Lieutenant-Governor of New Ulster

From 26 April 1851 to 7 March 1853, Wynyard was Lieutenant-Governor of New Ulster, a province of New Zealand encompassing much of the North Island. He replaced George Dean Pitt, who had died in office. During his term of office, he persuaded the local chiefs Ngāti Tamaterā and Ngāti Raupunga to allow gold mining in the province. The office was abolished when New Zealand was divided into several smaller provinces under the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852.

Superintendent of Auckland Province

Wynyard elected Superintendent of the new Auckland Province on 12 July 1853, beating William Brown. He held the office until he resigned on 5 January 1855. Wynyard's election to the office was controversial, as he was in charge of the colonial armed forces at the time, and effectively deputy to the Governor.^[13]: 61 The Colonial Office, on learning that Wynyard had been elected to the office of superintendent, demanded he resign from the role, which he soon did.^[14]: 49 He was replaced in the role by his previous electoral opponent William Brown.

Administrator of Government

Wynyard served for two periods (3 January 1854 to 6 September 1855 and 3 October 1861 to December 1861) as Administrator of the Government, in each case between the recall of one Governor and the arrival of the next.

Wynyard opened the 1st New Zealand Parliament on 24 May 1854.^[14]: 50 He was quickly confronted by the demands of the new Parliament that responsible government be granted immediately; on 2 June the House of Representatives passed a resolution, sponsored by Edward Gibbon Wakefield, to that effect. Wynyard refused, stating that the Colonial Office made no mention of responsible government in its dispatches. The appointed Executive Council advised Wynyard against implementing responsible government, and in the meantime, he sent a dispatch to London requesting clarification. Wynyard then offered to add some elected members of parliament to the Executive Council, and appointed James FitzGerald, Henry Sewell and Frederick Weld to the council. The compromise worked for a few weeks, but on 1 August Parliament demanded complete power to appoint ministers. Wynyard refused, and all three MPs resigned from the council. In response, Wynyard prorogued Parliament for two weeks. On 31 August he appointed Thomas Forsaith, Jerningham Wakefield and James Macandrew to the Executive Council, but when Parliament met again it moved a motion of no confidence in the members.

Parliament met on 8 August 1855, by which time Wynyard had received instructions from the Colonial Office to introduce responsible government. The new Governor, Sir Thomas Gore Browne, arrived on 6 September 1855 and relieved Wynyard of his duties. He resumed his military career and belonged to the 58th Regiment.^[15] On 28 January 1858, Wynyard was appointed to the New Zealand Legislative Council.^[16] He resigned on 3 November of that year, as the 58th Regiment was recalled to England.^[15][16]

Wynyard's second term as Administrator in 1861 was much less eventful. Filling in between Gore Browne and Sir George Grey, he governed New Zealand for a short period with the advice of responsible Ministers, under Premier William Fox.

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  Civil Uniform coatee worn by Lt Col Robert Wynyard, c. 1850s.
  Auckland Museum
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  Auckland Museum
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  Auckland Museum
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  Belt worn by Lt Col Robert Wynyard.
  Auckland Museum
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  Epaulette.
  Auckland Museum
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  Epergne: Wynyard Testimonial, 1858. Maker: Smith & Nicholson, London.
  Auckland Museum
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  Epergne: Wynyard Testimonial, 1858. Maker: Smith & Nicholson, London.^[17]
  Auckland Museum
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  Silhouette portrait of Robert Wynyard
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  The Residence of Colonel Robert Henry Wynyard, Emily Place, Official Bay, Auckland (c. 1843) by Edward Ashworth