Friday, March 16, 2018

TV-GPS - THE TOOB-WELD DYNAMIC


Currently my favorite show is '800 Words' from New Zealand, one of those rare shows I'd like the chance to enter and actually live in......


From Wikipedia:
Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld GCMG (9 May 1823 – 20 July 1891), was a New Zealand politician and a governor of various British colonies. He was the sixth Premier of New Zealand, and later served as Governor of Western Australia, Governor of Tasmania, and Governor of the Straits Settlements.  

He had originally intended to pursue a military career, but was convinced otherwise by his tutor at Fribourg. He instead decided to seek a career in the colonies, and arrived in Wellington, New Zealand, on 22 April 1844.


In New Zealand, he entered a partnership with his cousin, Sir Charles Clifford, 1st Baronet of Flaxbourne. The two established a number of sheep stations around the country, and Weld became relatively prosperous. Weld found a life of agricultural management to be too mundane, however, and soon became active in political concerns. One of his more significant campaigns was to ward against any potential discrimination against Catholics in New Zealand. He later became active in lobbying for representative government in New Zealand.

When the creation of the New Zealand Parliament was announced, Weld stood for election. He became a member of the 1st Parliament as the representative of Wairau, an electorate in the northeast of the South Island; he was declared elected unopposed.[2] The main political division of the day was between "centralists" (favouring a strong central government) and "provincialists" (favouring strong regional governments). On this spectrum, Weld established himself as a moderate centralist, although he tended to oppose the extremes of either side.

MR. & MRS. WELD COSPLAY

As Premier, Weld met with mixed success. In 1865 the capital was indeed moved to Wellington, and his proposals for Māori relations were adopted. These two things generated considerable bitterness, however – Aucklanders were angry about the change of capital, and Māori were angry about the confiscation of over a million acres (4,000 km²) of land in the Waikato area. Weld's other success, the withdrawal of British troops from New Zealand, was also controversial, and generated considerable hostility from the Governor. In addition, the government's financial situation was precarious. A little less than a year after taking office, Weld's government resigned.


Weld finally retired from political life in 1887, although he remained active in other fields of work. In 1891, visiting the Straits Settlements once again, he contracted a serious illness, and returned to England. He died in Chideock on 20 July 1891.
For more, click here.

In Toobworld, Weld gave his name to the quirky seaside community in '800 Words' where George Turner settled with his two children after the death of his wife.


There is a statue to salute Weld, but its head had been lopped off by a mysterious assailant.  (Watch the show if you want to know whodunnit.)

BCnU!


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