For 30 years from the 1860s New Zealand was governed by professional governors whose careers took them from minor islands to the larger Crown and self-governing colonies.
After a lengthy Royal Navy career in which he saw action in the Napoleonic Wars and was twice captured by pirates in the Caribbean, William Hobson (1792-1842) became New Zealand's first Governor.
Robert FitzRoy, who first visited New Zealand as commander of the Beagle in 1835, was Governor from 1843, succeeding the late William Hobson. He served until 1845, when he was recalled to Britain and replaced by George Grey.
