Henry Tucker (colonial storekeeper)
| Henry Tucker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1793 United Kingdom |
| Died | 26 August 1850 (aged 57) Auckland New Zealand |
| Resting place | Symonds Street Cemetery |
| Occupation | Naval Officer |
| Known for | Royal Navy Purser and Paymaster (Supply Officer) and first Colonial Storekeeper of the Colony of New Zealand |
| Spouse(s) | Elizabeth Howell (died 1844) Emily Shell (married 1845) |
| Children | Emma Mary Tucker William Tucker |
Henry Tucker (1793 – 26 August 1850) was a Royal Navy officer and the first colonial storekeeper for the newly established Colony of New Zealand.
Tucker entered Royal Navy service at the Plymouth Yard on 29 November 1802, initially as a Shipwright apprentice under the Master Measurer. Tucker completed his apprenticeship on 14 December 1811, when he then became the Clerk to the Master Measurer, remaining in this role until 1822. This was a role of some responsibility requiring above average literacy and numeracy skills and would have provided Tucker with intimate knowledge of the behind the scenes logistic workings of the Royal Navy.
On 16 November 1817 Tucker Married Elizebeth Howell (1795–1844) at South Wraxall, Wiltshire, England. It is known that their union produced a daughter Emma Mary who was born in 1829 (Died 1859) and a son, William Tucker who was born on 5 January 1843. His wife Elizabeth died on 16 December 1844, and Tucker remarried on 20 December 1845 to Emily Shell.
Tucker with a wife to support, must have decided that a career as a Purser would be a profitable and logical path of advancement. At that time Pursers were warranted by the Admiralty but did not require professional qualifications. However, some kind of financial surety was required, 20 years as Clerk to a Master Measurer provided that. The duties of a Purser were to oversee supply and issue of victuals, slops and other consumables. The Purser was one of the five standing officers of the ship. (A standing officer was permanently assigned to a ship.) The Purser's position presented many opportunities to the canny to enrich himself, often at the expense of the crew. Bligh of HMS Bounty Fame, served as his own Purser, with the actual work falling to his clerk. The regulations of the Royal Navy demanded that individuals aspiring to become pursers serve at least one year as a captain's clerk, which Tucker competed on HMS Calliope, and in 1825 he obtained his promotion to the rank of Purser and Paymaster.
In 1828 Tucker was the Purser aboard HMS Icarus, an 18 gun brig-sloop which was then part of the Royal Navy Barbados Station in the Caribbean, undertaking anti piracy and anti slavery patrols.
In 1840 Tucker was the Purser and Paymaster on HMS Buffalo, which whist anchored in Mercury Bay off Whitianga, loaded with kauri spars was wrecked in a storm on 28 July 1840. Given the remoteness on New Zealand at that time, Tucker was, along with the rest of the crew of HMS Buffalo stranded in New Zealand, with the choice to either settle or find passage on the next available ship out.
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