John Joseph Woods
Encyclopedia
John Joseph Woods was a New Zealand teacher and songwriter. He is best known for winning a competition to set "God Defend New Zealand
", a poem by Thomas Bracken
, to music. By doing this, he composed the tune to what later became New Zealand's national anthem
. Woods was also the Tuapeka County Council clerk for 55 years.
(now Tasmania
) in 1849 into an Irish family with fourteen other children, seven boys and seven girls. His father was a soldier. After teaching in Tasmania for nine years, he migrated to New Zealand as a young man and worked for a time in Nelson
, Christchurch
, Dunedin
and Invercargill
. Eight years teaching in New Zealand led to a position as the head teacher of St Patrick's School in Lawrence, Otago
, and he moved there from Invercargill in 1874. Woods was known as a good musician. He was choirmaster of the local Catholic church, and could play twelve different instruments, though he was best known for his skill on the violin. Singing a solo at his own wedding, Woods established that he was also a competent singer.
While in Lawrence, Woods taught alongside an Irish widow called Harriet Conway (née Plunket) who already had two sons. They were married in September 1874 and had four children together, three sons and a daughter named Mary.
In 1902, Woods built a house of brick and wood on the corner of Lismore and Lancaster Streets which was his residence until he died in 1934. It is now under the care of the Historic Places Trust, which mounted a plaque on the street-facing back wall commemorating his composition of the national anthem.
. In October 1876, it was announced that the three independent judges unanimously agreed that Woods' composition was the clear winner. The prize was ten guineas.
The rules of the competition meant that the submission's copyright would belong exclusively to the Saturday Advertiser, which gave the manuscript to the Dunedin-based Charles Begg & Co to publish, but a nine-month delay in sending it to a publisher was followed by two months of waiting for publication. The end result was a shoddy edition with only one verse, which was rejected by the Advertiser. When promises of reprint failed to materialise, the Advertiser was forced to hand the copyright back over to Woods. He immediately organised publication by Hopwood and Crew in London, with Bracken's blessing. Bracken had not originally intended for his poem to assume the status of national anthem, and it was Woods who had consistently used the word "anthem" where Bracken referred to it as "hymn".
Being a choirmaster, Woods' focus in composing the melody was to make it simple and easy for children to sing. This proved to aid its success when the Premier George Grey visited Lawrence on 11 March 1878 and was welcomed by six hundred local schoolchildren singing what was by then beginning to be labelled as the "national anthem". Grey was very taken by the music and immediately sent a telegram to Bracken congratulating him.
When Woods was made an Honorary Freeman of New Zealand, he was commended for his "efficiency, integrity and devotion to duty".
God Defend New Zealand
"God Defend New Zealand" is one of two national anthems of New Zealand, the other being "God Save the Queen". Legally they have equal status, but "God Defend New Zealand" is more commonly used, and is popularly referred to as "the national anthem"...
", a poem by Thomas Bracken
Thomas Bracken
Thomas Bracken was a noted late 19th century poet. He wrote "God Defend New Zealand", one of the two National anthems of New Zealand and was the first person to publish the phrase "God's Own Country" as applied to New Zealand.-Background and early years:Bracken was born at Clones, County...
, to music. By doing this, he composed the tune to what later became New Zealand's national anthem
National anthem
A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence...
. Woods was also the Tuapeka County Council clerk for 55 years.
Personal life
Woods was born in the then colony of Van Diemen's LandVan Diemen's Land
Van Diemen's Land was the original name used by most Europeans for the island of Tasmania, now part of Australia. The Dutch explorer Abel Tasman was the first European to land on the shores of Tasmania...
(now Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
) in 1849 into an Irish family with fourteen other children, seven boys and seven girls. His father was a soldier. After teaching in Tasmania for nine years, he migrated to New Zealand as a young man and worked for a time in Nelson
Nelson, New Zealand
Nelson is a city on the eastern shores of Tasman Bay, and is the economic and cultural centre of the Nelson-Tasman region. Established in 1841, it is the second oldest settled city in New Zealand and the oldest in the South Island....
, Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, Dunedin
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
and Invercargill
Invercargill
Invercargill is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. It lies in the heart of the wide expanse of the Southland Plains on the Oreti or New River some 18 km north of Bluff,...
. Eight years teaching in New Zealand led to a position as the head teacher of St Patrick's School in Lawrence, Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
, and he moved there from Invercargill in 1874. Woods was known as a good musician. He was choirmaster of the local Catholic church, and could play twelve different instruments, though he was best known for his skill on the violin. Singing a solo at his own wedding, Woods established that he was also a competent singer.
While in Lawrence, Woods taught alongside an Irish widow called Harriet Conway (née Plunket) who already had two sons. They were married in September 1874 and had four children together, three sons and a daughter named Mary.
In 1902, Woods built a house of brick and wood on the corner of Lismore and Lancaster Streets which was his residence until he died in 1934. It is now under the care of the Historic Places Trust, which mounted a plaque on the street-facing back wall commemorating his composition of the national anthem.
Composition of the national anthem
One night in the winter of June 1876, Woods read about the competition in the Saturday Advertiser. According to tradition, he usually met the coach that delivered the news in the main street of Lawrence to pick up his paper. It was already 9 pm, but he went straight to his piano and in that one sitting composed the tune for what later became the national anthem. In a later letter to A.H. Reed, he explained that the words inspired him so much he had to write music for them. He entered his composition under the nom de plume of "Orpheus". The Advertiser sent it off with the eleven other submissions to Melbourne, where judging had been arranged by George MusgroveGeorge Musgrove
George Musgrove was an English-born Australian theatre producer.-Early life:Musgrove was born at Surbiton, England, the son of Thomas John Watson Musgrove, an accountant, and his wife, Fanny Hodson, an actress and sister of Georgiana Rosa Hodson who married William Saurin Lyster...
. In October 1876, it was announced that the three independent judges unanimously agreed that Woods' composition was the clear winner. The prize was ten guineas.
The rules of the competition meant that the submission's copyright would belong exclusively to the Saturday Advertiser, which gave the manuscript to the Dunedin-based Charles Begg & Co to publish, but a nine-month delay in sending it to a publisher was followed by two months of waiting for publication. The end result was a shoddy edition with only one verse, which was rejected by the Advertiser. When promises of reprint failed to materialise, the Advertiser was forced to hand the copyright back over to Woods. He immediately organised publication by Hopwood and Crew in London, with Bracken's blessing. Bracken had not originally intended for his poem to assume the status of national anthem, and it was Woods who had consistently used the word "anthem" where Bracken referred to it as "hymn".
Being a choirmaster, Woods' focus in composing the melody was to make it simple and easy for children to sing. This proved to aid its success when the Premier George Grey visited Lawrence on 11 March 1878 and was welcomed by six hundred local schoolchildren singing what was by then beginning to be labelled as the "national anthem". Grey was very taken by the music and immediately sent a telegram to Bracken congratulating him.
County clerk
In 1877, Woods stopped teaching and was appointed the county clerk for the Tuapeka County Council. He was known for working 13-hour days and keeping accounts of such standard that he was accepted as a fellow of the Registered Accountants of New Zealand. Serving in this role, he also gained a reputation as an authority on county law, sought out by the council and clerks of other regions. He also organised the decoration of council office buildings to mark Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. He served that role for 55 years until illness forced him to retire in 1932, aged 83.Other honours
Woods was deeply involved in the affairs of the town. He was a member of many local clubs and societies. He was also known as an expert on cultivating daffodils, of which his collection was the largest in the area. In 1884, Woods was elected first president of the local choral society.When Woods was made an Honorary Freeman of New Zealand, he was commended for his "efficiency, integrity and devotion to duty".