page_title: Capital of New Zealand
section_title: Okiato
hierarchical_section_title: Capital of New Zealand / Okiato
caption_attribution_description: Captain William Hobson, first Governor of New Zealand. Inscription on verso: Copy by J. McDonald, Dominion Museum, 1913, copied from the small painting presented to Auckland by the Hon. W. Mitchelson, M.L.C. Small portrait for Government House copied from this.
context_page_description: Wellington has been the capital of New Zealand since 1865. New Zealand's first capital city was Old Russell in 1840–41. Auckland was the second capital from 1841 until 1865, when Parliament was permanently moved to Wellington after an argument that persisted for a decade. As the members of parliament could not agree on the location of a more central capital, Wellington was decided on by three Australian commissioners.
context_section_description: Okiato or Old Russell is a small holiday spot in the Bay of Islands, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south of present-day Russell, which was then known as Kororareka. Okiato was New Zealand's first national capital, for a short time from 1840 to 1841, before the seat of government was moved to Auckland. William Hobson arrived in New Zealand on 29 January 1840, the date now celebrated as the Auckland Anniversary Day. On the following day, as Lieutenant-Governor he proclaimed British Sovereignty in New Zealand. 30 January 1840 was the day that the Union Jack was flown on the masthead of the Herald, the ship that brought Hobson to the Bay of islands, and that the flag was saluted by guns.
  A capital city needed to be decided on, and immediately after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840, Hobson sought advice from those who had been living in New Zealand for some time. The missionary Henry Williams recommended the area around the Waitematā Harbour. William Cornwallis Symonds agreed with that assessment. A week after the signing of the treaty, seven Māori chiefs from Orakei on the Waitematā Harbour came to see Hobson and invited him to stay amongst them. They wanted protection from a rival iwi, the Ngāpuhi, and offered him land in return for living there. On 21 February, a small party including Hobson, Williams, Symonds, Captain Joseph Nias, and Felton Mathew left on the Herald to explore the Waitematā; they arrived there two days later. They visited various places, but on 1 March, Hobson suffered a stroke which paralysed half of his body and affected his speech. Rather than delegate the decision making to his officers, the party returned to the Bay of Islands with the task incomplete.
  Mathew, who was Surveyor General, was then instructed to report on possible locations for a capital in the Bay of Islands. His initial recommendation was for Kororareka, but there were conflicting land claims and Hobson refused to accept this recommendation as he felt that he had insufficient authority to overcome those legal problems. His second recommendation was Captain James Reddy Clendon's property, as it met the requirements for a good anchorage and immediate availability of land suitable for subdivision and on-sale to settlers. Locations such as Paihia and Kerikeri were bypassed for various reasons.
  Pōmare II, the local Māori chief in the 1830s, sold land at Okiato to a British merchant and ship owner, Captain Clendon on 7 December 1830 for £28 15s. Clendon settled there in 1832 and set up a trading station with partner Samuel Stephenson. Clendon became the first United States Consul for New Zealand in 1838 or 1839. Clendon wanted £23,000 for the 380 acres (150 ha) of land, the house, two small cottages, a large store and other buildings. Hobson eventually agreed with Clendon on £15,000; the agreement was made on 22 March and Hobson took possession in May. Clendon had only been paid £1,000 when word was received that Governor George Gipps did not sanction the purchase. Clendon received a further £1,250 and a land grant of 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) at Papakura.
  Hobson changed its name from Okiato to Russell, in honour of the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord John Russell. Hobson and his family moved there in May 1840 and officials, troops, workmen and immigrants took up residence in permanent or temporary buildings and tents. Mathew drew up ambitious plans for a town, but only one of the intended roads was ever built – leading directly from the town hall to the town jail. A year later Hobson moved the capital to Auckland and most of the Russell (i.e. Okiato) residents moved there too. A few officials lived on in the Government House at Russell but when it and the offices burned down in May 1842, they moved to Kororareka leaving Russell virtually deserted.
  Kororareka was part of the Port of Russell and gradually became known as Russell also. In January 1844 Governor Robert FitzRoy officially designated Kororareka as part of the township of Russell. Now the name Russell applies only to the erstwhile Kororareka while Okiato ha
caption: Portrait of Capt. William Hobson by James McDonald, 1913
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