James White came to New Zealand in 1848 as a member of the Royal New Zealand Fencibles. The Governor of the young British colony of New Zealand, Sir George Grey, had written in 1846 to the Minister for War and the Colonies. Earl Grey (Viscount Howick) requesting a force of 2500 soldiers which would be deployed throughout the colony, particularly to protect the recently proclaimed capital of Auckland. He already had 1,100 men under arms so an additional 900 regular soldiers were sent from the regiments serving in New South Wales, Australia. The remaining 500 soldiers were to be selected ex-soldiers, to be known as the New Zealand Fencibles. They were to solve many problems for the Government other than the defence of Auckland. It was a very successful immigration scheme and Howick was the largest of the Fencible - or pensioner - settlements.

Ailsa Patricia White
ailsab@xtra.co.nz

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