geology and art. In 1858 he sailed to New Zealand, and there, acting as assistant to Professor Hochstetter, the geologist, he was appointed in 1859 by the provincial government to explore the south-western part of Nelson, and report upon the geology and natural history. He performed the work successfully in nine months,notwithstanding considerable danger, and discovered coal and gold fields. In 1861 he was appointed surveyor-general for the province of Canterbury, and soon afterwards started an exploration of the interior, which occupied ten years. He thus discovered the 'Southern Alps of New Zealand,' and drew up some valuable maps to illustrate the geology and topography of the country explored,which gained for him the honour of the Royal Geographical Society's gold medal. His principal book, the 'Geology of the Provinces of Canterbury and Westland,' was published in 1879 at Auckland. In 1866 he founded the Canterbury Museum, and, as a director, took an active interest in its conduct and success till his death. He also had a share in the success of the university of New Zealand, in which he was professor of geology and member of the senate. As a man of science Haast has frequently been quoted as a special authority on glaciation. In 1867 he was elected fellow of the Royal Society, and, having been appointed one of the commissioners to the Indian and Colonial Exhibition of 1885, he was knighted by the queen in acknowledgment of his public services. Haast died of heart disease at Wellington, New Zealand, on 15 Aug. 1887.
[Athenæum, 27 Aug. 1887; Annual Register, 1887; Men of the Time.]
HABERSHON, MATTHEW (1789–1852), architect, born in 1789, came of a Yorkshire family. In 1806 he was articled to William Atkinson, architect, with whom he remained for some years as assistant. He was an occasional exhibitor at the Royal Academy between 1807 and 1827. He designed churches at Belper (1824), Minster, Bishop Ryders (all in Derbyshire), and at Kimberworth, Yorkshire. At Derby he erected the town hall, since burnt down, the county courts, and the market. Among the many private houses designed by him were Hadsor House, near Droitwich, Worcestershire, for J. Howard Galton (1827). In behalf of the London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews—an object which deeply interested him—he visited Jerusalem in 1842 to arrange for the erection of the Anglican cathedral and buildings connected with the mission. The cathedral is described in Johns's 'Illustrations of the Anglican Catholic Church of S. James, Mount Sion, Jerusalem,' fol., London, 1844. On his way home in 1843 Habershon had an interview with the king of Prussia, who was associated with England in the establishment of the bishopric of Jerusalem, and in the following year the king conferred on him the great gold medal for science and literature, to mark his appreciation of Habershon's work on 'The Ancient half-timbered Houses of England' [thirty-six plates, with descriptive letterpress], fol., London, 1836. Habershon' died in London in 1852, and was buried in Abney Park cemetery. Two of his sons, William Gilbee and Edward, were architects. Habershon's other writings were:
- 'A Dissertation on the Prophetic Scriptures, chiefly those of a chronological character, showing their aspect on the present times, and on the destinies of the Jewish Nation,' 8vo, London, 1834; 2nd edit. 1840.
- 'A Guide to the Study of Chronological Prophecy, selected and abridged from … a Dissertation on the Prophetic Scriptures,' &c., 12mo, London, 1835.
- 'Premillennial Hymns,' 12mo, London, 1836; 2nd edit. 1841.
- 'An Epitome of Prophetic Truth, containing a brief Outline of … Prominent Subjects of Prophecy,' 16mo, London, 1841.
- 'An Historical Exposition of the Prophecies of the Revelation of St. John, showing their connection with those of Daniel, and of the Old Testament in general, particularly in their aspect on the present times, 12mo, London, 1841; 2nd edit. 2 vols. 1844.
- 'Two remarkable Signs of the Times, viewed in connexion with Prophecy. First, Reasons for believing the Death of the Duke of Orleans to be the first Thunder; second, An Account of the West London Synagogue of British Jews.… Forming an Appendix to the third edition of "A Dissertation on the Prophetic Scriptures,'" 12mo, London, 1842.
- 'The Shadows of the Evening; or the Signs of the Lord's speedy Return,' 12mo, London, 1845. He also wrote a memoir of the younger C. Daubuz, prefixed to the latter's 'Symbolical Dictionary,' 12mo, 1842.
[W.G.Habershon in Dict. of Architecture (Architect. Publ. Soc.), iv. 1-2; Redgrave's Dict. of Artists, 1878, p. 191; Brit. Mus. Cat.]
HABERSHON, SAMUEL OSBORNE (1825–1889), physician, was born at Rotherham in 1825, and studied medicine (from 1842) at Guy's Hospital, London, where he greatly distinguished himself. He gained numerous scholarships at the university of London, where he graduated M.B. in 1848 and M.D. in 1851. After being appointed in succession demonstrator of anatomy and of morbid anatomy and lecturer in pathology,he became assistant physician in 1854, and in
