Lieut. Willoughby Shortland

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. Source: Wikipedia.

Image: New Zealand's first colonial secretary, Lieutenant Willoughby Shortland, is depicted in his British Navy uniform in this 1903 portrait (a copy of an earlier one), painted long after his death in 1869. Shortland arrived in New Zealand in 1840 with William Hobson, who became New Zealand's first governor. In 1843, faced with determining blame for the Wairau affray – in which Māori and settlers fought over land, and 22 settlers and 4 Māori were killed – Shortland expressed disapproval of the actions of the settlers. He was dismissed from his post later that year. Source: Richard Shaw.

Note: Willoughby Shortland did not father any children.

Sources

1. Admiralty Records (MSS), in the Public Records Office, London
2. Crown Colony Government in New Zealand, McLintock, A. H. (1958).
3. Dictionary of Naval Biography, O'Byrne (1849)
4. Richard Shaw, 'Public service - What is the public service?', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/33005/public-servants-willoughb... (accessed 10 March 2022).
5. SHORTLAND, Commander Willoughby, RN', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/1966/shortland-commander-willoughby-rn (accessed 10 Mar 2022)
6. Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willoughby_Shortland