Brougham Kakoy

Brougham Kakoy, a flattering portrait by John Jackson Stock.

Until the reports Duke Of Newcastle's speech in The House Of Commons in October 1853 reached the island no one at Tamba- Tamba had been aware of the existence of The Colonies and Dominions Act of 1851.
Apparently Sir Brougham Sleight had mislaid the official communications amongst other documents relating to the withdrawal of the garrison.
Now he was placed in the rather embarrassed position of finding out about the developments through copies of The Times that arrived with the mail packet of December 1853.
Sir Brougham confided in John Cox and they composed a letter seeking clarification under the pretence that it was to satisfy some local political matter.
In April 1854 Brougham Sleight received the following- an outline of The Colonies and Dominions Act, a letter from thanking him for his service to the crown and dissolving the position of the Governor of Tamba- Tamba and his later office of Her Majesty's Monitor of Tamba- Tamba. He was to receive a pension of 100 gns a year for life.
Following lengthy consultations with John Cox*, Brougham Sleight addressed the Council.
He announced that he was now the ruler of Tamba- Tamba. He was assuming the title of Brougham Kakoy (a misunderstanding of the Wessel's island term for 'ruler').
He stated that whilst Tamba- Tamba was no longer tied to the British Empire in any formal way, that he wished to retain a degree of loyalty and friendship with the British.
He spoke of how his 19 years on the island had made him feel more of a Tamba-Tambaman than an Englishman.
The meeting went on for the best part of 24 hours-
John Cox spoke in favour of Brougham assuming the leadership of the community; allowing Brougham to stay on as the leader of Tamba- Tamba would, he said, illustrate the sense of liberty and fair play on which the first settlers prided themselves.
There were no real implications for the islanders. They were assured that Brougham would not levy any taxes, he would not assume ownership of any of the common land on the island. Former Crown possessions would return to common ownership.
John Cox proposed that whilst retaining his seat on the Council, Brougham should not have to trouble himself with the day to day business of the island, but that he should be cast in a more advisory role. Any resolutions passed by the Council would have to be approved by Brougham.
On May the first 1854 Brougham Kakoy addressed the populace at Cocktown Square, and a new era in the island's history began.

* We will never know for certain the nature of these discussions, but tradition within the Cox family, and letters written by Lady Margaret Sleight, suggest that it was John Cox who pressed Brougham into assuming the role of island premier and John Cox who invented the position of Kakoy.

We asked leading Tamba- Tamba historian Gregory Rowley of PROTT Academy for his views on the subject:

Gregory Rowley

Prott: So Greg, what contemporary evidence can we draw on to shed some light on the origins of the Kakoyship?
GR: Well, not much , really. Only the official Council records remain, and of course, they contain essentially what Cox wanted people to believe.
Prott: But it's much more than speculation, isn't it? the idea that Cox engineered the Kakoyship?
GR: Oh, yes. If we consider what we know about Cox and what we know about Brougham, that seems likely...Brougham was a reluctant leader, if you like. Tamba- Tamba suited him, because not much went on . Before independence, I mean. Not a dynamic man. For example, we know from the memoirs of Lutwidge Reynolds, when the decision was made to withdraw the garrison, what did Brougham want to do? He wanted to get out. That was his first reaction- he wasn't looking for power, he wanted to save himself. If Brougham had harboured any ambitions to actually become the ruler of the island, here was his opportunity, but he didn't see it like that.
Prott: Whereas Cox?...
GR: Indeed. Here we have an ambitious man. Leading Citizen at 29, grandson of the leader of the first settlers. But look at the lengths he went to to curry favour with the English...
Prott: Changing the name ?
GR: That's just one example. Look at Palmerston- he was quite happy for the change of name there as well. It's almost like he wanted to break from the past. My theory, and I think that a close reading of the Council records of the time bears this out, is that Cox knew that he could only really rule the island if he used Brougham as a sort of a decoy.
Once the garrison was gone they could have got rid of Brougham, he only had a handful of staff... but it was Cox who made the case for keeping him on.
Again, after Brougham's position was completely undermined by The Colonies and Dominions Act of 1851, I mean, at this point he had no call whatsoever over the islanders, what does Cox do? He does his best to persuade the council that it is a good thing to allow this rather ineffectual man to assume control of the island. Or rather, to be perceived to be in control.
Prott: So Brougham was a puppet ruler?
GR: Exactly. Whilst Cox was alive anyway... You just take a look at all the Council records from the era from 1851- 1860. Anything that had any real impact on life on the island was proposed by Cox. Brougham's suggestions were acted upon only if they were relatively minor. Otherwise , and we have the records mind, otherwise we get Cox patiently explaining to the Council why they should not enact suggestions made by Brougham. Cox attitude to Brougham was extremely patronizing , but this was cleverly disguised.
Prott: So why did Brougham put up with it?
GR: Vanity. Vanity and fear perhaps. Cox was quite happy to tell the world that Brougham was in charge. Eventually Brougham believed in the imposture.
Prott: But ultimately Cox is largely overlooked whereas Brougham was the head of a dynasty that was in place for 125 years?
GR: (laughs) Often the way, isn't it? A charismatic and skillful politician such as Cox is a hard act to follow. After his death, things just drifted. It was as if he hadn't passed on the secret ingredient. So, effectively, we have forty years of nothing. Stagnation. And the next visionary, the next charismatic leader to come along? Not a Leading Citizen, not even a councillor. It was Clifton Gates. Clifton Gates was everything that Brougham was supposed to be. With Brougham it was all a front, but Clifton Gates was for real. He was paternalistic, but progressive. A man of his time, a natural leader. There was no one on the island to match him.
He really was the leader. He controlled the Council... But I'm getting ahead of myself here.
Prott: Thanks Greg. We'll be hearing more from Greg Rowley in the near future.