Nelson c1870 painted by William Fox, Ref WC-064
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand,
Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
William Fox
William Fox was born in 1812, the third son of George Townshend Fox and Anne Stote Crofton.
BA 1832 MA 1839 Oxford.
Inner Temple 1838 called to the Bar 1842.
Emigrated to NZ on the "George Fyfe" Nov 1842 with his wife, Sarah Halcomb.
Became editor of the "NZ Gazette and Wellington Spectator."
After the death of Arthur Wakefield in the Wairau incident he became Resident Agent for the NZ Company in Nelson (1843-1848) where he showed a strong capacity for administration of the struggling settlement.
Nelson c1870 painted by William Fox, Ref WC-064
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand,
Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
1843 -was one of the first Europeans to journey into Wairarapa
1845 -explored the Buller Gorge with Brunner & Heaphey
1846 -explored Banks Peninsular & Otago
On the coast near Kai-terri-terri, Blind Bay.
Jan. 1846 by Willian Fox Reference No. C-013-007
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand,
Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
Fox was a talented and prolific painter of landscapes; his early paintings of Nelson & Wairarapa are significant in NZ's art history,
His realistic style was largely free of the romantic anglicisation prevalent in many other artist's work of the time.
1841-1851 On the death of William Wakefield he became Principal Agent for the NZ Company.
1851 travelled to England to discuss the form of the colony's new constitution.
In 1849 he purchased 5000
acres in Rangitikei, named Westoe after his birthplace in Durham
(the property was managed by AWF Halcombe)
Westoe, the house of William Fox (1812-1893), on Karkariki Road, in Rangitikei.
Photograph taken by William James Harding, circa 1875.
Ref 1/1-000154 Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand,
Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
Fox entered politics in 1855 and served as Premier four times (1856, 1861, 1869, 1873) but always in short-lived ministries.
He was better at bringing down a government than governing, tending to react to events rather than to inititate. This lack of vision meant he was often dominated behind the scenes by more astute politicians and thus often appeared inconsistent with his policies.
He retired from politics in 1881 but continued to campaign vigorously for temperance. His last political appointment was Land Commissioner in Taranaki and he succeeded in achieving a peaceful solution to the land problems created by confiscation of Maori land during his premiership of the 1860's.
Sir William Fox as an elderly man. Photograph by Hemus & Hanna of Auckland, circa 1890. Ref 1-001322
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand,
Te Puna Matauranga o Aotearoa must be obtained before any re-use of this image.
At the age of 80 he climbed Mt
Taranaki and died a year later in 1893.
Wiiliam and Sarah Fox had no children but "adopted" a Maori child, William Fox Omahuru. He trained as a lawyer but returned to his whanau and became a follower of Te Whiti at Parihaka.
Sources:
Orange C.(ed) Dictionary
of New Zealand Biography Vol 2 1870-1900
Wellington: Bridget Williams Books, Dept of
Internal Affairs, 1993.
New Zealand's Heritage: The Making of a Nation (21 vols)
Sydney; Hamlyn House, 1971.
Walker P. The Fox Boy -The Story of an Abducted Child
London; Bloomsbury Publishing, 2001.
The Myers Family History -William Fox
Cathy Clarke, Whangarei, New Zealand
email; mel.clarke@clear.net.nz
Last updated 29 May 2003
