Thomas Donne facts for kids
Thomas Edward Donne CMG (1860–1945) was an important New Zealander. He worked for the government, wrote books, enjoyed hunting, and collected special Māori artworks and New Zealand art.
Contents
Donne's Career
Working for the Railways
Thomas Donne was born in Australia in 1859. He started working for the New Zealand government in 1875 in the Telegraph Department. There, he met Joseph Ward, who became a lifelong friend and colleague in government.
Soon, Donne moved to the Railways Department. He became a stationmaster and postmaster in places like Caversham. He kept getting promoted to bigger towns. In 1885, he had a serious accident but recovered. After that, he continued to rise in the Railways Department, becoming stationmaster of Wellington in 1885. In 1900, he left the railways to work for the Department of Industries and Commerce.
Promoting Tourism in New Zealand
Donne was very interested in helping people visit New Zealand. He became the General Manager of the new Department of Tourist and Health Resorts. This department was part of Joseph Ward's government work.
Donne was a great manager. He looked at different parts of New Zealand and helped improve places for tourists to stay. He opened information centers in all major New Zealand cities. He also encouraged new tourist attractions, especially in Rotorua. He made government-owned spas and health resorts better. He also helped set up many beautiful scenic reserves. By 1906, his department looked after 17 reserves. Donne also helped manage the Tongariro National Park. In 1909, he also became the General Manager of the Government Advertising Department.
Donne worked hard to show off New Zealand to the world. He promoted New Zealand's trade and tourism at big international fairs. In 1904, he was in charge of New Zealand's display at the St Louis World's Fair in the USA. He showed off New Zealand's beautiful scenery, hunting, fishing, and Māori culture. He even borrowed 10 paintings of important Māori people by Gottfried Lindauer for the fair. He also made sure New Zealand products like wood, kauri gum, grains, wool, and flax were shown.
From 1906, Donne helped lead the New Zealand International Exhibition. He traveled to the United States to invite businesses from other countries to join. His department had its own area at the exhibition. It showed off New Zealand's hunting and fishing with animal trophies. There were also examples of kauri gum and timber. A special part was a working model of a Rotorua hot pool and geyser!
Working in London
In 1909, Donne moved to London to work for the New Zealand High Commission. His job was to promote New Zealand trade and immigration. He continued to promote New Zealand at exhibitions. He helped with New Zealand's displays at the Imperial International Exhibition in London in 1909 and the International Sports Fair in Vienna in 1910.
He also led the New Zealand section at the Festival of Empire in 1911. Donne made sure the New Zealand display included a Māori village. He even invited a Māori concert group from Te Arawa, including the famous guide Guide Maggie Papakura, to perform in London.
Donne worked in London until 1923 when he retired. Even after retiring, he stayed in the United Kingdom. He helped provide materials for the New Zealand display at the British Empire Exhibition.
Donne's Personal Life
Thomas Donne married Amy Kate Lucas in 1883. They had three sons.
Donne loved hunting and fishing. He especially enjoyed hunting deer and collected many trophy heads. His love for hunting even influenced his work at the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts. While he was General Manager, the department helped bring different game animals to New Zealand. These included Canada geese, red deer, wapiti, salmon, chamois, and thar. While hunting, he once found a complete skeleton of a Moa, which he gave to the Dominion Museum.
Donne's Collections
Donne was also a keen collector of Māori historical items and New Zealand art. He kept scrapbooks of his findings about Māori culture. When he moved to London, he took some of his collection with him. The rest was sold at an auction in 1909.
In London, he continued to grow his collection. He bought, sold, and traded items with other collectors. One very special piece he owned was a small carved house called Te Wharepuni-a-Maui. He had asked famous carvers like Tene Waitere to create it for him in 1905. This house was first shown at the Whakarewarewa model village in Rotorua. It was then rented for the New Zealand International Exhibition. Donne took this house with him to London. It was likely shown in other exhibitions he helped with. Today, this house is in the collection of the Linden Museum.
Another important collection he was involved with was New Zealand jade. This collection started with a New Zealand collector named John White. After White died, the jade collection was sold to an Englishman named J. Struan Robertson. Robertson took the collection to England. After Robertson died, Donne bought most of the collection. Donne kept the special pieces like hei tiki and pendants. He sold the rest to the Field Museum. Later, Donne sold his remaining pieces to another collector named Armytage. After Armytage died, Kenneth Athol Webster made sure the jade collection was returned to New Zealand museums.
Donne gave away, sold, or auctioned parts of his collection throughout his life. Items he once owned can now be found in:
- the collection of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
- the collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library
- the collection of the Field Museum
- the collection of the Linden Museum
Donne's Books
Thomas Donne wrote several books, including:
- New Zealand Government catalogue of exhibits at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, 1904, St. Louis, Missouri (1904)
- New Zealand : a fairyland of boiling fountains, vast glaciers, painted Maori and wingless birds (1905)
- The game animals of New Zealand : an account of their introduction, acclimatization, and development (1924)
- Red deer stalking in New Zealand (1924)
- The Maori past and present : an account of a highly attractive, intelligent people, their doubtful origin, their customs and ways of living, art, methods of warfare, hunting and other characteristics mental and physical (1927)
- Rod fishing in New Zealand waters : a description of a fisherman's paradise (1927)
He also wrote the introduction for the book The First Ascent of Mount Ruapehu by George Beetham (1926).
Donne passed away in the United Kingdom in 1945. The rest of his collection, including New Zealand watercolors, drawings, artifacts, and natural history items, was sold at an auction in London in 1973.
Recognition
Donne was honored with the title of Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in 1923. This is a special award for people who have done great service.
Some places in New Zealand are named after him, like the Donne River, which flows from the Donne Glacier. There is also a mountain, Mount Amy, named after his wife.
