Admiral of the Fleet Sir Charles Frederick Hotham (20 March 1843 – 22 March 1925) was a Royal Navy officer. As a junior officer, he was a member of the naval brigade that fought the Māori people at the Battle of Rangiriri during the invasion of the Waikato and was also present at the Battle of Gate Pā during the Tauranga Campaign. He later took part in the bombardment of Alexandria during the Anglo-Egyptian War and then went ashore as Chief of Staff of the naval brigade, formed under Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour, which was dispatched to restore the authority of Khedive Tewfik Pasha in the face of Ahmed ‘Urabi's nationalist uprising against the administration.
Hotham went on to be Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Station. He sought to intervene in the Chilean Civil War by arranging a peace agreement between the forces of President José Manuel Balmaceda and those of the National Congress of Chile who opposed the President. Unfortunately Hotham was shot at while going ashore, no agreement was signed and the Civil War rumbled on until a much larger international peace-keeping force arrived to restore order. Hotham later became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore and then Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth.
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Early career
Born in York the son of Captain John Hotham and Maria Elizabeth Hotham (née Thompson), Hotham joined the Royal Navy in 1856. Promoted to lieutenant on 17 February 1863, he was appointed to the frigate HMS Curacoa, flagship of the Commodore commanding the Australia Station. He was a member of the naval brigade that fought the Māori people at the Battle of Rangiriri in November 1863 during the invasion of the Waikato. The invasion was aimed at crushing Kingite power that was seen as a threat to British authority, and also at driving Waikato Māori from their territory in readiness for occupation and settlement by Europeans. His service here was officially "favourably noted". Hotham was also present at the Battle of Gate Pā in April 1864 during the Tauranga Campaign. He was promoted to commander, in recognition of his good service in New Zealand, on 19 April 1865.