- Trevor Chute
Major-General Sir Trevor Chute KCB (July 31 ,1816 –March 12 ,1886 ) was an Irishsoldier in theBritish army , whose six week campaign during theSecond Taranaki War was the last to be carried out inNew Zealand byimperial troops .Biography
Family Background
Trevor Chute was born to Francis Chute and Mary Ann Chute (nee Bomford) onJuly 31 ,1816 . His birthplace is alleged to have beenTralee ,County Kerry ,Ireland .Britain & India
Chute entered the British army in 1832, serving first in the
Ceylon Rifles and then in the 70th (Surrey) Regiment. By 1847 he had been promoted toMajor , performing duty inIreland in 1848 before being transferred with the 70th regiment toIndia in 1849. In India Chute was promoted toLieutenant-Colonel , commanding the regiment atPeshawar . He was promoted toColonel in 1854, and organizedflying column s for pacification purposes during theIndian mutiny of 1857-1858.New Zealand & Australia
In 1861 Chute and his regiment arrived in
New Zealand , where they helped construct the military road fromDrury to theWaikato River . During this time he presided over a court of inquiry into the conduct of the ‘battle’ ofWaireka . In March 1863 he was promoted toBrigadier-General commanding the troops stationed inAustralia . Returning to New Zealand as aMajor-General in 1865, he replaced Duncan Cameron as head of the British forces while also retaining his Australian command.Although
Governor George Grey had proclaimed peace inTaranaki , conflict in theSecond Taranaki War flared up again in 1865 after troops sent by Chute to convey the terms to west coastMaori were killed, and a supply convoy was attacked in theHawera district on October 4. Chute led a 620-strong force across South and Central Taranaki, fromWanganui toNew Plymouth , destroying approximately twenty villages between theWaitotara River andMount Egmont . His expedition, although effective, has been described by biographer David Green in terms that portray an unsophisticated, ruthless and undiscerning leader. The 9-day “forest march” of January 1866, a journey across the eastern base of Mount Egmont which usually took two or three days, almost resulted in disaster. The use of pack-horses meant that many of the 'twenty-one rivers and ninety gullies' to be crossed required bridging – a feat for which his force was not prepared, and which had to be carried out amidst incessant rainfall.Following the campaign, British troops were gradually withdrawn from New Zealand, and in 1867 Chute moved with his headquarters to
Melbourne, Australia . That same year he was created KCB, and onJuly 9 ,1868 , he married Ellen Browning. While in Australia he helped foster the volunteer movement and oversaw the attenuation of Britishgarrisons there.England
In October 1870 Chute followed the last imperial troops stationed in Victoria back to
England , where he was appointed colonel of the22nd (Cheshire) Regiment . He was made a full general in 1877, and was placed on the retired list in 1881.Death
Trevor Chute died at Binfield, near Reading, on 12 March 1886, aged 69.
Personality
David Green describes “General Chute” as follows;
:"“Chute was 'a short-legged man, with a shaggy, square, masculine head and powerful body. He walked deliberately, carrying his head a little to either side, and no man could precisely foretell his temper from day to day'. His nickname, 'The Kerry Bull', derived from both his general appearance and a resonant voice, which was fully exploited on the parade ground. His direct, unscientific approach to soldiering endeared him to his troops, but in New Zealand left him 'lonely as a moulting crow in the midst of his predecessor's brilliant staff'.” "
References
* Green, David. [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1C17 'Chute, Trevor 1816 - 1886'.] Dictionary of New Zealand Biography, updated 7 April 2006
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