Stephen Ponsonby Peacocke
Encyclopedia
Captain Stephen Ponsonby Peacocke (1813–1872), was a British officer of the Bombay Army
and an artist notable for his 17 paintings of historic landscape
views in the Nilgiri Hills in South India
. Tinted lithographs were made of these views and published in imperial folio in London by the lithographer Paul Gauci
in 1847. Peacocke's lithographs reflect the romantic escape to a temperate hilly area that all Britishers in the plains yearned for in those days.
Stephen Peacocke' s career culminated as a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council
from 1866 until his death in 1872.
Captain Peacocke's parents, Lieutenant Colonel Stephen Peacocke Sr. of the Buffs (Royal East Kent Regiment) (3rd Foot) and Louisa Tottenham Peacocke were married at Bath, Somerset
, in the west of England
, on June 11, 1808.
There is fine miniature portrait of Stephen Peacocke Sr., c. 1800, by George Chinnery
. There is a love note from Louisa to Stephen in the back of the miniature:
Their eldest child, Stephen Ponsonby Peacocke Jr., the artist, was born in 1813.
Their second son, Eliott Tottenham Peacocke, was at Tonbridge School
1832-33, joined the 1st Bombay Native Infantry in 1837, was promoted to Captain in the 1st Grenadiers Regiment in India in 1847 as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General of the Army, and died in Bombay aged 38 on 13 July 1854. There was/is supposedly a monument there erected to his memory by his brother officers.
In 1837, Stephen Ponsonby Peacocke Jr. and Isabella Anne Louisa Brydges born 1815, the daughter of a Baronet, were married, probably while he was on leave in England.
Stephen and Isabella had four sons and two daughters and at least ten grandchildren. Three of the sons and one daughter were residents of Auckland, and the fourth son settled in New South Wales
They are:
(25th Foot) infantry
regiment as an Ensign on October 25, 1833. He was in India
in the 1830s with his regiment and was in Ootacamund convalescing from an illness for some time during this period. He was promoted to Lieutenant on September 15, 1837 and Captain
August 23. 1839. In October, 1842, Capt. Peacock was furloughed for 3 months to Bombay. In April, 1843 he was furloughed to England for nine months for the purpose of effecting an exchange or retiring, either on half-pay or by the sale of his commission. By 1851 he was with the 59th Foot
and on November 11, 1851 received a brevet
promotion to Major. and on the same day appears on the list of Majors who have retired by sale, by commutation, with a gratuity or by surrender of half pay, not in the reserve.
In 1854-55, he appears on the retired list.
, Captain Peacocke created 17 drawings of historic landscape views in the Nilgiri Hills during a medical leave spent at Ootacamund in the late 1830s. Peacocke's lithographs reflect the romantic escape to a temperate hilly area that all Britishers in the plains yearned for in those days. It was a home away from home. Furlough was usually only every 5 years or so but there was the nearby refuge of the cool climate of the Indian hills to seek, especially Ooty with its downs, Primula
s and strawberries growing wild.
In May 1847, the imperial folio; Koondah Ranges, Western Ghauts, Madras, at & about the Stations of Ootacamund and Conoor, and the Segoor, Koondah and Conoor Passes, with vignette title page and sixteen large (54 centimetres (21.3 in) x 38 centimetres (15 in)) plates after Peacocke was executed in the best style of tinted lithography printed on card stock
, with added hand colouring, in contemporary half morocco leather
binding with gilt
spine for the price of £
2, 12s
. 6p
.
The set was published by the lithographer, Paul Gauci, 9 North Crescent, Bedford Square
, London.
There are three notable features in all the Peacocke drawings. First, the play of sunlight in the background of these landscapes is realistic and supplies the title the Sunlit Hillscapes to this series. The soft but brilliant glow of light in the South Indian hills is beautifully captured by the artist in each of the drawings. Second, the graphical perspective
in his topographic representations is very lifelike. The elevations and distant houses are all in proportion and scale. The distant views, with scale and depth, give drama to Peacocke's landscapes. Third is attention to detail away from the central focus of the work. For example in View in the Hills, Hullikkul, one can see that the hills to top left are dotted about with houses, not apparent on a cursory glance, all perfectly positioned, topographically, and in perspective. Capt. Peacocke was trained in surveying in the Army and used this training to good effect in his Neilgherry views.
Other than their 1847 publication, the lithographs are undated and the sequence of the original paintings is unknown. In an advertisement in Allen's Indian Mail the lithographs are listed in the following order:
An entire set of 16, tinted and uncoloured, are part of the Raj Bhavan art collection in Ooty.
In June 1996, a partial set of 14 plates was sold by Christies at auction for £863 ($1,335).
The lithos of Peacocke are not in Travel in Aquatint & Lithography by the late Maj. John Roland Abbey
.
(*)On August 19–31, 2009 nine of these lithographs, from the private collection of V. Narayan Swami, were displayed in the Exhibition of rare, unique and never-before-seen Etchings, Engravings & Aquatints : "Madras: From the City to the Presidency" at the Vennirul Art Gallery, C.P. Art Centre by the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
After a period in Madeira
, Stephen and Louisa immigrated to New Zealand
from England in 1858 and founded a strong and continuing lineage in New Zealand and Australia
. After a short stay in the province of Canterbury
they moved to Auckland in 1859. By 1860, Stephen Peacocke had bought some land near the Pensioner Settlement of Howick
, East Tamaki
and remained settled there for the rest of his life. In 1860 - 1861 he was on the Auckland
Jury list as a Retired field officer living at East Tamaki.
When the New Zealand land wars
broke out in the Waikato, Major Peacocke, as an ex-military officer, offered his services to the Government. He was given the rank of Lt. Colonel and command of the 3rd battalion of the Auckland Militia, during the Invasion of Waikato. He commanded the district extending from Wairoa
south to Otahuhu
, a line which at the beginning of the war was practically “the front,” defended by Galloway's and St. John's redoubts.
After the war, in 1865, Colonel Peacocke (or Ponsonby as he was called) turned his attention to politics. He entered the Auckland Provincial Council
to represent the Pensioner Settlements from 1865 - 1869. He was called to the New Zealand Legislative Council
in 1866 and attended several sessions of Parliament in Wellington, where he became known as a polished and effective speaker. He served as Crown and Waste Lands Commissioner
between 1867 and 1868. He continued to serve on the Legislative Council until his death. Colonel Peacocke was one of those early settlers who devoted to the public service highly cultivated minds, guided by those principles of public honour and integrity, which are characteristic of English gentlemen
. Isabella Peacocke died on 12 March 1872 and Stephen Peacocke died just over two months later on 30 May 1872. They are both buried in All Saints Churchyard, Howick, New Zealand. The headstone over their grave reads: "In death they were not divided".
Bombay Army
The Bombay Army was the army of the Bombay Presidency, one of the three Presidencies of British India, in South Asia.The Presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company until the Government of India Act 1858 transferred all three presidencies to the direct...
and an artist notable for his 17 paintings of historic landscape
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
views in the Nilgiri Hills in South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
. Tinted lithographs were made of these views and published in imperial folio in London by the lithographer Paul Gauci
Paul Gauci
Paul Gauci , was a lithographer of Maltese extraction, carrying on a business in London with his father, Maxim, and brother, William...
in 1847. Peacocke's lithographs reflect the romantic escape to a temperate hilly area that all Britishers in the plains yearned for in those days.
Stephen Peacocke' s career culminated as a member of the New Zealand Legislative Council
New Zealand Legislative Council
The Legislative Council of New Zealand was the upper house of the New Zealand Parliament from 1853 until 1951. Unlike the lower house, the New Zealand House of Representatives, the Legislative Council was appointed.-Role:...
from 1866 until his death in 1872.
Family
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, in the west of 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...
, on June 11, 1808.
There is fine miniature portrait of Stephen Peacocke Sr., c. 1800, by George Chinnery
George Chinnery
George Chinnery was an English painter who spent most of his life in Asia, especially India and southern China.- Early life :Chinnery was born in London, where he studied at the Royal Academy Schools...
. There is a love note from Louisa to Stephen in the back of the miniature:
"My beloved, my adored, Stephen, my idolised and matchless husband, married June 11th, 1808. Louisa Peacocke"
Their eldest child, Stephen Ponsonby Peacocke Jr., the artist, was born in 1813.
Their second son, Eliott Tottenham Peacocke, was at Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School
Tonbridge School is a British boys' independent school for both boarding and day pupils in Tonbridge, Kent, founded in 1553 by Sir Andrew Judd . It is a member of the Eton Group, and has close links with the Worshipful Company of Skinners, one of the oldest London livery companies...
1832-33, joined the 1st Bombay Native Infantry in 1837, was promoted to Captain in the 1st Grenadiers Regiment in India in 1847 as Deputy Assistant Quartermaster General of the Army, and died in Bombay aged 38 on 13 July 1854. There was/is supposedly a monument there erected to his memory by his brother officers.
In 1837, Stephen Ponsonby Peacocke Jr. and Isabella Anne Louisa Brydges born 1815, the daughter of a Baronet, were married, probably while he was on leave in England.
Stephen and Isabella had four sons and two daughters and at least ten grandchildren. Three of the sons and one daughter were residents of Auckland, and the fourth son settled in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
They are:
- 1. Georgina Elizabeth Emma Peacocke, of DevonportDevonport, New ZealandDevonport is a harbourside suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the North Shore, at the southern end of a peninsula that runs southeast from near Lake Pupuke in Takapuna, forming the northern side of the Waitemata Harbour...
, New Zealand, born c.1844, Poet, author of a book of verse, Rays from the Southern Cross, died May 14, 1892, at Devonport, NZ. - 2. John FitzRoy Beresford Peacocke, of RemueraRemueraRemuera is a residential suburban area within Auckland city, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located four kilometres to the southeast of the city centre...
, New Zealand, Born SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, c. 1847, married about 1876 at Auckland at the age of 29 to Florence Pilling, lived in New Zealand sixty years, no known occupation, died 11 June 1917 aged seventy at Woolton Road, Remuera, NZ, buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery at Howick. Male issue living - aged 36, 33, 28, 26. Female issue living - aged 40, 38, 34, 30.
-
- 1. Hilary m 1st Evelyn Wood 2nd Edna.
- 2. Cyril Loftus DeQuincey Peacocke killed in action WW I.
- 3. Noel Peacocke.
- 4. Muriel Charlotte Anne Peacocke, born 1881.
- 5. Egerton Francis Joseph Peacocke, born 1880, died 1960.
- 6. Blanch Louisa Peacocke.
- 7. Frederica Isabel Peacocke, born 1878.
- 8. Paul Peacocke died in infancy.
- 9. Florence Blanche Mary Peacocke, born 1876.
- 10. ? Madge
- 3. Gerald Loftus Torin Peacocke, a MadeiraMadeiraMadeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
-born English barrister, later editor of the New Zealand Farmer.
- 3. Gerald Loftus Torin Peacocke, a Madeira
- 1. Inez Isabel Maud Peacocke, born January 31, 1881, a teacher, novelist, broadcaster and poet, married George Edward Cluett on 30 June 1920 in the Holy Trinity Parish Church of Devonport, died childless 1973.
- 4. Reginald Thomas Stephen Peacocke b 1854, went to Australia and married Elizabeth Crook.
- 5. Ponsonby John Raleigh Peacocke.
- 6. Ines Eva Isabel Peacocke, married Thomas Lindesay, of Howick, New ZealandHowick, New ZealandHowick is an eastern suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, forming part of what is sometimes called East Auckland. Due to the relatively numerous remaining heritage buildings and other historical remnants from its early European settlement past, it has been called "perhaps Auckland's most historically...
.
Career
Stephen Peacocke joined the King's Own Scottish BorderersKing's Own Scottish Borderers
The King's Own Scottish Borderers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Scottish Division.-History:It was raised on 18 March 1689 by the Earl of Leven to defend Edinburgh against the Jacobite forces of James II. It is said that 800 men were recruited within the space of two hours...
(25th Foot) infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
regiment as an Ensign on October 25, 1833. He was in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in the 1830s with his regiment and was in Ootacamund convalescing from an illness for some time during this period. He was promoted to Lieutenant on September 15, 1837 and Captain
Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)
Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force...
August 23. 1839. In October, 1842, Capt. Peacock was furloughed for 3 months to Bombay. In April, 1843 he was furloughed to England for nine months for the purpose of effecting an exchange or retiring, either on half-pay or by the sale of his commission. By 1851 he was with the 59th Foot
59th (2nd Nottinghamshire) Regiment of Foot
The 59th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1755 in response to the threat of renewed war with France. It was amalgamated with the 30th Regiment of Foot in 1881 to form The East Lancashire Regiment as part of the Childers Reforms.-Formation and numbering:In...
and on November 11, 1851 received a brevet
Brevet (military)
In many of the world's military establishments, brevet referred to a warrant authorizing a commissioned officer to hold a higher rank temporarily, but usually without receiving the pay of that higher rank except when actually serving in that role. An officer so promoted may be referred to as being...
promotion to Major. and on the same day appears on the list of Majors who have retired by sale, by commutation, with a gratuity or by surrender of half pay, not in the reserve.
In 1854-55, he appears on the retired list.
Artworks
In the early days, only about 15 years after the founding of OotacamundOotacamund
Ootacamund , is a town, a municipality and the district capital of the Nilgiris district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Ootacamund is a popular hill station located in the Nilgiri Hills...
, Captain Peacocke created 17 drawings of historic landscape views in the Nilgiri Hills during a medical leave spent at Ootacamund in the late 1830s. Peacocke's lithographs reflect the romantic escape to a temperate hilly area that all Britishers in the plains yearned for in those days. It was a home away from home. Furlough was usually only every 5 years or so but there was the nearby refuge of the cool climate of the Indian hills to seek, especially Ooty with its downs, Primula
Primula
Primula is a genus of 400–500 species of low-growing herbs in the family Primulaceae. They include primrose, auricula, cowslip and oxlip. Many species are grown for their ornamental flowers...
s and strawberries growing wild.
In May 1847, the imperial folio; Koondah Ranges, Western Ghauts, Madras, at & about the Stations of Ootacamund and Conoor, and the Segoor, Koondah and Conoor Passes, with vignette title page and sixteen large (54 centimetres (21.3 in) x 38 centimetres (15 in)) plates after Peacocke was executed in the best style of tinted lithography printed on card stock
Card stock
Card stock, also called cover stock or pasteboard, is a paper stock that is thicker and more durable than normal writing or printing paper, but thinner and more flexible than other forms of paperboard. Card stock is often used for business cards, postcards, playing cards, catalog covers,...
, with added hand colouring, in contemporary half morocco leather
Morocco leather
Morocco leather is a leather made from goatskin, dyed red on the grain side and then tanned by hand to bring up the grain in a bird's-eye pattern....
binding with gilt
Gilding
The term gilding covers a number of decorative techniques for applying fine gold leaf or powder to solid surfaces such as wood, stone, or metal to give a thin coating of gold. A gilded object is described as "gilt"...
spine for the price of £
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
2, 12s
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
. 6p
Penny (British pre-decimal coin)
The penny of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, was in circulation from the early 18th century until February 1971, Decimal Day....
.
The set was published by the lithographer, Paul Gauci, 9 North Crescent, Bedford Square
Bedford Square
Bedford Square is a square in the Bloomsbury district of the Borough of Camden in London, England.Built between 1775 and 1783 as an upper middle class residential area, the sqare has had many distinguished residents, including Lord Eldon, one of Britain's longest serving and most celebrated Lord...
, London.
There are three notable features in all the Peacocke drawings. First, the play of sunlight in the background of these landscapes is realistic and supplies the title the Sunlit Hillscapes to this series. The soft but brilliant glow of light in the South Indian hills is beautifully captured by the artist in each of the drawings. Second, the graphical perspective
Perspective (graphical)
Perspective in the graphic arts, such as drawing, is an approximate representation, on a flat surface , of an image as it is seen by the eye...
in his topographic representations is very lifelike. The elevations and distant houses are all in proportion and scale. The distant views, with scale and depth, give drama to Peacocke's landscapes. Third is attention to detail away from the central focus of the work. For example in View in the Hills, Hullikkul, one can see that the hills to top left are dotted about with houses, not apparent on a cursory glance, all perfectly positioned, topographically, and in perspective. Capt. Peacocke was trained in surveying in the Army and used this training to good effect in his Neilgherry views.
Other than their 1847 publication, the lithographs are undated and the sequence of the original paintings is unknown. In an advertisement in Allen's Indian Mail the lithographs are listed in the following order:
- 1. Vignette title-page, with a view of a halting place between Avalanche and Sispara. (This may be BangitappalBangitappalBangitappal , is a valley in the southwest end of Mukurthi National Park located at: , elevation: at the confluence of two streams at the head of the Sispara Pass in the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu South India....
) - 2. General View of Ootacamund.
- 3. Avalanche.
- 4. View amongst the Hills, near Hullikul.
- 5. Bearer's godown at the Avalanche
- 6. Toda Mund and Todas Ootacamund
- 7. View from the Upper Bungalow, Conoor
- 8. View over the Native Village, Conoor.
- 9. View near Hullikul with the Koondah Range and Peak
- 10. View Of Conoor from the Oota Road
- 11. Traveller's Bungallow, Sispara.
- 12. View in the Koondhas, near Sispara.
- 13. Mr. Grove's House, Waterfall Kaitee.
- 14. Road Cut between Ootacamund and Conoor
- 15. View of the Low Country Conoor Pass.
- 16. Waterfall near Bungallow.
- 17. View at Ootacamuud, Nilligierries.
Gallery of Lithographs
The following gallery of Stephen Peacock's landscape lithographs is ordered geographically from the Low Country & Coonoor Pass, up through General View of Ootacamund and continuing west up along the Sispara Ghat road past Avalanche and culminating in the most dramatic geography in the Nilgiri Hills; View in the Koondahs, near Sispara.An entire set of 16, tinted and uncoloured, are part of the Raj Bhavan art collection in Ooty.
In June 1996, a partial set of 14 plates was sold by Christies at auction for £863 ($1,335).
The lithos of Peacocke are not in Travel in Aquatint & Lithography by the late Maj. John Roland Abbey
John Roland Abbey
Major John Roland Abbey was an English book collector and High Sheriff.-Early life:He was the eldest of three sons of William Henry Abbey, a brewer, and was named John Rowland before dropping the 'w'...
.
(*)On August 19–31, 2009 nine of these lithographs, from the private collection of V. Narayan Swami, were displayed in the Exhibition of rare, unique and never-before-seen Etchings, Engravings & Aquatints : "Madras: From the City to the Presidency" at the Vennirul Art Gallery, C.P. Art Centre by the C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
Later life
Madeira
Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Stephen and Louisa immigrated to 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...
from England in 1858 and founded a strong and continuing lineage in New Zealand and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. After a short stay in the province of Canterbury
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.-...
they moved to Auckland in 1859. By 1860, Stephen Peacocke had bought some land near the Pensioner Settlement of Howick
Howick, New Zealand
Howick is an eastern suburb of Auckland, New Zealand, forming part of what is sometimes called East Auckland. Due to the relatively numerous remaining heritage buildings and other historical remnants from its early European settlement past, it has been called "perhaps Auckland's most historically...
, East Tamaki
East Tamaki
East Tamaki is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. This is a mixed residential, light industry and retail area which is growing rapidly. Prior to the 1960s this was largely a dairy farming area. A landmark is Smales Mountain which in 2010 has the remains of an old Pa, a stone field garden, an early...
and remained settled there for the rest of his life. In 1860 - 1861 he was on the Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
Jury list as a Retired field officer living at East Tamaki.
When the New Zealand land wars
New Zealand land wars
The New Zealand Wars, sometimes called the Land Wars and also once called the Māori Wars, were a series of armed conflicts that took place in New Zealand between 1845 and 1872...
broke out in the Waikato, Major Peacocke, as an ex-military officer, offered his services to the Government. He was given the rank of Lt. Colonel and command of the 3rd battalion of the Auckland Militia, during the Invasion of Waikato. He commanded the district extending from Wairoa
Wairoa
Wairoa is a town in New Zealand's North Island. It is the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mahia Peninsula...
south to Otahuhu
Otahuhu
Otahuhu is a suburb of Auckland. It is located to the southeast of the city centre, on a narrow isthmus between an arm of the Manukau Harbour to the west and the Tamaki River estuary to the east...
, a line which at the beginning of the war was practically “the front,” defended by Galloway's and St. John's redoubts.
After the war, in 1865, Colonel Peacocke (or Ponsonby as he was called) turned his attention to politics. He entered the Auckland Provincial Council
Auckland Regional Council
The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...
to represent the Pensioner Settlements from 1865 - 1869. He was called to the New Zealand Legislative Council
New Zealand Legislative Council
The Legislative Council of New Zealand was the upper house of the New Zealand Parliament from 1853 until 1951. Unlike the lower house, the New Zealand House of Representatives, the Legislative Council was appointed.-Role:...
in 1866 and attended several sessions of Parliament in Wellington, where he became known as a polished and effective speaker. He served as Crown and Waste Lands Commissioner
Commissioner of Crown Lands
Commissioner of Crown Lands may refer to:*Commissioners of Crown Lands *Commissioner of Crown Lands...
between 1867 and 1868. He continued to serve on the Legislative Council until his death. Colonel Peacocke was one of those early settlers who devoted to the public service highly cultivated minds, guided by those principles of public honour and integrity, which are characteristic of English gentlemen
Gentleman
The term gentleman , in its original and strict signification, denoted a well-educated man of good family and distinction, analogous to the Latin generosus...
. Isabella Peacocke died on 12 March 1872 and Stephen Peacocke died just over two months later on 30 May 1872. They are both buried in All Saints Churchyard, Howick, New Zealand. The headstone over their grave reads: "In death they were not divided".