Lecture explores untold story of Governor’s wife
victoria-university-of-wellington
Tue Aug 03 2010 12:00:00 GMT+1200 (New Zealand Standard Time)
Lecture explores untold story of Governor’s wife
Tuesday, 3 August 2010, 1:24 pm
Press Release: Victoria University of Wellington
History lecture explores untold story of Governor’s wife
A hundred and fifty years ago, a woman wrote down her thoughts about the land war in Taranaki, an account that wasn’t published until 100 years later.
That woman was Harriet Gore Browne, wife of Thomas Gore Browne, the governor of New Zealand who took the colony to war in 1860 over land at Waitara.
Harriet’s account and thoughts on the war will be explored by Victoria University Professor Charlotte Macdonald in her inaugural professorial lecture on Tuesday 3 August, titled ‘The Skeleton in My Life’: Harriet Gore Browne’s 19th Century Problem.
The new Professor says that Harriet Gore Browne wrote a long, narrative account because she was deeply perplexed by events.
“There was intense criticism of her Governor husband, with a war of words on paper as pamphlets on both sides of the debate tried to persuade opinion here and in Britain. Churchman Octavius Hadfield and former Chief Justice William Martin, for example, were both vocal critics of the Government over the Taranaki war. It was in this environment that Harriet wrote,” says Professor Macdonald
Harriet Gore Brown, 22 years younger than her husband, was admired and respected by those who knew her, but her views on the war proved difficult at the time and since, notes the Victoria history professor. In her lecture, Professor Macdonald will look at Harriet’s predicament.
“Harriet was a highly intelligent woman and intensely interested in politics. However, due to conventions of the time, she had no real voice or formal part to play; her thoughts were known only to herself.
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“I think she wrote with the intention of putting forward the case about why the war happened, but it was to prove a ‘skeleton’ that haunted her. In the end, the account was not published for another hundred years,” says Professor Macdonald.
The lecture will place the story of Harriet and her account in the bigger picture of changing views of the 19th century.
“The war in Taranaki is a tragic period in 19th century New Zealand history and much has been written about the Governor’s decision and the military campaign. One of the stories that’s less well known, however, is the story of Harriet Gore Browne.”
Victoria University Vice-Chancellor Professor Pat Walsh says Professor Macdonald has an outstanding reputation within her area of study.
“Professor Macdonald’s research has contributed much to our understanding of New Zealand history, particularly of the women who emigrated here in the 19th century. A core focus for her has been the often tumultuous lives of these women who had come to a young country at the end of the earth.”
Professor Walsh says Victoria’s Inaugural Lecture series is an opportunity for new professors to provide family, friends, colleagues and the wider community with an insight into their specialist area of study.
“It is also an opportunity for the University to celebrate and acknowledge our valued professors.”
ENDS
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