1872: Cobden Coal Mine

September 11, 2022

By AHNZ

Interesting watercolor by one of New Zealand’s Prime Ministers, William Fox. Clearly it depicts Brunnerton on the Grey river, upstream of Greymouth. Apparently he visited there in 1872 yet at time of acquisition the Alexander Turnbull Library dated it as 1865.

More interesting yet is the title of the picture: ‘Cobden Coal mine. Grey River’

Cobden mile away at the mouth of the river so why would Fox have named his picture this? Cobden was named after an uber-Lefty icon, Richard Cobdon. William Fox was part of that faction.

Brunner, on the other hand, was aligned with the conservative/right-wingers. He was a friend of Alfred Saunders¹, Nelson’s Superintendent, and by extension politicians like William Rolleston.

The curious title of this watercolour might have been a political statement about whose faction should be supported. An attempt by the Lefties to have their Lefty name on the huge British industrial concern on the Grey river. It didn’t stick though. ‘Brunnerton’ won out.

“Shows a small group of houses on the left above the Grey River, with a rowboat with a sail pulled up on a bank. There is a track through bush on the right bank. Dated [1865] by the Library on acquisition. However Fox visited Cobden Coal mine in 1872” – Alexander Turnbull Library

“Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and a campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and..” – Wiki

 

Folks in the 1860s fought over place names as part of their civil culture war just as much as we to today. Eg. New Zealand vs Aotearoa etc.

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1 Interestingly enough, Saunders himself proposed the name ‘Cobden’ according to Remember Cobden, Jack Minehan (1986.) Conservative or not, politicians need to be popular and re-elected. Ref. Wiki

Image ref. Cobden Coal mine. Grey, Alexander Turnbull Library

Image ref. Brunnerton. View from the bridge slightly downstream of Fox’s perspective. AHNZ Archives (2020)

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