Frederick Weld: a political biography

Abstract

Frederick Weld arrived in New Zealand early in 1884, an unassuming and shy twenty-year old with high hopes and modest assets. He left the colony two decades later, a well-regarded and prominent citizen whose reputation was regarded by imperial authorities as ample qualification for appointment to a colonial governorship. Following a successful term of office in Western Australia, he was promoted to Tasmania and thence to the Straits Settlements, from which post he retired in 1887. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how Weld’s colonial experience greatly influenced the nature of his administrations and to illustrate how his outlook gradually changed from one of a colonist to that of a servant of empire.