Joseph Tetley
The Honourable Joseph Tetley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Tetley in the 1860s | |
| Member of the Legislative Council | |
| In office 8 July 1867 – 19 June 1869 | |
| Appointed by | Edward Stafford |
| Marlborough Provincial Councillor | |
| In office 5 January 1867 – 13 January 1869 | |
| Constituency | Picton electorate |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Joseph Dresser Tetley 1825 Topcliffe, Yorkshire, United Kingdom |
| Died | 1878 Colonia, Uruguay |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Dodsworth (died 1868) |
| Occupation | Farmer, politician, fraudster |
Joseph Dresser Tetley (1825–1878) was a land owner, sheep farmer, and politician in New Zealand. He was a member of the Marlborough Provincial Council and the New Zealand Legislative Council, both from 1867 to 1869. Through his wife, he had come into contact with the gentry. He fled from New Zealand, having deceived various investors who lost a combined NZ$7 million converted to today's value. The resulting scandal was discussed in the media and the courts for the following two years, though Tetley himself was never charged as he had disappeared to South America.
Early life[edit]
Tetley's family was from Clervaux, at Croft, in Yorkshire,[1] though he was born a little further south, at Topcliffe.[2]
He met Elizabeth Dodsworth, the daughter of a baronet, and subsequently married her, whilst he was still living in England.[3] Through his wife, he was able to establish connections with the gentry, and was invited to a party around 1856, where he met Frederick Weld. Following this meeting, and reading Weld's pamphlet on Hints to Intending Sheep Farmers in New Zealand, he departed for New Zealand.[3]
Farming and politics[edit]
Upon his arrival in New Zealand, thanks to his connections with Weld, Tetley was able to secure a meeting with Nathaniel Levin, who was a businessman in Wellington at the time.[3] He became a sheep farmer[4] in Marlborough, on the Kekerengu River, from 1857[2] or 1858,[5] establishing the settlement of Kerekengu Station. He obtained this land with the assistance of some financial backing from Levin.[3] He also had an interest in Starborough,[4] near Seddon.[6]
Tetley represented the Picton electorate on the Marlborough Provincial Council from 5 January 1867 to 13 January 1869.[7] In July 1867, Tetley was—alongside John Hyde Harris—appointed to the Legislative Council.[8] He was a member of the upper house from 8 July 1867 to 19 June 1869.[9] He resigned from the Legislative Council after his departure from New Zealand.[10]
Departure from New Zealand, fraud, and aftermath[edit]
In the years prior to his departure from New Zealand, Tetley had obtained thousands of pounds worth of investments from several creditors, including Nathaniel Levin and Richard Beumont (one of four young men from England from whom he had also secured investments).[nb 1][3] In 1867, his wife and her servant (Mrs Gale) left for England via Panama. The plan had been for Tetley to follow them later, and for the three to return to New Zealand together. The two women both died of yellow fever in November 1867[nb 2] during the passage near the West Indies. It was reported that she survived the 18 November 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami.[11][12][13] Tetley's wife was buried in England.[3]
In mid-February 1868, Tetley, Arthur Seymour, the land purchase agent J. Young, and the interpreter Abraham Warbrick travelled from Tauranga to the country's interior at Taupō to purchase or lease land from Māori.[14] Later that year, it was reported that Seymour and Tetley had secured 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) and 400,000 acres (160,000 ha), respectively, with Tetley's land on the banks of the Waikato River where it flows into Lake Taupō.[15] It turned out, however, that the arrangements had not been finalised and neither had obtained legal access to the land.[16]
Tetley left New Zealand on 8 May 1868 on the Mataura from Wellington Harbour for Southampton via Panama.[17][15] On 16 January 1869, the Marlborough Express reported that Tetley had resigned from the provincial council.[18] Tetley never returned to New Zealand.[4][3]
While Tetley was away, Richard Beumont assessed his financial situation – and came to the realisation that Tetley had deceived him and his fellow investors. Tetley was in thousands of pounds of debt, did not leave any money behind to cover the continued costs of running his properties, and had used the investments as a means of boosting his own finances in order to obtain these large unsecured loans – thereby dashing all hopes of his investors gaining a return on their investments. Converted to 2017 value, Tetley defrauded various investors by NZ$7 million.[3]
Beaumont blamed Nathaniel Levin (who had also been deceived out of thousands of pounds by Tetley), asserting that Levin had been complicit in Tetley's fraud.[3] Levin, who had since been appointed to the Legislative Council himself,[9] sued Beaumont for defamation, and the case was heavily publicised.[5] Due to being heavily preoccupied by this court case (necessitating his absence from Wellington), Levin was unable to perform the duties of a Member of the Legislative Council, and was subsequently forced to resign from the position, having never made a speech as an MLC.[3] Neither party won anything from the court case, and Levin left New Zealand in December 1869.[3][19]
Later life and death[edit]
After his wife's funeral, Tetley moved to Paraguay[2] or Uruguay.[3] Eventually, he reportedly moved to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay, and died there in 1878.[3]
Notes[edit]
- ^ The other investors were Digby Garforth, Henry Wharton and Frederick Dull; however, the majority of the investments came from Beumont[3]
- ^ The source says that the first cases of yellow fever occurred on 15 November, and that the last of the seven deaths on board the SS Tamar occurred on 20 November 1867.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ "The Chaytors of Coverham". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ a b c "Tetley, Joseph Dresser, 1825–". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "The Tetley Affair". www.theprow.org.nz. December 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- ^ a b c "Pioneering Days – Early Times Recalled". Waikato Times. Vol. 103, no. 17361. 24 March 1928. p. 4. Retrieved 20 May 2021 – via Paperspast.
- ^ a b "Supreme Court". The Colonist. Vol. XIII, no. 1278. 24 December 1869. p. 1. Retrieved 20 May 2021 – via Paperspast.
- ^ "Starborough Creek, Marlborough". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Scholefield, Guy (1950) [First published in 1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer. p. 208.
- ^ "Local and general news". The Wellington Independent. Vol. XXII, no. 2542. 9 July 1867. p. 3. Retrieved 17 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Members of the New Zealand Legislative Council, 1853–1950" (PDF). 3 December 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
- ^ Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840–1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. p. 165. OCLC 154283103.
- ^ a b "Local and general news". Marlborough Express. Vol. III, no. 105. 29 February 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Death of Mrs Tetley". Marlborough Express. Vol. IX, no. 576. 29 January 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "London". Otago Witness. No. 847. 22 February 1868. p. 1. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Tauranga". The New Zealand Herald. Vol. V, no. 1345. 9 March 1868. p. 3. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ a b "Untitled". Nelson Evening Mail. Vol. III, no. 116. 18 May 1868. p. 2. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ Stirling, Bruce. "Three: Te Ao Hou: Ngāti Rangitihi Lands After 1840". Ngāti Rangitihi Story. Whakatane: Ngāti Rangitihi. pp. 34–36.
- ^ "Shipping intelligence". Hawke's Bay Weekly Times. Vol. 2, no. 72. 18 May 1868. p. 121. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Local and general news". Marlborough Express. Vol. IV, no. 153. 16 January 1869. p. 3. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ Nicholls, Roberta. "Levin, Nathaniel William – Biography". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 21 June 2024.