The Dictionary of Australasian Biography/Daldy, Captain William Crush
Daldy, Captain William Crush, was born at Rainham, Essex, in 1816. He arrived in New Zealand in 1841, having brought out the schooner Shamrock, eighty-five tons. On the voyage to Launceston he touched at Tahiti. The trouble with the French was then going on, and Captain Daldy was arrested as a political prisoner, and tried on the beach by a black judge and jury. This caused considerable correspondence between the Governments of the day. Captain Daldy arrived in Auckland on July 1st, 1841, on which day the first Custom House was opened. He traded for some time with the schooner between Sydney and Auckland. In 1845 he returned to England in charge of the barque Bellina, the first vessel loaded at Auckland with merchandise for export to England. The cargo was somewhat mixed, including copper ore from Kawau, kauri gum, manganese from Waiheki, and the first export of wool, consisting of two bales. During the voyage home Dr. Martin and Mr. William Brown, who were passengers, both wrote their books on New Zealand. Captain Daldy returned to Auckland in 1847, and two years later commenced business as a general merchant and shipping agent in the firm of Coombes and Daldy. He was elected to the House of Representatives, and from May to June 1856 was a member of the Fox Ministry. Captain Daldy participated actively in provincial politics, holding various offices, and during the Maori disturbances he commanded a company of volunteers. In 1865 he again visited England, and for twelve months acted as agent for the Government, during which period he sent out a thousand emigrants. He has held many offices in connection with the municipal government of Auckland, was at one time captain of a volunteer fire brigade, and officiated for seven years as Chairman of the Harbour Board.