Mackay James Nelson Nz 1831 1912 Part 2

edmondsallan - Hello - I did not know at the time I was tramping in there , who the original explorer was .
After McLean's death on 5 January 1877 Mackay fell out with Grey, by challenging his election as MHR for Thames, and his fortunes soon declined. On 20 November 1879 he was appointed resident magistrate for Greymouth, Hokitika and Nelson south-west goldfields, and warden of the Westland and Nelson south-west goldfields, but by October 1880 he had gone bankrupt over a North Island land deal and had resigned.

After retiring to Auckland, Mackay became interested in Maori land administration, and in 1887 published a pamphlet, Our dealings with Maori lands, castigating the Native Land Court as an imposition on Maori and European alike. In 1896 he moved to Paeroa and became a miners' agent and a land agent. He marked his return to the district with a Maori oration at Thames on 25 May 1896 before his old Ngati Maru adversaries. It was his apologia.

Voted a government annuity of £75 in 1903, Mackay spent his declining years in poverty and died at the age of 80 at Paeroa on 10 October 1912. He was survived by his daughter. In 1942 a plaque to his memory was unveiled in Paeroa.

In his time James Mackay was a popular hero, one of those individuals on whom the expansion of empire depended. The Treaty of Waitangi was a closed book to him. However, his cousin, Alexander Mackay, who became commissioner for native reserves on 7 October 1864, was appalled at the impoverishment of Ngai Tahu in Canterbury and Otago and attributed this to the meagre reserves allowed by McLean and Grey. For the rest of his life he sought justice for Ngai Tahu. His royal commission reports of 1887 and 1891 on South Island Maori land claims provided a damning indictment of the policies which James Mackay had so willingly supported. If you ever get the chance to tramp this region - go for it . The scenery is out of this world . Till we meet again - Regards - edmondsallan

Harry C. Evison. 'Mackay, James - Biography', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 1-Sep-10
URL: http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/biographies/1m29/1