Amassing Treasures for All Times

Sir George Grey, governor of New Zealand, South Australia and the Cape Colony, was an outstanding British colonial statesman in the nineteenth century. Brilliant and inscrutable, Grey, who was in contact with key Victorians from Darwin to Whately throughout his life, played a central role in overseeing the development of British colonies into politically autonomous entities.

Less well-known of Grey is that he was also an obsessive collector of rare books and artefacts, which he selflessly bequeathed to the people he governed. This study, written by a former librarian of the Auckland Grey Collection, sheds desperately needed light on the genius and magnanimity of an increasingly controversial figure, demonstrating the complex humanity underlying his apparent remoteness. It is the first study on Grey of its kind.