Place Name
Alfred Domett (May 20, 1811 – November 2, 1887), the Camberwell-born statesman and poet who served as Prime Minister of New Zealand between 1862-1863. The son of a prosperous shipowner, Domett studied at Cambridge but left without gaining a degree. He wrote poetry throughout his life, first publishing a couple of volumes from 1833 and contributing poems to Blackwood’s Magazine. He entered the Middle Temple in 1835, and was called to the bar in 1841, where he became acquainted with Joseph Arnould, but emigrated to New Zealand one year later. He was an intimate friend of the poet Robert Browning, who mourned the move in his poem, Waring: ‘How much I loved him, I find out now I’ve lost him’. After a half-hearted attempted at farming, Domett dedicated himself to journalism and politics, editing a newspaper in Nelson, and filling many important administrative posts before finally becoming the fourth Premier. The most noteworthy change Domett brought about during his tenure in office was the moving of New Zealand’s capital from Auckland to Wellington in 1865. He returned to England in 1871 where he resumed his literary interests. This is one of a group of roads on the Champion Hill Estate, named in 1952 after friends or acquaintances of Camberwell-born Browning. See also Arnould Avenue; Dowson Close; Monclar Road; and Wanley Road.
