Sir James Hector

Born in England in 1867, George Hudson moved to New Zealand with his family in 1881, when he was 14 years old.

George was a keen entomologist from a young age and had already published a short paper in a British publication by the age of 13. He worked at the Post Office from 1883 until 1918, beginning as a postal clerk and ending as Chief Clerk. This shift work allowed George time to devote energy to his dual passions of Entomology and Astronomy, both of which he received recognition for within his lifetime.

He became a member of the Wellington Philosophical Society in 1885 and was its president in 1900, 1901 and 1940, by which time it had become the Wellington Branch of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He was elected one of the original fellows of the New Zealand Institute in 1919 and was awarded the Hector Memorial Medal and Prize in 1923 and the Hutton Memorial Medal in 1929.

George wrote many illustrated journals to record his observations when studying astronomy and etymology, some of which we are lucky enough to hold in our collection. His father, George Hudson, ensured his son was trained in drawing and painting from an early age, and these documents show many years' worth of George's study of the night sky, while demonstrating his artistic talent.

As well as the honours received due to his contributions to entomology and astronomy, George Hudson achieved fame by being the instigator of Daylight Saving. His idea sprung from wanting to have more daylight hours to study his beloved insects. While he was not the first to suggest this idea, he was the first to get some action on it, resulting in the additional daylight hours we now have over summer.