John Robert Godley was an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 statesman

Statesman

A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...

 and bureaucrat

Bureaucrat

A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can comprise the administration of any organization of any size, though the term usually connotes someone within an institution of a government or corporation...

. Godley is considered to be the founder of Canterbury, New Zealand

Canterbury, New Zealand

The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...

, although he lived there for only two years.

Early life

Godley was born in Dublin, the eldest son of John Godley and Katherine Daly. His father was an Anglo-Irish

Anglo-Irish

Anglo-Irish was a term used primarily in the 19th and early 20th centuries to identify a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until...

 landlord

Landlord

A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant . When a juristic person is in this position, the term landlord is used. Other terms include lessor and owner...

 with country estates in County Leitrim and County Meath in Ireland. He was educated at Harrow School

Harrow School

Harrow School, commonly known simply as "Harrow", is an English independent school for boys situated in the town of Harrow, in north-west London.. The school is of worldwide renown. There is some evidence that there has been a school on the site since 1243 but the Harrow School we know today was...

 and Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church, Oxford

Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...

, graduating in classics in 1836. He was always very sickly, which prevented him from pursuing a chosen career in law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

.

Adult life

After graduating from college, Godley traveled over much of Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

 and North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. His traveling influenced and helped to form his ideas about the establishment and governing of colonies. In 1843 he was appointed High Sheriff of Leitrim

High Sheriff of Leitrim

The High Sheriff of Leitrim was the British Crown’s judicial representative in County Leitrim, Ireland from c.1584 until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Leitrim County Sheriff. The sheriff had judicial, electoral, ceremonial and administrative...

 and, in the following year, Deputy Lieutenant and a Justice of the Peace. He married Charlotte Griffith Wynne, daughter of Mr C.G.Wynne of Denbighshire, in September 1846 and in 1847 failed in a bid to represent Leitrim in the UK parliament.

At this time, because of his extensive travel and ideas on the subject of colonisation Godley was asked by Edward Gibbon Wakefield

Edward Gibbon Wakefield

Edward Gibbon Wakefield was a British politician, the driving force behind much of the early colonisation of South Australia, and later New Zealand....

, the owner of the New Zealand Company

New Zealand Company

The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...

, to found a colony

Colony

In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....

 in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 that would follow the beliefs of the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

. Godley was persuaded to lead this new colony because of his political connections, which helped to secure funds for the colony.

Four years later he and his family arrived in Port Cooper (Lyttelton

Lyttelton, New Zealand

Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....

) in April 1850. Upon arrival he was met by Captain Joseph Thomas and shown the construction plans for three separate towns and housing plans for the current settlement at Lyttelton. A fleet of four ships reached Lyttelton in December 1850. The Randolph

Randolph (ship)

Randolph was a 664-ton ship-rigged merchant vessel constructed in 1849 in Sunderland. She was one of the first four ships to settle Christchurch, New Zealand ....

, the Cressy

Cressy (ship)

The Cressy was one of the first four ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand. The Cressy was the last to arrive on 27 December. The other ships were Charlotte-Jane, Sir George Seymour and Randolph.The passengers aboard these four ships were...

, the Sir George Seymour

Sir George Seymour (ship)

The Sir George Seymour was one of the first four ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand. The other three ships were Cressy, Charlotte-Jane and Randolph.-Voyage:...

, and the Charlotte-Jane

Charlotte-Jane

The Charlotte Jane was one of the First Four Ships in 1850 to carry emigrants from England to the new colony of Canterbury in New Zealand.-Arrival in Lyttelton:...

all carried pilgrims and supplies for the planned colony. For the next two years he served as leader of the settlement, which was called 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...

. He negotiated with the Canterbury Association

Canterbury Association

The Canterbury Association was formed in order to establish a colony in what is now the Canterbury Region in the South Island of New Zealand.- Formation of the Association :...

 in order to get them to change their conditions for pastoral leases to ensure that the colony was able to make a good start with a strong farming base. Godley believed that the Canterbury Association's purpose was to found Canterbury, not to rule it. He thought that the colony should be self-governing.

He later returned to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 in December 1852, where he worked as a columnist

Columnist

A columnist is a journalist who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs....

 and essayist for several newspapers. He mainly wrote about colonial reform, a subject clearly dear to his heart. He also was employed at the War Office

War Office

The War Office was a department of the British Government, responsible for the administration of the British Army between the 17th century and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the Ministry of Defence...

. There he continued his argument for the self-governing of the British colonies.

Godley died on November 17, 1861 in London. A bronze statue

Godley Statue

The Godley Statue is a bronze statue situated in Cathedral Square in Christchurch, New Zealand. It commemorates the "Founder of Canterbury" John Robert Godley. It was the first statue portraying a person in New Zealand...

 bearing his likeness was erected in Cathedral Square

Cathedral Square, Christchurch

Cathedral Square, locally known simply as the Square, is the geographical centre and heart of Christchurch, New Zealand, where the city's Anglican cathedral, ChristChurch Cathedral is located...

 by the people of Christchurch in 1867. It was designed by artist Thomas Woolner

Thomas Woolner

Thomas Woolner RA was an English sculptor and poet who was one of the founder-members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was the only sculptor among the original members....

. This fell into several pieces during the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake

Godley's only son was Sir Arthur Godley

Arthur Godley, 1st Baron Kilbracken

John Arthur Godley, 1st Baron Kilbracken, GCB was a British civil servant and the longest serving - and probably the most influential - Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India....

, later created Baron Kilbracken

Baron Kilbracken

Baron Kilbracken, of Killegar in the County of Leitrim, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1909 for the senior civil servant Sir Arthur Godley. He was Permanent Under-Secretary of State for India between 1883 and 1909...

. His nephew was General

General (United Kingdom)

General is currently the highest peace-time rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It is subordinate to the Army rank of Field Marshal, has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank....

 Sir Alexander Godley

Alexander Godley

General Sir Alexander John Godley GCB, KCMG was a First World War general, best known for his role as commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force...

, the controversial commander of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force

New Zealand Expeditionary Force

The New Zealand Expeditionary Force was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight for Britain during World War I and World War II. Ultimately, the NZEF of World War I was known as the First New Zealand Expeditionary Force...

 (NZEF) in WWI

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

.