An Examination of the Administration of Edward John Eyre as Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of New Munster, New Zealand 1848-1853

Abstract

Many New Zealanders know of Edward John Eyre as a great Australian explorer. Few know that he spent five years in New Zealand as a Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of New Munster under the Governorship of Sir George Grey. That is why Alan Mulgan in the City of the Straits could state that "Eyre is a forgotten figure in New Zealand History." Most of the work so far written and published about Eyre deals with his Australian explorations or with his governorship of Jamaica. There is little written about Eyre as Lieutenant-Governor in New Zealand. Many New Zealand historians ignore him completely, others merely mention him in a sentence or two. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the administration of Eyre as Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of New Munster, during the five years that he held office.