- Walter Mantell
Walter Baldock Durant Mantell (
11 March 1820 –7 September 1895 ) was a 19th centuryNew Zealand scientist, politician, and Land Purchase Commissioner. He was a founder and first secretary of the New Zealand Institute, and discovered and collectedMoa remains.He was the
Minister of Māori Affairs in 1861 and 1864-65, and Postmaster-General briefly in 1862. He represented the Wallace electorate from 1861 to 1866, when he retired. From 1866 until his death he was on the New Zealand Legislative Council.He was born in Lewes, Sussex, England, the son of the geologist Dr
Gideon Mantell . He died in Wellington.Mantell is commemorated in the names of the
North Island Brown Kiwi "Apteryx mantelli" and theNorth Island Takahē "Porphyrio mantelli".External links
* [http://rsnz.natlib.govt.nz/volume/rsnz_05/rsnz_05_00_000590.html Walter Mantell on "Moa beds", 1872]
References
*"New Zealand Parliamentary Record 1840-1984" by J. O. Wilson (1985, Government Printer, Wellington)
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