull on their property caused serious trouble, as Māori chiefs claimed a tapu and ransacked the station as utu
Utu (Maori concept)
Utu is a Māori concept of reciprocation, or balance.To retain mana, both friendly and unfriendly actions require an appropriate response - hence utu covers both the reciprocation of kind deeds, and the seeking of revenge....
. An upset Forsaith asked the Governor
Governor-General of New Zealand
The Governor-General of New Zealand is the representative of the monarch of New Zealand . The Governor-General acts as the Queen's vice-regal representative in New Zealand and is often viewed as the de facto head of state....
(William Hobson
William Hobson
Captain William Hobson RN was the first Governor of New Zealand and co-author of the Treaty of Waitangi.-Early life:...
) for compensation, who sent the Protector of Aborigines, George Clarke, to investigate. Forsaith was cleared of any wrongdoing, and the Māori chiefs settled by giving him a block of land of 10 square kilometres (2,471.1 acre). Forsaith, still unsettled by the incident, swapped his land holding with another nearer Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
. Clarke, who had held his role since April 1840, had not visited the Kaipa District before and made recommendations for a magistracy there.
On 30 October 1843, Charlotte Clements Forsaith was born in Auckland; she was their only child. She was baptised on 5 December that year. She married Thomas Morell MacDonald at her father's residence in Khyber Pass Road, Auckland, on 7 January 1862. Their grandson Thomas Lachlan MacDonald (1898–1980) was a New Zealand Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for over 20 years. Charlotte died on 12 December 1894 in Invercargill.
Protectorate Department
Hobson, impressed by Forsaith's command of the Māori languageMaori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
and his knowledge of their customs, offered him the role of Sub-protector of Aborigines, which he accepted. Forsaith was thus reporting to Clarke. They were working in the Protectorate Department created by Hobson, following instructions from the British secretary of state for the colonies. The department's role was "to watch over the interests of the Aborigines as their protector" and had religious, social and intellectual aspects. It was also given a second role, which conflicted with the first; since the Treaty of Waitangi
Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty of Waitangi is a treaty first signed on 6 February 1840 by representatives of the British Crown and various Māori chiefs from the North Island of New Zealand....
, the Crown was the sole purchaser of Māori land, and the department's role was to action the purchases. Clarke managed to persuade Hobson to free him of the land purchase role, but it remained within the scope of the Sub-protectors.
In 1843, Forsaith was promoted to Protector in succession of Clarke. Forsaith worked closely with the second Governor, Robert FitzRoy
Robert FitzRoy
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality...
. They travelled in the Cook Strait
Cook Strait
Cook Strait is the strait between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the west with the South Pacific Ocean on the east....
area in 1844, and to the Māori meeting at Waikanae
Waikanae
Waikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand....
following the Wairau Affray
Wairau Affray
In New Zealand history, the Wairau Affray on 17 June 1843 was the first serious clash of arms between Māori and the British settlers after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, and the only one to take place in the South Island...
near Tuamarina
Tuamarina
Tuamarina is a locality in Marlborough, New Zealand. State Highway 1 runs through the area. The Tuamarina River joins the Wairau River just south of the settlement. Picton is about 18 km to the north, and Blenheim is about 10 km to the south.The name is a corruption of the Māori word Tuamarino,...
, the first serious clash of arms between Māori and colonists. Forsaith was then stationed in Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and witnessed the Te Aro
Te Aro
Te Aro is an inner-city suburb of Wellington, New Zealand, 1 km from the centre. It comprises the southern part of the central business district including the majority of the city's entertainment district and covers the mostly flat area of city between The Terrace and Cambridge Terrace at the base...
land purchase in February 1844. He negotiated with Te Rangihaeata
Te Rangihaeata
Te Rangihaeata , was a Ngāti Toa chief, nephew of Te Rauparaha. He had a leading part in the Wairau Affray and the Hutt Valley Campaign.-Early life:...
about the evacuation of land in the Hutt Valley, but the actions of the New Zealand Company
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
and the impatience of the settlers to move onto disputed land resulted in the Hutt Valley Campaign
Hutt Valley Campaign
The Hutt Valley Campaign of 1846 during the New Zealand land wars could almost be seen as a sequel to the Wairau Affray. The causes were similar and the protagonists almost the same...
. He acted as interpreter for Mathew Richmond, the Government Superintendent for the Southern District, and Bishop Selwyn
George Augustus Selwyn
George Augustus Selwyn was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand from 1841 to 1858. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was Primate of New Zealand from 1858 to 1868. He was Bishop of Lichfield from 1868 to 1878...
, the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand
Archbishop of New Zealand
The Archbishop of New Zealand is the primate, or head, of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. However, since Whakahuihui Vercoe stepped down at the end of his two-year term as archbishop in 2006, the church has decided that three bishops shall share the position and style of...
. When the influential chief Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha was a Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars. He was influential in the original sale of conquered Rangitane land to the New Zealand Company and was a participant in the Wairau Incident in Marlborough...
visited Wellington in 1845, he was shown around by Forsaith.
In 1846, the department was abolished by the next Governor, George Grey
George Grey
George Grey may refer to:*Sir George Grey, 2nd Baronet , British politician*George Grey, 2nd Earl of Kent *Sir George Grey , Governor of Cape Colony, South Australia and New Zealand...
, as he wanted to have influence over Māori issues himself. Grey appointed a Native Secretary instead. Forsaith left Government employment in the following year.
Business interests
Forsaith opened a drapery store in Auckland's Queen StreetQueen Street, Auckland
Queen Street is the major commercial thoroughfare in the Auckland CBD, Auckland, New Zealand's main population centre. It starts at Queens Wharf on the Auckland waterfront, adjacent to the Britomart Transport Centre and the Downtown Ferry Terminal, and runs uphill for almost three kilometres in a...
. He had this business from 1847 to 1862. He also edited the Southern Cross newspaper for a while. He became a Justice of the peace
Justice of the Peace
A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...
in 1857.
New Ulster Council
The Proclamation of 1852 stipulated that the New Ulster Council, which had been in place since 1848, was to have twelve elected and six nominated members. Forsaith was asked by a group of electors to become a candidate. Elections in the Northern Division District were held on 31 August 1852, and Allan O'Neill (from BayswaterBayswater, New Zealand
Bayswater is a suburb of Auckland City in New Zealand. It lies on a peninsula which juts into the Waitemata Harbour. The population was 2,307 in the 2006 Census, a reduction of 3 people from 2001....
) and Forsaith were returned. The Council had not met by the time the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852
New Zealand Constitution Act 1852
The New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that granted self-government to the colony of New Zealand...
arrived, which resulted in the abolition of New Ulster and New Munster, and established, amongst other things, a bicameral
Bicameralism
In the government, bicameralism is the practice of having two legislative or parliamentary chambers. Thus, a bicameral parliament or bicameral legislature is a legislature which consists of two chambers or houses....
Parliament of New Zealand
Parliament of New Zealand
The Parliament of New Zealand consists of the Queen of New Zealand and the New Zealand House of Representatives and, until 1951, the New Zealand Legislative Council. The House of Representatives is often referred to as "Parliament".The House of Representatives usually consists of 120 Members of...
, consisting of the General Assembly
New Zealand House of Representatives
The New Zealand House of Representatives is the sole chamber of the legislature of New Zealand. The House and the Queen of New Zealand form the New Zealand Parliament....
, the Governor, and a Legislative Council
New Zealand Legislative Council
The Legislative Council of New Zealand was the upper house of the New Zealand Parliament from 1853 until 1951. Unlike the lower house, the New Zealand House of Representatives, the Legislative Council was appointed.-Role:...
.
Parliament
Forsaith once again stood for election and he and Walter Lee
Walter Lee (New Zealand)
Walter Lee was a 19th century New Zealand politician.He represented the Northern Division in the 1st Parliament and the 2nd Parliament; serving from 1853 to 1860, when he retired....
were returned on 23 August 1853 to the 1st New Zealand Parliament
1st New Zealand Parliament
The 1st New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 24 May 1854, following New Zealand's first general election . It was dissolved on 15 September 1855 in preparation for that year's election...
as representatives of the Northern Division electorate
Northern Division (New Zealand electorate)
Northern Division was a two-member parliamentary electorate in the Auckland Region, New Zealand from 1853 to 1870.-Geographic distribution:The electorate was north of Auckland; originally nearly to Whangarei, but from 1860 to just north of Warkworth....
, which covered the area north of Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
but south of Whangarei
Whangarei
Whangarei, pronounced , is the northernmost city in New Zealand and the regional capital of Northland Region. Although commonly classified as a city, it is officially part of the Whangarei District, administered by the Whangarei District Council a local body created in 1989 to administer both the...
.
The Fitzgerald Executive was the first Executive Council under the 1852 Constitution led by James FitzGerald
James FitzGerald
James Edward FitzGerald was a New Zealand politician. According to some historians, he should be considered the country's first Prime Minister, although a more conventional view is that neither he nor his successor should properly be given that title. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand...
. When it became clear that the first ministers had no power, they resigned as the Executive after seven weeks on 2 August 1854. Robert Wynyard
Robert Wynyard
Sir Robert Henry Wynyard was a New Zealand colonial administrator, serving at various times as Lieutenant Governor of New Ulster Province, Administrator of the Government, and was the first Superintendent of Auckland Province.-Lieutenant Governor of New Ulster:From 26 April 1851 to 7 March 1853,...
, the administrator
Administrator of the Government
An Administrator in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a Governor or a Governor-General...
filling in after Grey's departure and before the arrival of the next Governor, Colonel Thomas Gore Browne
Thomas Gore Browne
Colonel Sir Thomas Robert Gore Browne KCMG CB was a British colonial administrator, who was Governor of St Helena, Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Tasmania and Governor of Bermuda.-Early life:...
prorogued Parliament as the members refused to accept his claim that responsible government was not possible without royal assent, which had not been given. In the second session of the 1st Parliament, Forsaith, as a member of the minority which supported Wynyard, was appointed by Wynyard to lead an Executive. The other members of this Executive were Edward Jerningham Wakefield
Edward Jerningham Wakefield
Edward Jerningham Wakefield was the only son of Edward Gibbon Wakefield. He was born in London, and educated in England and France....
, William Travers and James Macandrew
James Macandrew
James Macandrew was a New Zealand ship-owner and politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1853 to 1887 and as the last Superintendent of Otago Province.-Early life:...
. This appointed Cabinet
New Zealand Cabinet
The Cabinet of New Zealand functions as the policy and decision-making body of the executive branch within the New Zealand government system...
did not have the confidence of Parliament and lasted only from 31 August to 2 September 1854. Forsaith's Ministry is the shortest in New Zealand's parliamentary history.
When Browne arrived, he announced that self-government would begin with the 2nd New Zealand Parliament
2nd New Zealand Parliament
The 2nd New Zealand Parliament was a term of the Parliament of New Zealand. It opened on 15 April 1856, following New Zealand's 1855 election. It was dissolved on 5 November 1860 in preparation for 1860–61 election...
. No new Cabinet was formed before then, but when it did, responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
was obtained under the Sewell Ministry
Sewell Ministry, 1856
The Sewell Ministry was the first responsible government in New Zealand. It formed in 1856, but lasted only one month, from 18 April to 20 May. From 7 May onwards, Henry Sewell was Colonial Secretary, considered to be the equivalent of Prime Minister...
led by Henry Sewell
Henry Sewell
Henry Sewell was a prominent 19th century New Zealand politician. He was a notable campaigner for New Zealand self-government, and is generally regarded as having been the country's first Premier, having led the Sewell Ministry in 1856.-Early life:Sewell was born on 7 September 1807 in the town of...
.
In the 1855 general election
New Zealand general election, 1855
The 1855 New Zealand general election was a nationwide vote to determine the shape of the New Zealand Parliament's 2nd term. It was the second national election ever held in New Zealand, and the first one which elected a Parliament that had full authority to govern the colony.-Background:The first...
, Northern Division was contested by four candidates. The two incumbents, Forsaith and Lee, stood against Thomas Henderson
Thomas Henderson (New Zealand)
Thomas Maxwell Henderson was a New Zealand politician. He was one of the earliest settlers in Auckland. He was a significant entrepreneur, and the Auckland suburb of Henderson bears his name.-Early life:...
and Joseph May (who would later become a prominent member of the Auckland Provincial Council). They received 292, 294, 363 and 213 votes, respectively. Henderson and Lee were thus declared elected, and Forsaith was beaten by two votes.
Forsaith and Reader Wood
Reader Wood
Reader Gilson Wood was a 19th century New Zealand politician.He was the Member of Parliament for Parnell from 1861 to 1865 , then 1870 to 1878 ; then for Waitemata from 1879 to 1881, when he retired from politics....
contested a vacancy in the City of Auckland electorate. The nomination meeting on 26 April 1858 sparked little interest. A show of hands was in favour of Forsaith, and Wood called for a poll. The election was held the next day and Forsaith was elected. Parliament at the time was in session, and he took the oath on 28 April, being welcomed back by the speaker.
Wiremu Kingi
Wiremu Kingi
Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake , Māori Chief of the Te Āti Awa Tribe, was leader of the Māori forces in the First Taranaki War....
, the paramount chief of Te Āti Awa
Te Ati Awa
Te Āti Awa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with around 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in Wellington and around 5,000 of unspecified regional location.-Geographical...
, refused to sell land to the government. When Te Teira, one of the minor chiefs of the tribe, agreed to sell land, many missionaries and a previous Chief Justice, William Martin, warned that the purchase was illegal. The events resulted in the First Taranaki War
First Taranaki War
The First Taranaki War was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from March 1860 to March 1861....
. Forsaith supported
Kingi in Parliament and made himself deeply unpopular, which effectively ended his political career. He retired at the end of the 2nd Parliament.
Forsaith was a deeply religious person, and he gave religious lectures to the public while he was a member of parliament. During his time in the 1st Parliament, he tried to secure religious toleration. He successfully defeated Hugh Carleton
Hugh Carleton
Hugh Francis Carleton was New Zealand's first ever Member of Parliament.-New Zealand:He was a member of New Zealand's first, second, third, and fourth Parliaments, representing the Bay of Islands electorate from 1853 to 1870...
's motion of having Bishop Selwyn
George Augustus Selwyn
George Augustus Selwyn was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand from 1841 to 1858. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was Primate of New Zealand from 1858 to 1868. He was Bishop of Lichfield from 1868 to 1878...
's salary paid by the Government, thus preventing the Anglican Church
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
to become the one religion endorsed by the state.
Services to the church
In 1862, Forsaith entered the services of the church. Since 1850, he had belonged to the Presbyterian Church. In early 1865, he was considered to become a minister at the gold fields in TuapekaTuapeka River
The Tuapeka River is located in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. It is a tributary of the Clutha River, which it joins at Tuapeka Mouth between Roxburgh and Balclutha....
, but the Presbytery in Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
voted against licensing him, as he hadn't completed his studies yet. The view was held that a "minister of the Gospel should be able to read at least the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
in the original [Greek] text". Instead, Forsaith was offered a missionary post to the gold fields, which he declined. In July of that year, he was instead ordained as a pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
at the new Congregational Church at Port Chalmers
Port Chalmers
Port Chalmers is a suburb and the main port of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand, with a population of 3,000. Port Chalmers lies ten kilometres inside Otago Harbour, some 15 kilometres northeast from Dunedin's city centre....
.
In 1867, Forsaith accepted an invitation for a pastorate at Woollahra
Woollahra, New South Wales
Woollahra is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woollahra is located 5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Woollahra. The Municipality of Woollahra takes its name from the...
. His health had suffered over the winter, and apparently he hoped for an improvement in the warmer climate. He left New Zealand on board the Parisian on 23 September 1867. In 1868, he moved to Parramatta
Parramatta, New South Wales
Parramatta is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Parramatta River. Parramatta is the administrative seat of the Local Government Area of the City of Parramatta...
, where he initially held services in the School of Arts. A church was built for the community, which opened on 19 May 1872. Also in 1872, Forsaith became chairman of the Congregational Union of New South Wales
Congregational Union of Australia
The Congregational Union of Australia was a Congregational denomination in Australia.Two hundred and sixty of its congregations joined the Uniting Church in Australia, which was formed in 1977 by the union of congregations of the Congregational Union, Methodist Church of Australasia, and...
. In 1874, he acquired Morton House in Melville St, Parramatta, the house of the solicitor John Morton Gould, father of Albert Gould
Albert Gould
Sir Albert John Gould was an Australian politician and solicitor who served as the second President of the Australian Senate....
. Morton House remained the principal family residence for the rest of his life.
In 1878, he became resident chaplain at Camden College
Camden College (Congregational Church school)
Camden College was an independent, Congregational Union of Australia, day and boarding school for boys and theological college for the training of Christian ministers in Sydney from 1864 until 1974. -History:...
, a theological college
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
founded in 1864. From there, he initiated a branch mission at Haslam's Creek
Lidcombe, New South Wales
Lidcombe is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales Australia. Lidcombe is located 14 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of Auburn Council....
, but moved back to Parramatta in 1882.
Subsequent to this, a period of travel started. He went to New Zealand (he left Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
for New Zealand in March 1882 on the Rotomahana), America, Canada and Europe, including lecture series in Britain (which attracted many new immigrants to New Zealand) and officiating at the Presbyterian Church in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. He returned to Melbourne from Britain in April 1884 on the Berengaria. He then relieved at churches in Australia, Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
and Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
.
Death and commemoration
He began his memoirs in early 1898 and wrote a will on 13 June 1898. The will requests that busts of him and his wife be installed at the Congregational Church in Parramatta, but this has never happened. The first twelve chapters of his auto-biography have been lost, but the remaining chapters are held at the National LibraryNational Library of Australia
The National Library of Australia is the largest reference library of Australia, responsible under the terms of the National Library Act for "maintaining and developing a national collection of library material, including a comprehensive collection of library material relating to Australia and the...
in Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
. Forsaith died on 29 November 1898 in Parramatta. He is buried at Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery
Rookwood Cemetery is the largest multicultural necropolis in the Southern Hemisphere, located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, sharing a grave with his wife, who died on 29 January 1900. Their daughter had died before them in 1894, and her husband Thomas Morell MacDonald was one of the executors of Thomas Forsaith's will.
He was described as "calmly spending the evening of life in the midst of the orange groves at Parramatta, a venerable, vigorous, and versatile octogenarian colonist."