Frederick Weld

Sir Frederick Aloysius Weld (9 May 1823 – 20 July 1891), was an English-born New Zealand politician and colonial administrator of various British colonies and territories located in Oceania and Southeast Asia. He was the sixth Prime Minister of New Zealand, and later served as Governor of Western Australia, Governor of Tasmania, and Governor of the Straits Settlements. Early life Weld was born near Bridport, Dorset, England, on 9 May 1823. His mother, Christina Maria Clifford, was the daughter of Baron Clifford of Chudleigh. Both of his parents were from old recusant Catholic families. His father, Humphrey Weld of Chideock, was a member of the Weld family. Humphrey's father Thomas Weld (of Lulworth) donated the land and endowed the Jesuit college at Stonyhurst. Weld's upbringing was strongly grounded in the Roman Catholic faith. His early years were spent with his parents in the Restored Kingdom of France. Later, he received a good education, studying at Stonyhurst before attending a predecessor of the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, where he studied philosophy, chemistry, European languages, and law. 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 British colonies, and arrived in Wellington, Colony of New Zealand, on 22 April 1844. In the Colony of New Zealand, he entered a partnership with his cousin, Charles Clifford. 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 Roman Catholics in New Zealand. He later became active in lobbying for representative government in New Zealand.