Dillon Bell - Later Life

Later Life

Although Bell initially intended to contest the 1875 elections, he later decided to withdraw, expecting an appointment to the Legislative Council. A new government policy meant that this did not eventuate until 1877, however.

In late 1879 Bell, a pastoralist who by then had amassed a holding of 226,000 acres (910 km2), joined Fox as the other member of the West Coast Commission to inquire into Māori grievances with confiscated lands in Taranaki. The commission's hearings, which had been prompted by friction between the Government and Te Whiti over plans to survey and sell previously confiscated land in central and south Taranaki, were closely connected with events at Parihaka, a settlement that became the centre of a passive resistance campaign against European encroachment on Māori land.

In 1880, Bell was offered a position as Agent-General in London. He served there until 1891. In London, Bell was involved in a large number of activities to promote New Zealand's interests, including discussions with the French regarding their territories in the Pacific – his fluency in French was a considerable asset in this regard.

As Agent-General in London he was New Zealand's senior representative at the World's Fair and exhibition at Paris in 1889 which showcased our argricultural and natural resources. For his role at the exhibition, Sir Francis Dillon Bell was decorated with the Commandeur of the Légion d'honneur by the French Government in November 1889. He had previously been was awarded the KCMG in 1881 and a CB in 1886.

Apart from one brief visit in 1891, Bell did not return to New Zealand until 1896, when he retired to a farm in Otago. He died on his Shag Valley homestead in 1898.