1833: James Busby
April 26, 2019
By AHNZ
You’ve met James Busby, I trust? I wont introduce him much. First official British Resident of New Zealand, going on from 1833. He gets stick for not using more Statist Weight but I suspect he was trying to get things done using personal power rather than the Big Stick of government.
I think he’s a good guy with a clean record, poorly treated by Colonial Governments. Have been curious to observe in a contemporary journal that the man is being called ‘James Bushby‘.*
Don’t you think Busby had a Scottish accent, being born in Edinburgh? Don’t you think he introduced himself to everyone as “Bushby, James Bushby?”
Another man born in Edinburgh, Scotland, a little later on, is “Bond, James Bond”/Sean Connery. And we *do* know he speaks with such an accent.
Another great history mystery uncovered for you!
Or, perhaps, just a theory about the history of New Zealand accents that we will never be able to prove for certain. For the time being though I’m going to be thinking of our first Official British Resident as Connery. I have another reason for thinking of Busby (The Man Who Would Be King) this way also but that’s for another day.
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* Ref Henry Comber’s journal, British officer on ‘The Herald’ says this in 1840. So does Charles Darwin in 1835.
Ref Wilkes Charles Wilkes’ narrative, commander of the USA’s Expedition spells the name correctly
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