AKAROA.

Press, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20731, 16 December 1932, Page 35

AKAROA.

FRENCH ATTEMPT AT COLONISATION. PENINSULA HISTOKY. Abounding in historical interest as Blanks Peninsula does, perhaps the most interesting events in its story were enacted at Akaroa, the scene of France's attempt at colonisation. The attempt failed and the colonists who were sent out became one with the later English settlers, but even to-day both names of families and names ot places in the district show tho influence on the countryside of this foreign blood. -In 1835 Captain L'Anglois, while engaged in a whaling cruise put into the Akaroa Harbour and the beauty of the spot seemed to grip him completely. Ho determined to acquire the Peninsula for "La Belle France," and in 1838 agreed to purchase the whole Peninsula from the Maoris for tho sum of £240 and certain articles. The sum of £6 was paid down and Captain L'Anglois returned to France where he ceded his rights to the land to a company ' styling • itself the Nanto-Borde-laise Company, which consisted of two mercantile houses at Nantes, two at Bordeaux, and two Parisian gentlemen. Captain L'Anglois retained a fifth interest in the Company's transactions. An old war vessel, Comte de Paris, was htted out to carry emigrants, and the frigate L'Aube was granted to the company to protect the rights ot the settlers. There is no doubt that the French had in their minds the acquisition of' the South Island, .New Zealand net being declared a BritTsU Colony till 1841. "When after an arduous and fatiguing voyago tho

French reached Akaroa it was to see the Union Jack floating in the breeze on what is now known as Green's Point. The French Forestalled. It has been stated by some of the modern authorities on New Zealand history that the story of the French pjan to form a colony on Banks Peninsula and acquire the South Island is a pure myth. In and about the Peninsula the story has never been doubted, and wiien H. C. Jacobson collected his first materials for "Tales of Banks Peninsula" there were many of the original emigrants still alive, and they all had the same story voicing the disappointment of the French when they found the Union Jack floating on the hillside overlooking Akaroa Harbour. It transpired that the L'Aube put into Auckland „on the way down the coast where the ship's company was most hospitably entertained by Cap. tain Hobson, the British Resident. Some indiscreet remarks were dropped about their plans of colonisation at Akaroa and the result was that Captain Hobson sent the British ship Britomart post haste to forestall the Frenchmen and proclaim the sovereignty of the British. Captain Stanley, who was in command of the Britomart received his instructions from Captain Hobson. These secret instructions were not available for publication till 1910, and to anyone with an open mind who has read them they reveal the anxiety of Captain Hobson to

| forestall the French and acquire the I South Island for the British. : When the French discovered their j dreams of Colonisation were frustrated they took the matter in the most philosophical spirit, and, though at first Akaroa was divided into the French j and English sections, the two peoples | have lived together in the greatest j harmony and are now merged one into I the other with no dividing ideas. ;' There is no doubt about the purchase ■ of Banks Peninsula by the French, as i the title deeds of the earlier proper- ! ties, as at Holmes Bay, show. A Genuine Purchase. The following extract from "Tales of Banks Peninsula" shows the genuineness of the French purchase of this Peninsula: ' 'Among the stores brought were sis long 24 pounders, which, upon Captain Stanley's remonstrating with Commodore Lavaud, were not allowed to bo landed. Mr Robinson, who came from the Bay of Islands in anotner vessel, was left there as magistrate, and from the "Gazette" wo learn that the Commodore was particularly hospitable, and offered to send his carpenter on shore to build a house tor Mr Robinson, and insisted upon that gentleman living on board the L'Aube during ner stay in the waters of tho Peninsula, which offer, of course, was gratefully accepted until the completion of the magisterial residence. On tho 19th the immigrants landed in 'a sheltered, well chosen, part of the bay, where they could not interfere wit'" any one,' and commenced, with tin.* characteristic industry of the French workman, to erect houses and cultivate land, and so successful was one of the cultivators that the ' ConstitutionneP of the following year, commenting on the progress of tho Colony, stated that 'one of the colonists, who had planted himself a league from Akaroa, had, with the aid of his wife, from two acres and a half of land, cleared m five months loOOf. by tho sale of ! vegetables. i "The English inhabitants of the Peninsula, at the time of tho landing of tho French immigrants, amounted to 84 adults, and their children, so from this source the loOOf. would probably partly come. At the end ot the year the immigrants had not' procured any stock, but wore living on preserved and salt meats, with what vegetables they could get from their small gardens, while the commodore j of the L'Aube had commenced building a store for them to protect their property from tho weather. It must be remembered that the frigate stayed at Akaroa for a lengthy period, and the Commodore thereby arrogated to himself the domination of the settlement, but avowed most distinctly to Captain Hohson that he 'disclaimed any national intrusion on tho part of his Government, but he supported the claims of the company as private individuals, asserting this to be the only "bona fide" purchnso of that district which had been made from the j natives.' - i • ! Settling the Dispute. "Jt was at this time (November, 1841) that the Governor made the proposal that the company should be given similar terms to the New Zealand Company, and put in possession of a block of land, in proportion to their outlay of capita!, in the extreme northern district of the North Island 'in tho district of Kataia, where there is a good harbour, with an abundance of fine land, with an undulating surface, well adapted for vineyards.' This proposal was not adopted, and early in thefollowing year (1842) Monsieur Mailleres arrived in England to mako arrangements with the Government, with a view to the settlement of tho claim and the company's title the 'Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners' found that an expenditure by the company of £11,G85 had been incurred, including, of course, the subsidy obtained from Louis Philippe. In 1845 Lord Stanley authorised that an' award should be given to the company of 30,000 acres, their claim not having been brought before the Commissioners appointed to enquire into land claims. "This narrative cannot be better concluded than by quoting a paragraph from Mr Mackay, in his second volume on southern native affairs: —'The New Zealand Company purchased the claims of tho Nantes-Bordelaise Company, and, in virtue of other subsequent arrangements, whatever lands tho New Zealand Company possessed have reverted to the Crown; but through all these proceedings the original quest-ion as to what extent the native title has been extinguished by the French Company has 'never been decided.' "After the cession of the territory to

the New Zealand Company, the French I Government offered to take the emi- i grants free of chargo to Tahiti, and '• give them the same amount of property ; as tliev possessed in New Zealand, but • they all declined the offer." \ The story of those early times and \ tlio trials of the settlers makes in- '- teresting reading. The following note? j' about those first few days show the \ pleasant relations existing in the prim- : itire settlement. j Paying the Maoris, j In 1841, M. St. Croix de Belligny | ! went to Wellington about matters eon- i nected with tho new settlement, and to | get ;i supply of money. Towards the i end of the following year ho went toj Sydney, and brought back a bu!! and j ten or twelve cows, and also one little ! hersc, tho first that ever set foot. >u ! Akaroa. This last excited the extreme I admiration of tho Maori?, and'they i coveted him exceedingly. This was) I i-ather a good thing for tho French As- f sociation, for tho third and last pay- j ment for tho land was then due to tho natives, and the horse was made o part j of it. J It may here bo mentioned that the | payment for tho land was nearly all j in kind, very little money passing. The i Comte de Paris brought out a large j number of gaudy old faded uniforms, gold lace, cocked hats, and other j trumpery rubbish, which was eagerly { accepted as "utu" for tho land by the unsophisticated aboriginals. Ono must not forget to mention, however, that in this last payment was included a small schooner, built by Mr Sinclair, for which the Association gave that gentleman two hundred acres in Pigeou Bay, in that inlet now known as Holmes Bay, where the property of Mr Hoimcs : is at present situated. j M do Belligny, like Mr Rhodes, let | his cattle go on increasing at first, j but on leaving the colony in 1845, he J sold them at the lowest price ho could J possibly afford, which was from £2O j to £25 per head, and very glad in- j deed wore tho settlors to get them. ; The colonists, however, had had both j milk, butter, and beef before this, though they had to pay a good price ; for them. The first steer calved in j Akaroa by M. de Belligny's cows was killed in 18-11. somo eighteen months j after the cattle arrived from Sydney. , Every pound of the beef brought 2b j (id, and more would havo been gladly j given, for fresh beef is never so well appreciated as by those who have been j years without it. I The first milk and butter came from Pigeon Bay. Messrs Hay and Sinclair j came over to that place in 184.1 from : Wellington, and brought some cattle j with them, and they found a market j for all the butter they could make, '■ at from 2s Gd to 3s a pound. The j price was afterwards lowered to 2s, and j Mr Hay used to walk over about once j a week with twenty or thirty pounds, ; which he always disposed of at that ; price. ; The Plrst HotcL i Mr Green was the first hotelkeeper. j After ho left Mr Rhodes ho built a j commodious hotel at Green Point, and procured a license. The building was j u substantial one, 40 feet x 30 feet, and the timber for it was cut by Mr ( Waeckerle. It was only ono storey i high but most conveniently arranged, j and was very well patronised, more j especially when a whaler came in, when j thero were "high jinks" indeed. The building was afterwards bought by Mr George Tribe, and taken by him to Lyttelton, and placed on Norwich Quay, where it was burnt down in 1554 or 1855. After selling the building, Mr Green purchased a piece of land from M. Belligny, agent for tho French Association, and put up another and larger hotel in tho more central position now occupied by '.l'. E. Taylor's Buildings, just opposite the present Government wharf. As soon, however, as circumstances warranted it, there was a French hotel, M. de Belligny's servant being tho proprietor.