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Charles Simeon (colonist)

December 20, 2023

Captain Charles Simeon (9 December 1816 – 29 May 1867) was one of the members of the Canterbury Association who emigrated to Canterbury in New Zealand in 1851. The family spent four years in the colony and during this time, he held various important posts and positions. He returned to England in 1855. He was devoted to the Anglican church and three of his sons became priests, while two of his daughters married priests.

Captain

Charles Simeon
Born(1816-12-09)9 December 1816
Grazeley, Berkshire, England
Died29 May 1867(1867-05-29) (aged 50)
Hursley, Hampshire, England
NationalityEnglish
Known forLeading roles in colonial Lyttelton and Christchurch, New Zealand
ParentSir Richard Simeon, 2nd Baronet
RelativesSir John Simeon, 3rd Baronet (brother)
Cornwall Simeon (brother)
Philip Williams (father-in-law)
Sir Fitzwilliam Barrington, 10th Baronet (grandfather)
Sir John Simeon, 1st Baronet (grandfather)
Charles Simeon (great-uncle)

Early life edit

Charles Simeon was born in Grazeley, Berkshire, England in 1816 into a wealthy family.[1][2] He was baptised in St Helens on the Isle of Wight, where his family came from. He was the second son of Sir Richard Simeon, 2nd Baronet and his wife Louisa Edith Barrington, the oldest daughter of Sir Fitzwilliam Barrington, 10th Baronet. Nothing is known about his education.[1] On 5 May 1842, he married his second cousin, Sarah Jane Williams (1818 – 3 April 1903) at Winchester. She was the daughter of Philip Williams KC,[1] whose wife Jane Blachford also had Sir Fitzwilliam Barrington, 10th Baronet as her grandfather.[3]

Simeon obtained the rank of captain in the 75th (Stirlingshire) Regiment of Foot.[1] On 17 October 1850, he joined the Canterbury Association and immediately joined the management committee. The object was to create an Anglican settlement in New Zealand, which happened with the Canterbury region, with Christchurch as its capital.[1] His elder brother John had been a founding member since March 1848,[4] their younger brother Cornwall was to join the association in August 1851.[5] His brother John probably also introduced Henry Sewell to the Canterbury Association;[6] Sewell was to become a key member of the Association, and interacted greatly with Charles Simeon.[7] Sewell became New Zealand's first Premier in 1856.[8]

Charles Simeon gave £2,000 to his friend John Robert Godley for land purchase in the colony;[1] Godley was one of the core members of the association, and is today regarded as the founder of Canterbury in New Zealand.[9] His brother John left the Anglican church, left the Canterbury Association in May 1851, resigned his seat in Parliament, and joined the Church of Rome instead.[5][10]

After the First Four Ships hired by the Canterbury Association to bring emigrants to Canterbury had left England in September 1850,[11] Simeon became chairman of the Colonists' Society, an organisation of land purchasers.[1] Amongst other roles, he addressed meetings of those who were interested in emigrating.[12]

When news that Godley had resigned his position as the agent for the Canterbury Association reached the management committee in London in October 1851, they looked for a successor. Sewell was their first choice, but he was in charge of sorting out the Association's financial affairs and saw a conflict of interest. Sewell suggest that William Fox be appointed instead. The management committee, at its meeting on 2 December 1851, appointed Captain Simeon as Godley's successor; at that point, Simeon had already reached New Zealand.[13]

New Zealand edit

 
Description of the land chosen by Simeon as it appeared in the Lyttelton Times
 
Captain Simeon's house undergoing earthquake repairs in 2016

The Simeon family with five children, a housekeeper, a governess, a lady's maid, a housemaid, a nurse, a cook and a footman left England from the East India Docks on 18 June 1851 on the ship Canterbury and arrived on 21 October in Lyttelton.[14][15][16] Lyttelton inhabitants were amazed about the size of the party.[16] The children and servants were put up at the Mitre in Lyttelton at a cost of £4 10s per day until he had found a town house to rent on the Bridle Path.[16][17] He bought town section 102 in Lyttelton's Coleridge Street (today Coleridge Terrace), not far from the rented house, and built a substantial house with eight rooms near where the Bridle Path goes over the hill to Christchurch.[16] This latter house is still standing and is registered as a Category II historic place by Heritage New Zealand.[18]

Within weeks of his arrival, Godley resigned as resident magistrate and the role was conferred to Simeon by the Governor of New Zealand, George Grey, with whom he met.[19][20] In this role, he commissioned a lock-up in Christchurch,[21] which was built by Isaac Luck in the Market Place.[22][23] On behalf of the Canterbury Association, he brought 1,500 books to Canterbury, which were to be given to the colony's college.[24]

Simeon also took on the role of representative of the Canterbury Association from Godley. He resigned from that position in July 1853, when some functions of the Association were transferred to Guise Brittan as the region's land agent, and other functions to Henry Sewell, who had arrived from England.[25]

Late in December 1851, Simeon put his name forward to be elected onto the Council of the Society of Land Purchasers,[26] but Guise Brittan, the Council's chairman, announced that the role was incompatible with that of a Resident Magistrate, and Simeon therefore withdrew his name.[27] Shortly afterwards, he was appointed Visiting Justice of the Gaol at Lyttelton.[28]

Simeon chose 500 acres (2.0 km2) of land and had frontages with the road leading to the Ōpāwaho / Heathcote River and the road leading from Christchurch to Halswell. The land was numbered in the order of it having been chosen, and his land was thus known as Rural Section 154.[29] He also owned town properties in Armagh, Gloucester, Manchester and Madras Streets.[30]

Like other wealthy colonists, Simeon participated in horse races, which were held in Hagley Park.[31] He also played cricket.[32][33]

He joined the church building committee for Lyttelton's first church, the Holy Trinity Church that was to be the disastrous start to Benjamin Mountfort's career in New Zealand.[34][35] He is one of the four original Church Property Trustees of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch; the others were Henry Jacobs, Octavius Mathias (the first vicar of the Church of St Michael and All Angels), and Conway L. Rose.[36] The Anglican Church Property Trustees still exist today and are regulated by the Anglican (Diocese of Christchurch) Church Property Trust Act 2003.[37]

Together with Godley, he was on the Road Committee that was to progress the Sumner Road (the road from Lyttelton to Christchurch via Evans Pass and Sumner).[38]

Simeon was the returning officer for many of the early elections held in Canterbury. When it came to the election of the first Superintendent for the Canterbury Province, Simeon made the controversial decision of allowing Colonel James Campbell to stand for election, but declaring that should he be elected, he would not allow the election as Campbell was not on the Akaroa roll.[39] In November 1852, Simeon announced his intention to stand in the first election for the New Zealand Parliament.[40] In June 1853, he advertised that he had changed his mind, as his role as Resident Magistrate kept him too busy that he could leave the region for long periods attending Parliament in Auckland, and that he would stand for election in the Christchurch Country electorate for the Canterbury Provincial Council instead.[41] He received the power from the Governor to appoint a deputy returning officer in case he wanted to stand in one of the elections himself.[42] Five candidates stood for the four positions, and Simeon was at the top of the poll with 158 votes; the other successful candidates were Henry Tancred (154 votes), John Hall (151 votes), and Charles Bowen (132 votes).[43][44] Simeon was the first Speaker of the Provincial Council from September 1853 to April 1855; he was succeeded in that role by Charles Bowen.[45] He was a member of the Canterbury Executive Council from October 1853 to October 1854 and was the first Provincial Treasurer.[46][47][48] During a day of low attendance in October 1854, Richard Packer secured a suspension of the council's standing orders, which allowed him to have the first two readings of a bill to enlarge the council's membership by 12 additional members passed. Whilst there was justification for such a measure due to the long session lengths, the Executive Council consisting of Henry Tancred, Henry Godfrey Gouland, Simeon, and William John Warburton Hamilton regarded the matter as a vote of no confidence and resigned.[49][50][51] Simeon was a provincial councillor until his resignation on 5 September 1855 in preparation for returning to England.[52] The resulting by-election was contested by three candidates and won by James Henry Moore.[53][54]

Simeon chaired a large number of meetings in early colonial Christchurch and Lyttelton. He was a good, forceful speaker and could be entertaining.[55]

Simeon was a Freemason. When Christchurch's St Augustine Lodge was inaugurated in October 1853, he acted as the secretary for the lodge.[56][57] He entered various home grown vegetables to the December 1853 Horticultural Exhibition and received first prize for his broad beans, and came second with peas, potatoes, and lettuces.[58]

The Simeons left Lyttelton on the Maori on 8 December 1855.[59] There were no plans to return; their furniture was sold by auction a week later.[60] Their departure was much regretted by Henry and Elizabeth Sewell, as the Simeons were the only people with whom they had engaged socially.[61]

Family and commemoration edit

The Simeons had five children before they emigrated to New Zealand, including:[15][62]

  • Philip Barrington Simeon (12 December 1845 – 9 December 1926; buried at St Peter and St Paul's, Lingfield, Surrey)[63]
  • Algernon Barrington Simeon (20 February 1847 – 12 March 1928)
  • Geoffrey Barrington Simeon (9 March 1848 – 2 March 1906)

While in New Zealand, they had three more children:

  • Jane Elizabeth (27 November 1851 – 24 February 1852)[64][65]
  • Lionel Barrington Simeon (6 November 1852 – 30 August 1896)[62][66]
  • Walter Barrington Simeon (24 February 1854 – 30 April 1854)[67][68]

After they left New Zealand, they had at least four more children:

  • Emma Mary Simeon (28 October 1856 – 7 February 1933)[62]
  • Hugh Barrington Simeon (12 January 1858 – 21 January 1941)[62]
  • Beatrice Anna Simeon (c. February 1859 – 20 March 1859)[69]
  • Mabel Selina Simeon (26 August 1860 – 11 January 1935)[62]

All his sons had Barrington as their middle name in commemoration of their maternal grandfather, who had no heir and whose baronetcy thus became extinct.[1] Three of his sons became priest: Philip in Grahamstown, Algernon in Yattendon, and Hugh at Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire. Two of his daughters married priests: Emma married Alfred Willis, who became bishop of Honolulu; and Mabel married Rev. Herbert Andrew Dalton, who was headmaster of Felsted School in England and then Harrison College in the Diocese of Barbados.[70]

Charlotte Godley, the wife of John Robert Godley, did not have a high opinion of Sarah Jane Simeon. In one of her letters to her mother, Godley wrote:[16]

I never saw anyone like Mrs Simeon as a talker and manager of everything and everybody. She has managed her own servants all out of the house already and changed some of the new ones ... When she wants a new servant, instead of it being a perfectly simply open affair, there is as much intrigue about it as about any secret piece of diplomacy. She is of course unpopular and drags him into her affairs too, and then she thinks it is all "the Colony".

Simeon died on 29 May 1867 in Hursley, Hampshire, after a long illness.[1][71] Simeon Quay in Lyttelton, New Zealand is named for the Simeon family.[1][47] Simeon Street in the Christchurch suburb of Spreydon is named for Charles Simeon.[47] Simeon's widow requested through land agents Richard J. S. Harman and Edward Cephas John Stevens that Wilderness Road (which formed one of the boundaries of rural section 154) be renamed Barrington Road in honour of the 10th Baronet. This request was granted in 1885, and it is today known as Barrington Street.[72][73] His widow died on 3 April 1903 at Bournemouth, England.[74]

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Blain 2007, p. 75.
  2. ^ Powys-Lybbe, Tim. "Person Sheet". powys.org. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  3. ^ Powys-Lybbe, Tim. "Person Sheet". Powys-Lybbe forbears. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  4. ^ Blain 2007, p. 74.
  5. ^ a b Blain 2007, p. 76.
  6. ^ McIntyre, W. David. "Sewell, Henry". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  7. ^ Sewell 1980a, pp. 122–503.
  8. ^ McIntyre, W. David. "Sewell, Henry". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  9. ^ Hensley, Gerald. "Godley, John Robert". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  10. ^ "English News". Lyttelton Times. Vol. I, no. 34. 30 August 1851. p. 3. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  11. ^ "The first four ships". Christchurch City Libraries. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  12. ^ "Canterbury Settlement". Lyttelton Times. Vol. I, no. 13. 5 April 1851. p. 2. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  13. ^ Sewell 1980a, p. 50.
  14. ^ "Canterbury". rootsweb. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  15. ^ a b "Shipping News". Lyttelton Times. Vol. I, no. 42. 25 October 1851. p. 5. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  16. ^ a b c d e Cresswell 1974, p. 35.
  17. ^ "Page 1 Advertisements Column 3". Lyttelton Times. Vol. II, no. 78. 3 July 1852. p. 1. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  18. ^ "Captain Simeon's House (Former)". New Zealand Heritage List/Rārangi Kōrero. Heritage New Zealand. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  19. ^ "The Lyttelton Times". Vol. I, no. 50. 20 December 1851. p. 5. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  20. ^ "Public Meeting at Lyttelton". Lyttelton Times. Vol. II, no. 53. 10 January 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  21. ^ "Contract for Lock up at Christchurch". Lyttelton Times. Vol. II, no. 66. 10 April 1852. p. 1. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  22. ^ "Untitled". Lyttelton Times. Vol. II, no. 77. 26 June 1852. p. 10. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  23. ^ Burke, William Ellison. "Burke Manuscript". Christchurch City Libraries. p. 150. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  24. ^ "The Lyttelton Times". Vol. III, no. 106. 15 January 1853. p. 6. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  25. ^ "Correspondence". Lyttelton Times. Vol. III, no. 131. 9 July 1853. p. 8. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  26. ^ "Notice". Lyttelton Times. Vol. I, no. 51. 27 December 1851. p. 1. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  27. ^ "The Lyttelton Times". Vol. I, no. 52. 3 January 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  28. ^ "Wellington". Lyttelton Times. Vol. II, no. 59. 21 February 1852. p. 6. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  29. ^ "Rural Sections Chosen". Lyttelton Times. Vol. I, no. 17. 3 May 1851. p. 3. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  30. ^ "Electoral Roll for the Town of Christchurch". Lyttelton Times. Vol. III, no. 133. 23 July 1853. p. 5. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  31. ^ "Hagley Park Races". Lyttelton Times. Vol. II, no. 103. 25 December 1852. p. 10. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  32. ^ "The Lyttelton Times". Vol. IV, no. 157. 7 January 1854. p. 6. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  33. ^ "Christchurch Cricket Club". Lyttelton Times. Vol. IV, no. 162. 11 February 1854. p. 12. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  34. ^ "Lyttelton Church Building Committee". Lyttelton Times. Vol. II, no. 57. 7 February 1852. p. 1. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  35. ^ Lochhead, Ian J. "Mountfort, Benjamin Woolfield". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  36. ^ "Notice". Lyttelton Times. Vol. IV, no. 167. 18 March 1854. p. 1. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  37. ^ "Anglican (Diocese of Christchurch) Church Property Trust Act 2003". Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  38. ^ "The Lyttelton Times". Vol. II, no. 65. 3 April 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 5 June 2013.
  39. ^ "Untitled". Lyttelton Times. Vol. III, no. 133. 23 July 1853. p. 4. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  40. ^ "Page 4 Advertisements Column 1". Lyttelton Times. Vol. II, no. 98. 20 November 1852. p. 4. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  41. ^ "Page 10 Advertisements Column 1". Lyttelton Times. Vol. III, no. 126. 20 November 1852. p. 10. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  42. ^ "Page 4 Advertisements Column 1". Lyttelton Times. Vol. III, no. 139. 3 September 1853. p. 4. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  43. ^ "Christchurch Country District Election". Lyttelton Times. Vol. III, no. 141. 17 September 1853. p. 6. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  44. ^ Scholefield 1950, pp. 192–196.
  45. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 189.
  46. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 191.
  47. ^ a b c Harper, Margaret. "Christchurch Street Names S" (PDF). Christchurch City Libraries. pp. 52–53. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  48. ^ "Page 6 Advertisements Column 1". Lyttelton Times. Vol. III, no. 150. 19 November 1853. p. 6. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  49. ^ Hight & Straubel 1957, pp. 220–221.
  50. ^ "Page 4 Advertisements Column 1". Lyttelton Times. Vol. IV, no. 209. 1 November 1854. p. 4. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  51. ^ "The Lyttelton Time". Lyttelton Times. Vol. IV, no. 209. 1 November 1854. p. 4. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  52. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 196.
  53. ^ "Local Intelligence". Lyttelton Times. Vol. V, no. 305. 3 October 1855. p. 7. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  54. ^ Scholefield 1950, p. 195.
  55. ^ "Local Intelligence". Lyttelton Times. Vol. IV, no. 205. 18 October 1854. p. 4. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  56. ^ "Inauguration of the S. Augustine Lodge of Masons". Lyttelton Times. Vol. III, no. 146. 22 October 1853. p. 7. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  57. ^ "St. Augustine Lodge". The Library and Museum of Freemasonry. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  58. ^ "Horticultural Exhibition, Dec 16, 1853". Lyttelton Times. Vol. III, no. 156. 31 December 1853. p. 7. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  59. ^ "Shipping News". Lyttelton Times. Vol. V, no. 325. 12 December 1855. p. 6. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  60. ^ "Furniture by Auction". Lyttelton Times. Vol. V, no. 323. 5 December 1855. p. 1. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  61. ^ Sewell 1980b, p. 195.
  62. ^ a b c d e Lundy, Darryl. "Charles Simeon". The Peerage. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  63. ^ Lockwood, Steve. "Philip Barrington Simeon grave monument details". Gravestone Photographic Resource. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  64. ^ "Birth". Lyttelton Times. Vol. I, no. 47. 29 November 1851. p. 5. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  65. ^ "Died". Lyttelton Times. Vol. II, no. 60. 28 February 1852. p. 3. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  66. ^ "Birth". Lyttelton Times. Vol. II, no. 97. 13 November 1852. p. 6. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  67. ^ Sewell 1980a, p. 461.
  68. ^ "Died". Lyttelton Times. Vol. IV, no. 174. 6 May 1854. p. 6. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
  69. ^ Powys-Lybbe, Tim. "Person Sheet". powys.org. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  70. ^ Blain 2007, pp. 3, 75.
  71. ^ "Death". The Press. Vol. XII, no. 1480. 7 August 1867. p. 2. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  72. ^ Harper, Margaret. "Christchurch Street Names B" (PDF). Christchurch City Libraries. pp. 28–31. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  73. ^ "Road Boards". The Press. Vol. XLI, no. 6027. 9 January 1885. p. 3. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  74. ^ "Deaths". The Star. No. 7705. 13 May 1903. p. 3. Retrieved 19 September 2013.

References edit

  • Blain, Rev. Michael (2007). The Canterbury Association (1848–1852): A Study of Its Members' Connections (PDF). Christchurch: Project Canterbury. Retrieved 26 May 2013.
  • Cresswell, Frances (1974) [1955]. Old Homes of Lyttelton Harbour (2nd ed.). Christchurch: Pegasus Press.
  • Hight, James; Straubel, Carl (1957). A History of Canterbury. Vol. 1. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd.
  • Scholefield, Guy (1950) [1913]. New Zealand Parliamentary Record, 1840–1949 (3rd ed.). Wellington: Govt. Printer.
  • Sewell, Henry (1980a). W. David McIntyre (ed.). The Journal of Henry Sewell 1853–7 : Volume 1. Vol. 1. Christchurch: Whitcoulls Publishers. ISBN 0-7233-0624-9.
  • Sewell, Henry (1980b). W. David McIntyre (ed.). The Journal of Henry Sewell 1853–7 : Volume II. Vol. 2. Christchurch: Whitcoulls Publishers. ISBN 0-7233-0625-7.

December 20, 2023
charles, simeon, colonist, captain, charles, simeon, december, 1816, 1867, members, canterbury, association, emigrated, canterbury, zealand, 1851, family, spent, four, years, colony, during, this, time, held, various, important, posts, positions, returned, eng. Captain Charles Simeon 9 December 1816 29 May 1867 was one of the members of the Canterbury Association who emigrated to Canterbury in New Zealand in 1851 The family spent four years in the colony and during this time he held various important posts and positions He returned to England in 1855 He was devoted to the Anglican church and three of his sons became priests while two of his daughters married priests CaptainCharles SimeonBorn 1816 12 09 9 December 1816Grazeley Berkshire EnglandDied29 May 1867 1867 05 29 aged 50 Hursley Hampshire EnglandNationalityEnglishKnown forLeading roles in colonial Lyttelton and Christchurch New ZealandParentSir Richard Simeon 2nd BaronetRelativesSir John Simeon 3rd Baronet brother Cornwall Simeon brother Philip Williams father in law Sir Fitzwilliam Barrington 10th Baronet grandfather Sir John Simeon 1st Baronet grandfather Charles Simeon great uncle Contents 1 Early life 2 New Zealand 3 Family and commemoration 4 Notes 5 ReferencesEarly life editCharles Simeon was born in Grazeley Berkshire England in 1816 into a wealthy family 1 2 He was baptised in St Helens on the Isle of Wight where his family came from He was the second son of Sir Richard Simeon 2nd Baronet and his wife Louisa Edith Barrington the oldest daughter of Sir Fitzwilliam Barrington 10th Baronet Nothing is known about his education 1 On 5 May 1842 he married his second cousin Sarah Jane Williams 1818 3 April 1903 at Winchester She was the daughter of Philip Williams KC 1 whose wife Jane Blachford also had Sir Fitzwilliam Barrington 10th Baronet as her grandfather 3 Simeon obtained the rank of captain in the 75th Stirlingshire Regiment of Foot 1 On 17 October 1850 he joined the Canterbury Association and immediately joined the management committee The object was to create an Anglican settlement in New Zealand which happened with the Canterbury region with Christchurch as its capital 1 His elder brother John had been a founding member since March 1848 4 their younger brother Cornwall was to join the association in August 1851 5 His brother John probably also introduced Henry Sewell to the Canterbury Association 6 Sewell was to become a key member of the Association and interacted greatly with Charles Simeon 7 Sewell became New Zealand s first Premier in 1856 8 Charles Simeon gave 2 000 to his friend John Robert Godley for land purchase in the colony 1 Godley was one of the core members of the association and is today regarded as the founder of Canterbury in New Zealand 9 His brother John left the Anglican church left the Canterbury Association in May 1851 resigned his seat in Parliament and joined the Church of Rome instead 5 10 After the First Four Ships hired by the Canterbury Association to bring emigrants to Canterbury had left England in September 1850 11 Simeon became chairman of the Colonists Society an organisation of land purchasers 1 Amongst other roles he addressed meetings of those who were interested in emigrating 12 When news that Godley had resigned his position as the agent for the Canterbury Association reached the management committee in London in October 1851 they looked for a successor Sewell was their first choice but he was in charge of sorting out the Association s financial affairs and saw a conflict of interest Sewell suggest that William Fox be appointed instead The management committee at its meeting on 2 December 1851 appointed Captain Simeon as Godley s successor at that point Simeon had already reached New Zealand 13 New Zealand edit nbsp Description of the land chosen by Simeon as it appeared in the Lyttelton Times nbsp Captain Simeon s house undergoing earthquake repairs in 2016The Simeon family with five children a housekeeper a governess a lady s maid a housemaid a nurse a cook and a footman left England from the East India Docks on 18 June 1851 on the ship Canterbury and arrived on 21 October in Lyttelton 14 15 16 Lyttelton inhabitants were amazed about the size of the party 16 The children and servants were put up at the Mitre in Lyttelton at a cost of 4 10s per day until he had found a town house to rent on the Bridle Path 16 17 He bought town section 102 in Lyttelton s Coleridge Street today Coleridge Terrace not far from the rented house and built a substantial house with eight rooms near where the Bridle Path goes over the hill to Christchurch 16 This latter house is still standing and is registered as a Category II historic place by Heritage New Zealand 18 Within weeks of his arrival Godley resigned as resident magistrate and the role was conferred to Simeon by the Governor of New Zealand George Grey with whom he met 19 20 In this role he commissioned a lock up in Christchurch 21 which was built by Isaac Luck in the Market Place 22 23 On behalf of the Canterbury Association he brought 1 500 books to Canterbury which were to be given to the colony s college 24 Simeon also took on the role of representative of the Canterbury Association from Godley He resigned from that position in July 1853 when some functions of the Association were transferred to Guise Brittan as the region s land agent and other functions to Henry Sewell who had arrived from England 25 Late in December 1851 Simeon put his name forward to be elected onto the Council of the Society of Land Purchasers 26 but Guise Brittan the Council s chairman announced that the role was incompatible with that of a Resident Magistrate and Simeon therefore withdrew his name 27 Shortly afterwards he was appointed Visiting Justice of the Gaol at Lyttelton 28 Simeon chose 500 acres 2 0 km2 of land and had frontages with the road leading to the Ōpawaho Heathcote River and the road leading from Christchurch to Halswell The land was numbered in the order of it having been chosen and his land was thus known as Rural Section 154 29 He also owned town properties in Armagh Gloucester Manchester and Madras Streets 30 Like other wealthy colonists Simeon participated in horse races which were held in Hagley Park 31 He also played cricket 32 33 He joined the church building committee for Lyttelton s first church the Holy Trinity Church that was to be the disastrous start to Benjamin Mountfort s career in New Zealand 34 35 He is one of the four original Church Property Trustees of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch the others were Henry Jacobs Octavius Mathias the first vicar of the Church of St Michael and All Angels and Conway L Rose 36 The Anglican Church Property Trustees still exist today and are regulated by the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch Church Property Trust Act 2003 37 Together with Godley he was on the Road Committee that was to progress the Sumner Road the road from Lyttelton to Christchurch via Evans Pass and Sumner 38 Simeon was the returning officer for many of the early elections held in Canterbury When it came to the election of the first Superintendent for the Canterbury Province Simeon made the controversial decision of allowing Colonel James Campbell to stand for election but declaring that should he be elected he would not allow the election as Campbell was not on the Akaroa roll 39 In November 1852 Simeon announced his intention to stand in the first election for the New Zealand Parliament 40 In June 1853 he advertised that he had changed his mind as his role as Resident Magistrate kept him too busy that he could leave the region for long periods attending Parliament in Auckland and that he would stand for election in the Christchurch Country electorate for the Canterbury Provincial Council instead 41 He received the power from the Governor to appoint a deputy returning officer in case he wanted to stand in one of the elections himself 42 Five candidates stood for the four positions and Simeon was at the top of the poll with 158 votes the other successful candidates were Henry Tancred 154 votes John Hall 151 votes and Charles Bowen 132 votes 43 44 Simeon was the first Speaker of the Provincial Council from September 1853 to April 1855 he was succeeded in that role by Charles Bowen 45 He was a member of the Canterbury Executive Council from October 1853 to October 1854 and was the first Provincial Treasurer 46 47 48 During a day of low attendance in October 1854 Richard Packer secured a suspension of the council s standing orders which allowed him to have the first two readings of a bill to enlarge the council s membership by 12 additional members passed Whilst there was justification for such a measure due to the long session lengths the Executive Council consisting of Henry Tancred Henry Godfrey Gouland Simeon and William John Warburton Hamilton regarded the matter as a vote of no confidence and resigned 49 50 51 Simeon was a provincial councillor until his resignation on 5 September 1855 in preparation for returning to England 52 The resulting by election was contested by three candidates and won by James Henry Moore 53 54 Simeon chaired a large number of meetings in early colonial Christchurch and Lyttelton He was a good forceful speaker and could be entertaining 55 Simeon was a Freemason When Christchurch s St Augustine Lodge was inaugurated in October 1853 he acted as the secretary for the lodge 56 57 He entered various home grown vegetables to the December 1853 Horticultural Exhibition and received first prize for his broad beans and came second with peas potatoes and lettuces 58 The Simeons left Lyttelton on the Maori on 8 December 1855 59 There were no plans to return their furniture was sold by auction a week later 60 Their departure was much regretted by Henry and Elizabeth Sewell as the Simeons were the only people with whom they had engaged socially 61 Family and commemoration editThe Simeons had five children before they emigrated to New Zealand including 15 62 Philip Barrington Simeon 12 December 1845 9 December 1926 buried at St Peter and St Paul s Lingfield Surrey 63 Algernon Barrington Simeon 20 February 1847 12 March 1928 Geoffrey Barrington Simeon 9 March 1848 2 March 1906 While in New Zealand they had three more children Jane Elizabeth 27 November 1851 24 February 1852 64 65 Lionel Barrington Simeon 6 November 1852 30 August 1896 62 66 Walter Barrington Simeon 24 February 1854 30 April 1854 67 68 After they left New Zealand they had at least four more children Emma Mary Simeon 28 October 1856 7 February 1933 62 Hugh Barrington Simeon 12 January 1858 21 January 1941 62 Beatrice Anna Simeon c February 1859 20 March 1859 69 Mabel Selina Simeon 26 August 1860 11 January 1935 62 All his sons had Barrington as their middle name in commemoration of their maternal grandfather who had no heir and whose baronetcy thus became extinct 1 Three of his sons became priest Philip in Grahamstown Algernon in Yattendon and Hugh at Bolton Abbey in North Yorkshire Two of his daughters married priests Emma married Alfred Willis who became bishop of Honolulu and Mabel married Rev Herbert Andrew Dalton who was headmaster of Felsted School in England and then Harrison College in the Diocese of Barbados 70 Charlotte Godley the wife of John Robert Godley did not have a high opinion of Sarah Jane Simeon In one of her letters to her mother Godley wrote 16 I never saw anyone like Mrs Simeon as a talker and manager of everything and everybody She has managed her own servants all out of the house already and changed some of the new ones When she wants a new servant instead of it being a perfectly simply open affair there is as much intrigue about it as about any secret piece of diplomacy She is of course unpopular and drags him into her affairs too and then she thinks it is all the Colony Simeon died on 29 May 1867 in Hursley Hampshire after a long illness 1 71 Simeon Quay in Lyttelton New Zealand is named for the Simeon family 1 47 Simeon Street in the Christchurch suburb of Spreydon is named for Charles Simeon 47 Simeon s widow requested through land agents Richard J S Harman and Edward Cephas John Stevens that Wilderness Road which formed one of the boundaries of rural section 154 be renamed Barrington Road in honour of the 10th Baronet This request was granted in 1885 and it is today known as Barrington Street 72 73 His widow died on 3 April 1903 at Bournemouth England 74 Notes edit a b c d e f g h i j Blain 2007 p 75 Powys Lybbe Tim Person Sheet powys org Retrieved 25 May 2013 Powys Lybbe Tim Person Sheet Powys Lybbe forbears Retrieved 19 September 2013 Blain 2007 p 74 a b Blain 2007 p 76 McIntyre W David Sewell Henry Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Ministry for Culture and Heritage Retrieved 12 February 2012 Sewell 1980a pp 122 503 McIntyre W David Sewell Henry Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Ministry for Culture and Heritage Retrieved 12 February 2012 Hensley Gerald Godley John Robert Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Ministry for Culture and Heritage Retrieved 25 May 2013 English News Lyttelton Times Vol I no 34 30 August 1851 p 3 Retrieved 25 May 2013 The first four ships Christchurch City Libraries Retrieved 27 May 2013 Canterbury Settlement Lyttelton Times Vol I no 13 5 April 1851 p 2 Retrieved 25 May 2013 Sewell 1980a p 50 Canterbury rootsweb Retrieved 27 May 2013 a b Shipping News Lyttelton Times Vol I no 42 25 October 1851 p 5 Retrieved 25 May 2013 a b c d e Cresswell 1974 p 35 Page 1 Advertisements Column 3 Lyttelton Times Vol II no 78 3 July 1852 p 1 Retrieved 9 September 2013 Captain Simeon s House Former New Zealand Heritage List Rarangi Kōrero Heritage New Zealand Retrieved 11 March 2017 The Lyttelton Times Vol I no 50 20 December 1851 p 5 Retrieved 25 May 2013 Public Meeting at Lyttelton Lyttelton Times Vol II no 53 10 January 1852 p 3 Retrieved 26 May 2013 Contract for Lock up at Christchurch Lyttelton Times Vol II no 66 10 April 1852 p 1 Retrieved 9 September 2013 Untitled Lyttelton Times Vol II no 77 26 June 1852 p 10 Retrieved 15 March 2013 Burke William Ellison Burke Manuscript Christchurch City Libraries p 150 Retrieved 9 March 2013 The Lyttelton Times Vol III no 106 15 January 1853 p 6 Retrieved 11 September 2013 Correspondence Lyttelton Times Vol III no 131 9 July 1853 p 8 Retrieved 11 September 2013 Notice Lyttelton Times Vol I no 51 27 December 1851 p 1 Retrieved 26 May 2013 The Lyttelton Times Vol I no 52 3 January 1852 p 4 Retrieved 26 May 2013 Wellington Lyttelton Times Vol II no 59 21 February 1852 p 6 Retrieved 26 May 2013 Rural Sections Chosen Lyttelton Times Vol I no 17 3 May 1851 p 3 Retrieved 25 May 2013 Electoral Roll for the Town of Christchurch Lyttelton Times Vol III no 133 23 July 1853 p 5 Retrieved 17 September 2013 Hagley Park Races Lyttelton Times Vol II no 103 25 December 1852 p 10 Retrieved 9 September 2013 The Lyttelton Times Vol IV no 157 7 January 1854 p 6 Retrieved 20 September 2013 Christchurch Cricket Club Lyttelton Times Vol IV no 162 11 February 1854 p 12 Retrieved 20 September 2013 Lyttelton Church Building Committee Lyttelton Times Vol II no 57 7 February 1852 p 1 Retrieved 26 May 2013 Lochhead Ian J Mountfort Benjamin Woolfield Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Ministry for Culture and Heritage Retrieved 27 May 2013 Notice Lyttelton Times Vol IV no 167 18 March 1854 p 1 Retrieved 20 September 2013 Anglican Diocese of Christchurch Church Property Trust Act 2003 Parliamentary Counsel Office Retrieved 20 September 2013 The Lyttelton Times Vol II no 65 3 April 1852 p 4 Retrieved 5 June 2013 Untitled Lyttelton Times Vol III no 133 23 July 1853 p 4 Retrieved 18 September 2013 Page 4 Advertisements Column 1 Lyttelton Times Vol II no 98 20 November 1852 p 4 Retrieved 11 September 2013 Page 10 Advertisements Column 1 Lyttelton Times Vol III no 126 20 November 1852 p 10 Retrieved 11 September 2013 Page 4 Advertisements Column 1 Lyttelton Times Vol III no 139 3 September 1853 p 4 Retrieved 27 May 2013 Christchurch Country District Election Lyttelton Times Vol III no 141 17 September 1853 p 6 Retrieved 27 May 2013 Scholefield 1950 pp 192 196 Scholefield 1950 p 189 Scholefield 1950 p 191 a b c Harper Margaret Christchurch Street Names S PDF Christchurch City Libraries pp 52 53 Retrieved 9 September 2013 Page 6 Advertisements Column 1 Lyttelton Times Vol III no 150 19 November 1853 p 6 Retrieved 19 September 2013 Hight amp Straubel 1957 pp 220 221 Page 4 Advertisements Column 1 Lyttelton Times Vol IV no 209 1 November 1854 p 4 Retrieved 21 September 2013 The Lyttelton Time Lyttelton Times Vol IV no 209 1 November 1854 p 4 Retrieved 21 September 2013 Scholefield 1950 p 196 Local Intelligence Lyttelton Times Vol V no 305 3 October 1855 p 7 Retrieved 27 May 2013 Scholefield 1950 p 195 Local Intelligence Lyttelton Times Vol IV no 205 18 October 1854 p 4 Retrieved 20 September 2013 Inauguration of the S Augustine Lodge of Masons Lyttelton Times Vol III no 146 22 October 1853 p 7 Retrieved 19 September 2013 St Augustine Lodge The Library and Museum of Freemasonry Retrieved 19 September 2013 Horticultural Exhibition Dec 16 1853 Lyttelton Times Vol III no 156 31 December 1853 p 7 Retrieved 19 September 2013 Shipping News Lyttelton Times Vol V no 325 12 December 1855 p 6 Retrieved 27 May 2013 Furniture by Auction Lyttelton Times Vol V no 323 5 December 1855 p 1 Retrieved 27 May 2013 Sewell 1980b p 195 a b c d e Lundy Darryl Charles Simeon The Peerage Retrieved 25 May 2013 Lockwood Steve Philip Barrington Simeon grave monument details Gravestone Photographic Resource Retrieved 19 September 2013 Birth Lyttelton Times Vol I no 47 29 November 1851 p 5 Retrieved 25 May 2013 Died Lyttelton Times Vol II no 60 28 February 1852 p 3 Retrieved 26 May 2013 Birth Lyttelton Times Vol II no 97 13 November 1852 p 6 Retrieved 25 May 2013 Sewell 1980a p 461 Died Lyttelton Times Vol IV no 174 6 May 1854 p 6 Retrieved 20 September 2013 Powys Lybbe Tim Person Sheet powys org Retrieved 25 May 2013 Blain 2007 pp 3 75 Death The Press Vol XII no 1480 7 August 1867 p 2 Retrieved 11 September 2013 Harper Margaret Christchurch Street Names B PDF Christchurch City Libraries pp 28 31 Retrieved 9 September 2013 Road Boards The Press Vol XLI no 6027 9 January 1885 p 3 Retrieved 9 September 2013 Deaths The Star No 7705 13 May 1903 p 3 Retrieved 19 September 2013 References editBlain Rev Michael 2007 The Canterbury Association 1848 1852 A Study of Its Members Connections PDF Christchurch Project Canterbury Retrieved 26 May 2013 Cresswell Frances 1974 1955 Old Homes of Lyttelton Harbour 2nd ed Christchurch Pegasus Press Hight James Straubel Carl 1957 A History of Canterbury Vol 1 Christchurch Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd Scholefield Guy 1950 1913 New Zealand Parliamentary Record 1840 1949 3rd ed Wellington Govt Printer Sewell Henry 1980a W David McIntyre ed The Journal of Henry Sewell 1853 7 Volume 1 Vol 1 Christchurch Whitcoulls Publishers ISBN 0 7233 0624 9 Sewell Henry 1980b W David McIntyre ed The Journal of Henry Sewell 1853 7 Volume II Vol 2 Christchurch Whitcoulls Publishers ISBN 0 7233 0625 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Charles Simeon colonist amp 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