McDonnell was born to Thomas McDonnell Sr., an early British merchant and speculator who served a brief term as Additional British Resident, and his wife Anna McDonnell (née Patterson). He was born between 1831 and 1833[1] and raised first in Sydney, then Horeke, Northland. There he learned to speak Māori and how to use the traditional taiaha weapon. He tried his luck on the Victorian goldfields from 1853 to 1855, then returned to New Zealand where he obtained a post in the Native Land Purchase Department under Alfred Domett in Auckland. After being paid eight months late, McDonnell resigned from that job and went sheepfarming in the Hawkes Bay with his brother William, only to be defrauded by a third party. He returned to Auckland in 1862 and was appointed interpreter to the resident magistrate at Thames, panning for gold on the side.[1]
New Zealand Warsedit
Through Alfred Domett, McDonnell obtained a commission in the Colonial Defence Force as a sub-inspector in 1863.[1] During this time McDonnell served in the Invasion of the Waikato, seeing action at the battles of Rangiaowhia and Hairini. He was promoted to captain in 1864.[1]
Following the end of the conflict in the Waikato, McDonnell took command of the colonial forces at Patea in 1866.[2] McDonnell led a short and ruthless campaign against a number of Taranaki Māori villages, torching and destroying as he and his men went.[3]
Retirement from militaryedit
On 9 April 1870, McDonnell married Henrietta Elise Lomax, in Wellington. Together they had four children. He acquired £690 in government grants and £1,400 worth of freehold property at Wanganui, and set up as a Native Land Court interpreter and land agent at Wanganui in 1884. He received the New Zealand Cross on 31 March 1886, and published fragmented memoirs, as well as a fanciful Māori history of the wars.
O'Malley, Vincent (2019). The New Zealand Wars Ngā Pakanga O Aotearoa. Wellington: Bridget Williams Books. ISBN9781988545998.
December 17, 2023
thomas, mcdonnell, other, people, named, disambiguation, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newsp. For other people named Thomas McDonnell see Thomas McDonnell disambiguation This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Thomas McDonnell news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message Thomas McDonnell NZC c 1832 8 November 1899 was a 19th century New Zealand public servant military leader and writer 1 Thomas McDonnellNZCNickname s Fighting MacBorn1831 1833Died8 November 1899 1899 11 08 aged 67 Whanganui New ZealandBuriedHeads Road Cemetery WhanganuiAllegianceBritish EmpireRankColonelBattles warsNew Zealand Wars Invasion of the Waikato East Cape War Second Taranaki War Titokowaru s War Te Kooti s War Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Childhood and early life 1 2 New Zealand Wars 1 2 1 Titokowaru s War 1 3 Retirement from military 1 4 Death 2 References 3 Further readingBiography editChildhood and early life edit McDonnell was born to Thomas McDonnell Sr an early British merchant and speculator who served a brief term as Additional British Resident and his wife Anna McDonnell nee Patterson He was born between 1831 and 1833 1 and raised first in Sydney then Horeke Northland There he learned to speak Maori and how to use the traditional taiaha weapon He tried his luck on the Victorian goldfields from 1853 to 1855 then returned to New Zealand where he obtained a post in the Native Land Purchase Department under Alfred Domett in Auckland After being paid eight months late McDonnell resigned from that job and went sheepfarming in the Hawkes Bay with his brother William only to be defrauded by a third party He returned to Auckland in 1862 and was appointed interpreter to the resident magistrate at Thames panning for gold on the side 1 New Zealand Wars edit Through Alfred Domett McDonnell obtained a commission in the Colonial Defence Force as a sub inspector in 1863 1 During this time McDonnell served in the Invasion of the Waikato seeing action at the battles of Rangiaowhia and Hairini He was promoted to captain in 1864 1 Titokowaru s War edit Main article Titokowaru s War Following the end of the conflict in the Waikato McDonnell took command of the colonial forces at Patea in 1866 2 McDonnell led a short and ruthless campaign against a number of Taranaki Maori villages torching and destroying as he and his men went 3 Retirement from military edit On 9 April 1870 McDonnell married Henrietta Elise Lomax in Wellington Together they had four children He acquired 690 in government grants and 1 400 worth of freehold property at Wanganui and set up as a Native Land Court interpreter and land agent at Wanganui in 1884 He received the New Zealand Cross on 31 March 1886 and published fragmented memoirs as well as a fanciful Maori history of the wars Death edit McDonnell died on 8 November 1899 References edit a b c d e Belich James McDonnell Thomas Dictionary of New Zealand Biography Ministry for Culture and Heritage Retrieved 6 June 2019 O Malley 2019 p 168 O Malley 2019 p 167 Further reading editO Malley Vincent 2019 The New Zealand Wars Nga Pakanga O Aotearoa Wellington Bridget Williams Books ISBN 9781988545998 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas McDonnell amp oldid 1166631934, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
