| Commander Willoughby Shortland RN |
|
|---|---|
| Portrait of Willoughby Shortland drawn by his niece. | |
| 1st Colonial Secretary of New Zealand | |
| In office 3 May 1841 – 31 December 1843 |
|
| Governor | William Hobson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 September 1804 Plymouth, Devonshire, England |
| Died | 7 October 1869 (aged 65) Courtlands, Devonshire, England |
| Spouse(s) | Isabella Kate Johnston |
| Relations | Edward Shortland (brother) |
| Occupation | Royal Navy, colonial administrator |
Commander Willoughby Shortland RN (30 September 1804 – 7 October 1869) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He was New Zealand's first Colonial Secretary from 1841, after having arrived in New Zealand with Lieutenant Governor William Hobson in January 1840. He was later President of the island of Nevis and then Governor of Tobago.
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Shortland, born in 1804, was the son of Captain Thomas George Shortland. Edward Shortland and Peter Frederick Shortland were his brothers. Willoughby was educated at the Royal Naval College, and entered the service on 9 January 1818. Being gazetted a lieutenant on 18 August 1828, he served in the Galatea, 42 guns, and in the following year in the Ranger, 28 guns, on the Jamaica station. On 21 March 1831 he took the command of the Skipjack, a schooner of 5 guns, and in her remained in the West Indies until June 1833.[1]
On 1 July 1864 he was gazetted a retired commander in the navy.[1]
In 1839 he accompanied Captain William Hobson, the first governor of New Zealand, to that colony, which had not then been annexed by England. Landing at Auckland on 29 January 1840, the British sovereignty was proclaimed, and Lieutenant Shortland appointed colonial secretary. He proceeded to Port Nicholson, Wellington, and the English living there very willingly acknowledged Queen Victoria's authority and Shortland's nomination as their police magistrate. Shortland was appointed the first Colonial Secretary on 3 May 1841.[2]
On the death of Captain Hobson on 10 September 1842, the lieutenant administered the government of New Zealand until the arrival of Captain Robert FitzRoy on 31 December 1843. During Shortland's temporary government the Wairau Affray took place on 17 June 1843, and in his dispatches to the British government he expressed his disapproval of the conduct of the settlers, to which he attributed the massacre. This action made him unpopular, and, when a report of his nomination as Governor of New Zealand was circulated, a petition was sent from Auckland praying that he might not be appointed.[1] On 31 December 1843 he was dismissed from the colonial secretaryship by FitzRoy.[2]
In 1845 became President of the island of Nevis in the Leeward Islands. After that, he was Governor of Tobago from 10 January 1854 until 1856, and then, returning to England, resided on his property, Courtlands, Charleton, Kingsbridge, Devon, until his death.[1]
He married, in 1841 in Auckland, Isabella Kate Johnston, daughter of Robert A. Fitzgerald of Geraldine, County Limerick. He died at Courtlands on 7 October 1869.[1]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Colonial Secretary of New Zealand 1841–1843 |
Succeeded by Andrew Sinclair |