Professor Clement Lindley Wragge

Pages from History

Picture taken 1901

Contents Why I compiled this? ......................................................................................................................................................... 3

Brief Timeline. ................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Meeting with Promised Messiah (as) in 1908 ................................................................................................................... 6

Pages form Daily Badr 26 May 1908 ............................................................................................................................. 6

Pages from Zikr e Habib written by Mufti Muhammad Sadiq (ra).................................................................................. 11

English Translation of this meeting (Part1) from alislam.org ......................................................................................... 26

Hazrat Khaliftul Massih V mentioned about Prof. Clement Wragge. ............................................................................. 30

Advertisement about his lecture - 1909 ......................................................................................................................... 31

Interview-1894 ................................................................................................................................................................ 33

Flight of the soul-Indian Ahmed...................................................................................................................................... 34

........................................................................................................................................................................................ 35

........................................................................................................................................................................................ 36

Eternal Universe and War-1916 ...................................................................................................................................... 40

Majesty of Creation-20 May 1913 .................................................................................................................................. 43

His views in India- 10 October 1908 ............................................................................................................................... 46

India unrest-January 1909 .............................................................................................................................................. 48

Mr Clement Wragge- 1895 ............................................................................................................................................. 50

Clement Wragge-Article about him ................................................................................................................................ 51

Clement L. Wragge-Indian wife ....................................................................................................................................... 56

Picture Gallery ................................................................................................................................................................. 59

........................................................................................................................................................................................ 80

Written notes of Clement Wragge. ................................................................................................................................. 81

Expeditions ...................................................................................................................................................................... 83

Why I compiled this?

This was my long desire to gather the information regarding this great man who seen the Promised Messiah and had

very important questions during his meeting with Promised Messiah. The material, I gone through gave me a fair

idea that he was actually a man who believes in God and having spiritual mind.

I tried to gather as much as I can material through the web sites.

My second purpose was to get the evidence of his acceptance of Islam. But unfortunately I could not have that one

but will remain in search for the evidence or the letters which he wrote to Mufti Muhammad Sadiq sahib after his

return to New Zealand in 1909.

You will find many very important aspects about his life and mind by reading his lecture account regarding flight of a

soul.

In 1928 his house got fire and lot of important material was burnt.

Mubarak Ahmad Minhas

28 Feb. 14

Auckland-New Zealand

Brief Timeline.

1852

Clement Lindley Wragge was born in 1852

1874

In October 1874 Wragge together with a friend Gaze Hoclen departed London on a Thomas Cook tour travelling to Parisby rail and on to Marseilles, where he sailed to Egypt on the 'Neiman'

1875

After much deliberation, he decided not to return to England with his friend and booked a passage through Cooks on the 'John Tennant' via India to Australia, sailed from Newcastle, Sydney in late August 1875 across the Pacific to San Francisco

1876

In 1876 he sailed to Australia as a 'Middy' working his passage to Melbourne. he was a good singer and enjoyed the sea shanties sung when hauling up the sails

1877

He married on 13 September 1877 Leonora Edith Florence d'Eresby Thornton and returned to Oakamoor, England on the 'Hesperus' in 1878 with his wife, where he went straight to his lodgings in Oakamoor

1878

Wragge's wife Leonora gave birth to a daughter, Leonora Ingleby, in Oakamoor 1878 and Clement Lionel Egerton in 1880

1879

He became a prolific writer and was a weekly contributor in the Cheadle Herald newspaper from 1879-1885 and Good Words and the Midland Naturalist, who supported his work

He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and in 1879 was elected Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society in London To the end of his life, he was interested in Theosophy and spiritualism and in later life met with Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian who claimed to be the metaphorical second coming of Jesus of Nazareth Wragge needed experience in weather reading so he set up two weather stations weather station in North Staffordshire in 1879 at Oakamoor railway station for low level readings,and a high level station at Beacon Stoop in the Weaver Hills in North Staffs, not far from Parkhouse farm, Farley, where he moved after a time at Farley Cottage

1880

His first male child, Clement Lionel Egerton who was born in Farley, Staffordshire in 1880, would later enlist with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment of the First Australian Imperial Force and die from wounds at Gallipoli on 16 May 1915

In the 1880s and 1890s Wragge set up an extensive network of weather stations around Queensland, and developed a series of storm signals to be used upon telegraphed instructions from Brisbane to Cape Moreton, Double Island Point, Sandy Cape, Bustard Head, Cape Capricorn, Flat Top Island, Cape Bowling Green, Cape Cleveland, Cooktown, Thursday Island and Karumba

1881

For an unbroken series of observations from 1 June to 14 October 1881 he was awarded the Society's Gold Medal

1882

After a second series of observations were undertaken in 1882 a Summit Observatory was opened in 1883

His third child Rupert Lindley was born in August 1882 in Scotland

1883

These readings were made continually until 1883 and the results were sent to him at Ben Nevis when he was inScotland

Wragge left for Australia soon after in 1883

1886

In 1886 Wragge was commissioned by the Queensland Government to write a report on the development of a meteorological organisation in Queensland that could help stem the shipping losses from cyclones

In 1886 Wragge was the founding member of the Royal Meteorological Society of Australia

1887

The Government was impressed with his work and on 1 January 1887 he was appointed Government Meteorologist for Queensland

1888

Between 1888 and 1893, Wragge trained Inigo Owen Jones who became a renowned long-range weather forecaster

Inigo Owen Jones - The Queensland Government meteorologist Clement Lindley Wragge was so impressed with Inigo's ability as a schoolboy that he recruited him as an assistant in 1888

1895

In 1895, Wragge set up a weather station near the summit of Mount Wellington, Tasmania, and 1897 established another on Mount Kosciuszko

1898

In 1898 Wragge began publishing "Wragge's Australian Weather Guide and Almanac", which contained not just meteorological information, but contributions on geology, bush craft, agriculture, mining, water supplies and postal information

1902

In an effort to break the drought of 1902 he purchased a number of Stiger Votex Cannons, which were supposedly able to bring rain from the clouds

1903

Wragge resigned from the Queensland Government in 1903 when his funding was decreased following

1904

In 1904 he visited the Cook Islands, New Caledonia and Tahiti to examine local fauna, and wrote a report on caterpillars and paper wasps for the government in Rarotonga

1908

He applied unsuccessfully for the job of Commonwealth Meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology in 1908 before returning to New Zealand

1921

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle sought him out in New Zealand to ask for his views on spiritualism before writing 'The Wanderings of a Spiritualist'in 1921

1922

However more personal family records confirm that Wragge remained a theosophist up until his death in 1922

Clement Lindley Wragge died in 1922

Clement Wragge died on 10 December 1922 from a stroke

Source: http://www.saciol.com/australia/sciences/clement_lindley_wragge

Meeting with Promised Messiah (as) in 1908

Pages form Daily Badr 26 May 1908

Pages from Zikr e Habib written by Mufti Muhammad Sadiq (ra)

English Translation of this meeting (Part1) from alislam.org Professor Raig Meets The Promised Messiah

In Lahore, India, 12 May l908

Part I

Professor Raig was a renowned astronomer of his time. He lived in England, but in 1908 was visiting India as part of

his world tour during which he gave lectures on astronomy to very large audiences. In May 1908, he stayed in Lahore

for a short period. There he gave a lecture which was well attended, especially by many highly placed English people.

Hadhrat Mufti Mohammad Sadiq was also present and he met the professor after the lecture. He briefly explained to

Professor Raig the proofs and arguments put forward by Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) in support of his claim to

be the Promised Messiah of his time. Upon hearing these the Professor wished to meet Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam

Ahmad (as) straight away. Mufti Sahib sought first to arrange a time with Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (as) who

gave his permission; the meeting took place after Zuhr prayers on 12th May 1908. Mufti Mohammad Sadiq acted as

the interpreter and the conversation was originally recorded in Urdu. The following is a translation of that Urdu

transcript which is to be found in Malfoozat Vol. 10, p.353.

Prof. Raig: I am a man of science and I see that the earth on which we live is very small. In comparison to thousands

and millions of other kinds of God's creation, the earth melts into insignificance. Why then has God's blessing been

limited to this earth or to any one religion or nation?

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: Actually this is not correct, neither is it our belief that God reveals himself through a

particular nation or sect. God does not have a special relationship or love for any one particular nation. What is

correct is this, that God is the God of the entire universe and he has created the means of physical nourishment and

development for all creation without any distinction and according to our principle he is 'Rabbul Alameen' i.e. the

nourisher and sustainer of all the worlds. He has created grains, air, water, light, etc. for all creation. Likewise, in

every age and in every nation he has, from time to time, sent reformers for the reformation of people in those

nations. As it is stated in the Holy Quran (Surah Fctir, verse 251) Allah the Almighty is God of all the worlds. He has

no special relationship with any nation. In fact the different heavenly books which have come from time to time do

not contradict each other. This is because a reformer is needed when the world inclines more towards evil deeds and

bad practices, such as lies, theft, quarrels and general immorality, so that people become distanced from purity and

virtue, and are overwhelmed by selfish desires and emotions. So much so that they, in their belief, also abandon the

worship of one God and incline towards idol worship. God is the nourisher of man's physical as well as spiritual

being. His pride demands that at such times of spiritual darkness he should appoint a person for reform, and the

concept of such a reformer does not fall outside the bounds of laws of nature. Just as the actual wheat that grew in

the times of Adam and other prophets cannot be a source of nourishment for us, and just as the water which existed

in previous times cannot quench our thirst, so we need fresh spiritual food as well as water.

It is the tradition of Allah that just as He nourishes and provides for the development of the physical process, where

previous nourishment is not sufficient for the present, so is the case with the system of spiritual development, and

the two systems, the physical and the spiritual, go side by side. For the person who denies the existence of God, this

discussion would take a different line. But a person who believes in the existence of God should keep the two

systems in mind and benefit from their comparison. He who has created the physical system has also created the

spiritual system. Just as he nourishes the physical system with fresh sustenance, so he nourishes the spiritual system

with fresh sustenance. Just as the physical state is dependent upon fresh water, so the spiritual state is also

dependent upon fresh, heavenly revelation. Just as the physical body dies if it does not receive nourishment, so the

soul too dies without spiritual nourishment. If in spiritual matters only past and ancient references are available,

then what would be the conclusion other than that the spiritual system is in a state of death. What else could it be?

God Almighty, as is his nature, always wishes to be recognised. For proof of his existence and identification he

always provides true, clear and fresh signs and these are not too difficult to understand. It is this system which has

always been in existence and which continues. Thousands upon thousands of prophets came and provided such

proofs through their own actions and deeds, thus completing the argument in favour of the existence of God.

Now, how can a person stating that he is a scientist or a philosopher break this proven continuum of witnessed

signs? What is needed in such a case is that, just as the holy people provided a practical example with their lives and

validated their claims, so should the negation of it be offered in the same way. Such people, however, would be

justified in asking, why they are presented with old stories and fables, why not give a living proof or a living example,

and for this I am available.

An astronomer cannot provide a definite proof of the existence of God merely by observing the solar system which

may, at the very most, lead to a view that there should be a God. The fact that there is a God and that he most

certainly exists has always been proven with the principles put forward by the prophets. If people like myself did not

appear in this world there could never be in the world any real and complete proof of God. At the very most, if

someone was of a just disposition and also possessed a virtuous character, then from the well ordered heavenly

bodies and from the solar system, etc. he could conclude that there ought to be a God. Other than that, the fact that

God exists and he is the Master, the Ruler and the moving force behind all creation, all this it is not possible for

people to know without the guidance of those who are from God. It is such people who enable others to witness the

existence of God and, by providing fresh evidence and signs, it is as if they are able to 'show' God to others.

Prof. Raig: It is written that there was one Adam and one Eve. Eve was a weak woman. She ate one apple. Now, the

punishment of her having eaten an apple will continue forever. This I don't understand. Also, that this earth with

which we are related, is but one among many thousands and millions of other systems which God has created then

why would God's (qudrat) and blessings be limited to this earth?

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: This is not our belief. We don't propose that there is no system other than our earth

and the sky. Rather, our God says that He is 'Rabbul Alameen' , that is, He is the sustainer of all the universes and

that wherever there has been an inhabitation there he has sent His messengers. Lack of knowledge does not make

something non-existent. God created such a vast system of provision for this small earth, why would he not have

created provision for all other habitations?

As for saying that all human sorrow and hardship were caused by Eve's having eaten an apple, this is not a belief held

by Islam. We are taught that:

'No burdened soul can bear the burden of another; and if a heavily laden soul call another to bear its load, naught of

it shall be carried by the other, even though he be a kinsman.....'

(Surah Fctir V 19)

One person's punishment cannot be meted out to another, nor can there be imagined any benefit in this. Eve's

having eaten of an apple is not the cause of any sorrow, difficulty or punishment, the reasons for these things are

given in the Quran but are totally different.

Prof. Raig: There are two things I wish to find out - one is, what is sin? A person in one country may consider some

act to be a sin while the same act may not be considered sinful in another country. Man progressed from a small

insect to a human being and then he learned to discern between truth and falsehood, he distinguishes truth from

lies, good from bad, gained knowledge of sin and goodness and after all this there is the difference - what is sin for

one person is not sin for another who indulges in it?

The other thing I wish to find out is about Satan. What is Satan? How is it that God being the master and having

power over such knowledge, Satan got to have so much sway that God had to come to this world himself to reform

the world. What is meant by this?

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: I usually speak having in mind people who believe in the existence of God. God's

being is a source of eternal happiness and pleasure for man's life. Whoever separates from Him or leaves Him in one

way or another, about such a state of a person it is said that he has sinned. Furthermore, keeping in view the nature

of man, God has further defined as 'sin' those acts which through their finer implications, prove to be harmful for

man himself, even though a person sometimes may not be able to appreciate such harmfulness. For example, theft

and harming others by taking away their rights, harms the purity of ones own life. An adulterer's act of adultery and

his taking what may belong to someone else, destroys his own piety and engulfs him in various physical and spiritual

difficulties. Similarly, those acts which are against the nature of man's purity and piety are also referred to as 'sin', as

are all the related acts, whether related closely or distantly - these are also considered as types of sin.

God Almighty is greater than all else, He has the most knowledge, He is the true creator of man and every particle

which exists. It is he who is also the creator of their nature and He is wise. If, with his complete wisdom and

complete knowledge, he suggests that something is harmful for you, that indulging in it would not benefit you at all,

rather it is totally harmful then it is not the action of a wholesome person to go against this. We see that when a

doctor advises a patient to abstain from something, the patient acts on that advice without any argument. Why does

he act in this way? He does this because he considers the doctor as being in possession of much greater knowledge

than himself. Similarly, there are some things which are harmful for man's body or spirit whether man himself

understands that or not. There are some things which would he harmful even if God had not given a ruling about

them. In medicine also there are some things which are considered 'sins' and lack of medical knowledge is no excuse

for the person who goes against the medical principles. If someone does not believe this they can check with doctors

and physicians .

The point to remember is simply this that the root of sin is those actions which lead man far away from purity and

righteousness. The true love of God and union with Him is the true pleasure and real comfort. Thus moving away

from God and being distant from Him is also sin and is the source of pain, sorrow and difficulty. Those things which

God dislikes due to His own sanctity, that is sin. There are some matters on which people may not agree but, on the

other hand, the greater part of the world is jointly agreed that lying, stealing, adultery and cruelty are such acts that

all nations and religions jointly consider them to be sins. But remember that the root of sin is precisely those acts

which distance man from God, which are against His sanctity, against His wishes and against man's nature - it is such

acts which constitute sin.

Every person senses sin. If someone slaps an innocent person and knows that he had no right to do so, he will at

some later time, when he looks at his action with a cool head, himself feel ashamed and will sense that he has done

a bad deed. Conversely, if someone feeds a hungry person, gives a drink of water to a thirsty person, and clothes

someone lacking clothes, such a person will have an inner sense of having been good, and having done a blessed

deed. a person's heart and conscience and the light of belief remind him whether his various actions were a good act

or a sinful act.

With regard to Satan, it should be remembered that in man's nature and composition there have been included two

forces and they are both opposed to each other and it is so in order for a person to be tried and tested and, with a

successful outcome, to become deserving of God 's nearness . Of the two forces, one pulls man towards goodness

and the other invites man towards evil. The force that pulls towards goodness is called 'malk' or 'angel' and the force

which invites towards evil is called 'Satan'. In other words, you can understand it like this, that there are two forces

which work on a person, one calls towards good (dc'i khair) , and the other towards bad (dc'i shar) . Someone may

not like the use of the terms 'angel ' and 'Satan', but he wouldn't be able to deny the existence of these two types of

forces within man. God never intended any evil. God only does what is good.

You see, if sin did not exist in the world there would be no goodness. Goodness develops from sin. The concept of

goodness is formed by the concept of sin. If someone has the opportunity to commit adultery and he possesses the

ability to do so but then he abstains from this sin, this action is called goodness. If someone has the opportunity to

steel, or to be cruel, and he is capable of doing these acts, but he does not do so and positively abstains from them,

then he is doing a good deed. To have the opportunity and capability of sinning and then not indulging in sin, that is

a good and blessed deed.

Prof. Raig: In the world there are two forces at work - the positive and the negative. If we always use the positive

force and never use the negative, one day the negative will gather force and could erupt at any time and destroy the

world. The same is true of good and evil. If the whole world did only good and never did any bad deeds then similarly

evil would gather force and destroy the world.

Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad: You see, if a person is not capable of shouting, his speaking softly will not be

considered a behaviour of high esteem. If a person always remained in one state and was not capable of any change,

then goodness could not remain as goodness. It is the existence of the two extremes which creates goodness. If the

state was unchangeable and man was not given any other abilities to change his state so that he was always forced

to do good, and he was never given the ability to do evil, then what would there be that we could call 'obedience' or

'goodness'? God has, to an extent, given human beings control - they can change their state. They have the power to

do good and have the ability to do evil. However a person will act, he will find his reward accordingly.

You see, if there were no evil behaviour then what kind of behaviour would be called 'good behaviour'. Only when

there exist bad characteristics can have good characteristics. A person can think of something bad, and having a

picture of it in his mind, he can censure it. Similarly, he refers to some special deeds as 'goodness' and praises these.

If there was no picture in ones mind of anything bad then there would be no such thing as 'noble characteristics'. It is

always through evil that we can distinguish goodness. If only one aspect was created then there certainly would not

be any reward nor any pleasure (of God). Sorrow and joy, discomfort and comfort, darkness and light, bitter and

sweet, poison and antidote, bad and good and sin and goodness, all come into being by the existence of its opposite.

If such opposites were not created, life itself would have been very dull. If only one state was created, that would be

already in our nature, why then any reward and why any recompense? How could this be a source of gaining God's

pleasure when all the deeds were acts of compulsion, a person having no power to do otherwise.

It must be remembered that man has been given control. He has the power to do good or bad, to be kind or cruel, to

be benevolent or miserly. It is always by keeping in mind the two aspects of possible behaviour that we can form an

opinion about a particular person being good or bad. Indeed, the essential defining element of the term 'deeds' is

that a person has the capability of doing the reverse. A person, having the capacity to take revenge but does not do

so, has performed an act of good deed. But a person who does not possess a limb with which to retaliate against

someone who hits him, would not be in a position to say that he has done a good deed by not retaliating:

Qad aflaha man zakkaha wa qad khaba man dassaha-- (Surah Al-Shams 10-11)

i.e. He indeed truly prospers who purifies it, and he who corrupts it is ruined.

It is clear from this Holy verse that the existence of goodness and good qualities has its basis on the two capabilities

(of doing good or bad). He who is endowed with only one capability and has never been given the other, such a

person would be like an image which cannot be erased.

He who denies the existence of Angels and Satan is in effect denying self-evident truths, and going against that

which can be easily sensed or witnessed. We see everyday that people do good deeds and also that in the world

around us many bad acts are committed and that the two forces are equally at work. This cannot be denied by any

person. Who is there who does not within himself find some sense and influence of both? Here, no philosophy or

logic can rule otherwise since the two forces are present and each is working in its place.

To turn to your question that if people only do good deeds and no bad acts are committed then eventually evil will

gather force and destroy the world. About this, all I can say is that I am not concerned with statements of the type "if

this happens then that will happen and if that happens this will happen". We see this much, that human nature has

been created, prepared for good actions as well as for bad actions. I do not go beyond this.

Sorce: http://www.alislam.org/library/pm694.html

Hazrat Khaliftul Massih V mentioned about Prof. Clement Wragge. Friday sermon 19th May 2006

“Huzuraba gave the background of a Dr. Clement of New Zealand who had come to India in 1908 to give lectures on

astronomy. He had met Hadhrat Mufti Sadiq Sahib in Lahore who had told him about the Promised Messiahas. On his

wish to meet the Promised Messiahas Hadhrat Mufti Sadiq arranged two meetings, in May of 1908 during which the

topics of God, soul and the universe were discussed. Dr. Clement told the Promised Messiahas that he had always

thought that science and religion were not compatible, however, he now realised that was not so. The Promised

Messiahas had replied that this indeed was his task and this is what he was proving.

These meetings left a mark on the doctor and his views changed. Hadhrat Mufti Sahib said that he had been a

Darwinian but later started mentioning Darwin’s theory as a reference point.

Huzuraba said before his tour he came to know about the possibility of finding Dr. Clement’s family in New Zealand

and indeed a meeting was arranged with his grandson and granddaughter. The granddaughter informed that Dr.

Clement had indeed accepted Islam and that he had re-married on his return from India and she and her brother

were descendants from the second wife. However, all his papers were burnt in a fire. Huzuraba said as he had

accepted Islam through Hadhrat Mufti Sadiq Sahib, Dr. Clement would be an Ahmadi. His grandchildren were given

some literature and the national sadr has been advised to keep in contact with them, Huzuraba prayed may Allah

incline them to accept the truth.”

Source: http://www.alislam.org/archives/2006/summary/FSS20060519-EN.html

Advertisement about his lecture - 1909

Interview-1894 http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1302&dat=18940908&id=YEFVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=cpUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7127,

2320028

Flight of the soul-Indian Ahmed In his series of lecture he named his imaginary Ahmed who takes to round the endless universe

Eternal Universe and War-1916

Majesty of Creation-20 May 1913

His views in India- 10 October 1908

India unrest-January 1909 He writes when he came back from India in 1909. He stayed there from 1907 to 1909

Mr Clement Wragge- 1895

Clement Wragge-Article about him

Clement L. Wragge-Indian wife

No. 8 Awanui Street, Birkenhead was once the home of a celebrated eccentric scientist of considerable renown in the twenties, named Clement Lindley Wragge. Born on September 19th 1852, in England, Wragge had, while still quite young, begun his travels around the world. He first reached Sydney when only 22 and altogether made eight voyages to Australia. Once he went on to San Francisco, interviewed Brigham Young at Salt Lake City, nearly became a Mormon, and then carried on across the United States back to London. By 1883 he had set up a remarkable weather station at the 4500 foot summit of Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in the British Isles. In 1881 he climbed the peak every day for almost a year, making weather observations regardless of bad storms that would have deterred a lesser person, and which on one occasion almost cost him his life.

During these travels he became an authority on Eastern countries, like India also the Pacific Islands, including Easter Island. In 1884 he was appointed chief meteorologist in Queensland, where he became renowned for his long-range weather predictions, especially of droughts. He also founded a weather observatory at the top of Mt. Kosciusko, the highest mountain in Australia. After further travels, in 1900 he came to Dunedin, but it was 1910 before he finally settled in Birkenhead, which he described in these words:-

"I who have travelled in all divisions of the world, chose to settle in 'God's Own Country' and picked the shores of Little Shoal Bay, the sweetest nook in Maoridom, for my home."

In 1910 he brought his Indian wife to 8 Awanui Street, Birkenhead. He founded the Wragge Institute & Museum, also the Waiata Tropical gardens, in which he grew tamarisks and ginger, bananas and forty varieties of palms, 'in imitation of the jungles of India and some tropical isles'. From his Waiata Observatory he provided professional weather forecasting services to North Island farmers and shippers, also for the main news page of the Herald. Wragge loved public lecturing, and was an accomplished and fervent speaker, with a gift for graphic description of the universe around us and for dramatising his topics. In the few years of travel between his Queensland position and his arrival in Birkenhead, he gave over 2000 lectures 'from the Imperial Institute to the Maharaja's palace'. In Birkenhead alone he provided hours of entertainment and education for children, with his astronomical telescope and lanternslides. He earned his living from tourists who paid to visit his gardens, tearooms, his fortune-telling wife, and his museum, to hear his lectures, join his guided tour and hear his commentary.

Wragge was generally believed to be an Anglo-Indian. His wife came from India. Both dressed in Indian style apparel. He was always regarded as an eccentric, a self-taught philosopher, meteorologist, geographer and showman. He dressed like a tall turbaned scarecrow with a beard, and added a quirky colourfulness to the sedate streets of Birkenhead Point. His reputation attracted tourists from many other parts of New Zealand, to cross by ferry from the city to Birkenhead wharf, and then go up the hill to Awanui Street.

He made many requests to the Council for financial and labouring assistance in planting and fencing his park, and although he was usually refused, he gained a promise from the Department of Internal Affairs for a pound for pound subsidy when the war ended, to assist in financing a museum to house his curios. He enlisted the help of local children to drag stones from the shore of Little Shoal Bay up the hill, for the pathways and the lover's lanes, to which he always gave Latin names. He gave palm seedlings to his neighbours, but they often found tourists encroaching on their property, after Wragge's expansive gestures: "Wander at your will." He stated

This enterprise deserves every support by an intellectual and intelligent community, and the Founder trusts that he has made this place absolutely unique in every respect, the most delightful resort in all the Dominion. - Clement Wragge, Founder President and Director

Regrettably this view was not always shared by the Borough Council of the day! In 1922 when his gardens were famous worldwide, Wragge offered seedlings to the Council, with a vision of transforming the streets of Birkenhead into palm-lined avenues, with an undergrowth of flowers, 'suggestive of the glens in charming Tahiti.' Regrettably he died before he had planted many palms, other than those near his home. He also planned to redesign the colour scheme of all Birkenhead's houses, using reds and blues of the East.

Through his lectures and newspaper articles, Wragge expounded his theosophical beliefs and displayed his extensive scientific knowledge and inventiveness. His frequent use of hyperbole often led to ridicule from orthodox scientific circles. In addition his knowledge of "Natural History", plus his entire lack of feeling for social distinctions, led to misunderstandings and jealousy. People expected from him behaviour that he could not conform to.

Wragge died in 1922 at the age of seventy. His son Kismet K. Wragge, 'First Officer' of the Institute, stayed on to keep the house and gardens open. Wragge is buried in the old Birkenhead cemetery.

K.D.Adams September 1993

Obituary

MR. CLEMENT L. WRAGGE

Departed this life at 5 a.m. on Sunday, December 10th, 1922, Clement Linley Wragge, F.R.G.S., having reached the allotted span of three score years and ten.

Mr. Wragge, a citizen of the world, was a most enthusiastic admirer of the natural beauties of New Zealand, particularly of the Waitemata Harbour, and of Birkenhead especially. Having spent the major portion of his days voyaging through the wonderlands of the globe, the deceased scientist was a remarkably entertaining lecturer on travel subjects. He was a very reliable authority upon Australia, India, and the Pacific Islands. Just prior to his demise, Mr Wragge was engaged upon a work of great value concerning the petroglyphs of Easter Island, and it is to be feared that death has intervened before his enthusiastic labours were completed. The deceased was always an enthusiast, and never more so than when he lectured or chatted upon the Infinite Glory of the Mighty Universe. Our readers, especially the youngsters, have enjoyed to the full Mr. Clement Wragg’s enthralling articles in this paper, written to arouse an oft-neglected interest in things beyond this earth. Mr. Wragg’s contributions were quite voluntarily offered to our publication, and primarily intended to grip the young folks of the district. Perhaps no one in this part of the globe could have succeeded so well in transfusing his enthusiasm in matters astronomical as the late Mr. Wragge. Fired by a zeal that few of us can realise, it is an inestimable loss to the world that Mr. Wragge was stricken down before his labours on numerous subjects had been completed; but luckily his valuable records and accumulated data are well preserved, and may yet form the basis of works of great historic value. As a worshipper of things infinite, no better evidence

could be recorded than that written by Mr. Clement Wragge in our last issue. It stands as a worthy epitaph to the man and his lifelong labours:

"And yet how lovely is Nature everywhere around us! But there are some people with eyes that cannot see, and ears that will not catch the music all around us. You are told to ‘Prepare for Eternity,’ and you are in Eternity this very minute, and always have been; and God, the Master Dynamo, is in you and in all things."

Our deepest sympathy is extended to the bereaved relatives of our learned and beloved friend.

The Tatler, December 29th 1922

Astronomical Notes

(By CLEMENT L. WRAGGE, F.R.G.S.)

Mid-November, 1922

Now, all you young people! Don’t lose your TATLER, but refer to it about November 25th. I am doing my best to interest you in the grandest of all the sciences, noble Astronomy. Our sister world Venus in all her glory, is the Evening Star, and close to it will be seen the ancient sun Antares, looking to your sight as a reddish star in the great constellation of the Scorpion, the "tail" of which, sticking up above the South-western horizon, is formed of suns (stars, as you call them), like the loop of the letter S. And just survey the sky about 8 o’clock. The Southern Cross ( and "Pointers") will be found nearly inverted above the Southern horizon. Remember that the brightest of the "Pointers" is our next nearest sun, Alpha Centauri. It is really a double sun, and is seen beautifully as such in the Observatory. The giant sun, Canopus, will be seen high in the South-eastern sky, and in line with Canopus are the great suns, Achernar and Formalhaut, the former being opposite to the foot of the Cross and about four spans higher up. Midway between the Cross and Achernar is the South Pole of the heavens, which is 36 degrees 48 minutes above the Southern horizon, corresponding, of course, to the geographical latitude of Birkenhead. Thus, if you were lost in the bush, you could at once get your compass-points by halving the distance between the Southern Cross and Achernar. Low down, and close to the North-western horizon, is the sun Altair, the middle star of three in a line. It is 94,000,000,000,000 miles distant, and the light from it left 16 years ago. Low on the Eastern sky the grand constellation of Orion will be rising, followed later by the mighty sun Sirius, the brightest of all the so-called "fixed stars." But recollect that there is no such thing as a fixed star, that force and motion are everywhere, and that the speed of the supposed "fixed stars," every one of which is a huge sun, on their appalling orbits is terrific – beyond words to express.

You know it makes one think a bit as you survey the Eternal Heavens; and one begins to perceive what a funny little world this Earth is, so far as the human kind are concerned. And yet how lovely is Nature everywhere around us! But there are some people with eyes that cannot see, and ears that will not catch the music all around us. You are told to

‘Prepare for Eternity,’ and you are in Eternity this very minute, and always have been; and God, the Master Dynamo, is in you and in all things.

To some people (nobody in Birkenhead and Northcote) money is the "be all and end all of everything"; and so long as one can beat one’s neighbour by a paltry "bob," Canopus can "go to blazes."

The Tatler, November 24, 1922

Meteorological Report

Waiata Observatory, Birkenhead.

For month ending July 12th, 1922, by standard instruments:- Maximum shade temperature, 65.4, June 30th; minimum shade temperature, 39, June 23rd; extreme range, 26.4. Total rainfall, 2.043, or about 207 tons per acre.

The Sun’s minimum condition is steadily developing. This means, so far as science yet knows, a gradually decreasing rainfall, and greater extremes of temperature as between Winter and Summer; also an increase in Earthquake action in New Zealand. But there is no need for any scare; "God’s Own Country" is not going to be blown up.

CLEMENT L. WRAGGE

The Tatler, July 21, 1922

The Tatler, July 21, 1922

THE TROPICS IN NEW ZEALAND

Residents, know your own district. See the lovely Waiata Gardens.

Admission, 1/1. Astronomical Observatory and Radium

by appointment. CLEMENT L. WRAGGE

https://archive.is/W3iLj#selection-211.0-449.18

Picture Gallery

1903

1902

1894

1891

1894

1902-

Cartoon-sketching Clement Wragge in turban.

Cartoon-Sketch Clement Wragge in turban

Cartoon Sketch of Clement Wragge.

Cartoon Sketch of Clement Wragge.

Cartoon Sketch

Clement Wragge’s wife in his tropical gardens

Mrs Wragge

In his tropical gardens.

Fanny Wragge-Daughter of C L Wrage.

Written notes of Clement Wragge.

Expeditions

Additional notes:

Clement Wragge wife Mrs Edris Wragge gave lecture on “Your Occult Nature” in 1923 under

Auckland Theosophical Society.

This socity is still active (http://www.theosophy.org.nz/)

http://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-

bin/paperspast?a=d&cl=search&d=NZH19230728.2.13.4&srpos=3&e=-------10--1----

0Mrs+Edris+Wragge--