The Life of James Busby

I've often found myself under the impression that many historians today hold James Busby in low regard. Many feel that he contributed poorly to the effective running of a new found country without law and order and was seen as a sharp faced man, persistent to the point of nagging and was in all truth quite hopeless at his role as Official British Resident to New Zealand.
Through my research on the man i have however, formed the opposite view of Busby and believe he has been treated too harshly by historians today. I feel I am therefore his advocate and will hopefully by the end of this article leave you with the same feelings of the man who was a strong, intelligent and hardworking leader in early New Zealand history.

Born in Edinburgh in 1802 James Busby grew up in a family able to afford to give him a good home life and education. His passion from his late teens was Viticulture and he toured France and Spain a number of times studying and collecting various vine cuttings. His love of Viticulture caused him to write a number of books and pamphlets on the subject (the earliest of which was entitled, The Culture of the Vine and the Art of Wine Making) showing his advanced knowledge and literary skills from quite an early age.
In 1825 Busby taught Viticulture at a male orphan school showing and crafting his leadership abilities. He lost this position after two years and became a collector of internal revenue. He handled money well adding this skill to the already extensive list of attributes he possessed. However Busby was an ambitious and adventurous young man and his ultimate goal was to work for the government in New South Wales (where he was living at the time.). In 1831 Busby travelled back to Britain. Here he haunted the corridors of the Colonial Office, petitioning and worrying officials for a post. The drive and determination Busby showed in order to secure the position of British Resident is also seen in all his endeavours in New Zealand both before and after annexation. Without his forcefulness and commitment to getting things done and to a high standard, the Treaty of Waitangi would look a lot different without his input and their might not have been a Declaration of independence or a national flag; things that the Maori saw, and still see today as identifying symbols of their unique and individual culture and society.
Wanting to Impress the Colonial Office Busby wrote a number of Pamphlets on issues such as Pauper immigration, the Jury system (his knowledge of the Jury system greatly improved Maori society when he introduced them to it in the years following annexation.), and the state of New Zealand. James Busby’s interest in New Zealand in particular was most probably sparked by his father, John Busby, travelling to New Zealand to undertake mineral surveying when James was only a young boy. No doubt his father had brought home all sorts of stories relating to the strange indigenous people and the wild countryside not unlike his birth place, Scotland.
It was the pamphlet written on the state of New Zealand that finally earned Busby the role of British resident in New Zealand and he set sail for his new home in 1833.
Busby’s experiences before his time in New Zealand as well as his many dreams and aspirations greatly helped and influenced all his actions. He learned valuable skills and was dedicated and committed to all he did. Where others may have failed at the role of Resident Busby took it on with pride using a combination of emotional and physical drive to cause positive and often dramatic change.

Busby had many successes and weaknesses as Resident and views on his appointment were quite controversial. On arrival to New Zealand from Australia in 1833 James Busby was given no military support and very limited monetary funding to carry out his role as Resident. His main ambition while in New Zealand was to create a settled form of Maori Government. Through trying to do this many other things occurred both of a successful and less successful nature which ultimately showed Busby’s strengths and weaknesses.
Busby’s successes lie with the Confederation of United Tribes, New Zealand’s first national flag and the Declaration of Independence.
Many at the time and some still today feel James Busby had an overall unimportant role in New Zealand history pre 1840. Claudia Orange, noted historian says herself that all the British Resident’s role ever grew to was as ‘a race-relations conciliator in disputes between Maori and Pakeha’. However Busby showed that he was able to use the challenges he faced to cause positive and lasting action.
Shortly after his arrival in New Zealand Busby set about forming a confederation of different Maori tribes hoping that it would one day form the independent Maori government he was aiming for. The group known as the Confederation of United Tribes, (C.U.T.) were to meet every autumn and had around 35 members. It was reasonably successful with regards to upholding Busby’s position of Authority and in the making and upholding of laws.
When an unmarked New Zealand naval vessel was seized in Australian Waters Busby set about using the authority he had (little though it was) to create a New Zealand national flag meaning that Boats registered and Made in New Zealand were free to roam the seas and would be recognised as New Zealand naval vessels by other countries. Busby called together the C.U.T. and together they chose a flag. Giving the Maori a say in the flag's design was a good move for Busby as many Maori came to respect him more, something he was going to need in order to make any large amount of change in the country. Although the original New Zealand flag is not recognised by many Pakeha today it is still recognised by many Maori who saw it as a symbol of their identity and unique culture at the time and still today.
Another relatively successful event of Busby’s doing in New Zealand history was the Declaration of Independence.

France and America were looming ever closer to making New Zealand their own so Busby got the Chiefs from the C.U.T. together to sign a quickly produced Declaration of Independence. The Declaration stated that ‘all sovereign power and authority’ was to be given to the hereditary chiefs and heads of tribes while still having Britain as its protector. Giving all power to the Maori may have seemed like a good idea to Busby at the time however it would prove problematic later on whenever Britain would try to intervene and would, consequently, have no power to carry out its plans. Although the Declaration of Independence lasted only a few years it was still extremely important to the Maori giving them so much power at the time and therefore an even great sense of identity. Some Maori today even consider it of greater importance than the Treaty of Waitangi.
Although Busby had very little support while in New Zealand both socially and monetary he still managed to do amazing things and rose to the challenge of being British Resident with vigour and determination which some may feel came across as arrogance. I, however, feel no other man could have done what Busby did with the little resources he had at his disposal and that he should be commended for his achievements.

James Busby was very influential with regards to the Treaty of Waitangi. He had great influence in the writing, signing, numbers attending and venue that made up the events on the 6th of February 1840.
Captain William Hobson delegated Busby the task of writing and sending Treaty invitations to selected European officials and Maori. Half of the Maori gathered at the meetings were from the Confederation of United Tribes (C.U.T.). They were there primarily because, despite teasing and making fun of him ‘Man-o-war without guns’ they trusted Busby. If Busby hadn’t formed the C.U.T. the amount of Maori gathered on James Busby’s lawn would have been a lot less and with a majority opposed to the Treaty.
After Hobson fell ill only a few days before the Treaty was due to be presented to be signed Busby helped write Article 2 which guaranteed Maori Chiefs to ‘Full, exclusive and undisturbed possession of their lands and resources’. It is important to realise that writing Article 2 of the Treaty of Waitangi, shows that out of all the Europeans who had a hand in producing the Treaty, Busby was the one who had the Maori’s best interests at heart. Even though Hobson’s arrival to New Zealand had effectively ended his role as British Resident Busby still made a conscious effort to make his mark on history and do his part for the whole country not just the Europeans.

James Busby paved the way for annexation and his service to New Zealand should be commemorated and applauded. Through all he did whether successful or otherwise he showed himself to be a man of moral character who was hard working, extremely intelligent and resourceful. Many historians dont see him this way today but i hope through this article i have shed some light on the man who was an amazing and strong leader of the early contact period of New Zealand history up till 1840.