Lyttelton, a haven for Bully Hayes

Press, 4 October 1977, Page 37

Lyttelton, a haven for Bully Hayes

Rogues and vagabonds thieves and gypsies — they have all walked the streets of Lyttelton at one time or another. But for sheer dash few could match the legendary Captain Bully Hayes, who put in several appearances in the port while pursuing his many, varied and sometimes shady business deals.

Many are the tales which have sprung up in his wake — and most have inevitably been embroidered with time. However, there can be httle doubt about the authenticity of the delightful tale recounted in the diary of one E. R. Chudleigh, the son of an English parson, who came to seek his fortune in New Zealand in 1861 and eventually became a runholder in the Chatham Islands.

Chudleigh takes up the story with an entry dated June 14, 1865. “Fine. Cox and 1 went to Lyttelton early in the morning to meet Capn. Hayes by appointment. We found him. and after some talking settled everything connected with the whole affair.

“Hayes agreeing with everything we proposed and we all signed an agreement, had dinner and were just starting for Christchurch when Hayes in an easy way just hinted that he might be knifed before starting for a matter of 60 or 70 pounds. He supposed we would advance that amount, he would make it good to us in every wav.

“We answered, we will consider and went home rather uneasy though we did not say much about it. "We walked over the Port Hills and into Christchurch by train. When I went into the carriage I saw a nice muff on the seat and being very cold I sat down, put .my hands into the muff and made myself at home, when al! at once I looked up and saw the owner of the muff looking at me. I was fairly caught. All I could do was

to jump up and deliver the muff with the utmost composure and retire to the other end of the carriage where Cox sat grinning at me. The lady was the! director's wife.

June 15. “We fussed about all day and by night got all necessary things within cohi as we say here, that is, able to put your hands on them at a moment’s notice, and also a volume of facts connected with Captain Hayes. He appears to be a scamp of the first water, little short of a pirate.

“He has had former ships seized for debt, he has been suspected of piracy, of being in the blackbird trade from Africa to America, and of swindling people in the same way he proposed doing! us.

“He would have taken us and ower stock to the Fiji, exchanged our stock for barter and when we were safe up country quietly go off and leave us.

“No merchants would give us any security on his behalf, and Lyttelton is the last harbour in N.Z. he dares enter. We wrote him a strong letter, refusing to have anything whatever to do with him further and if he wished further particulars we referred him to a well kriown lawyer Sefton Moorehouse. June 16th. “Fine. This has been an unfortunate affair as yet. As Cox says it went too smoothe to being with. The more we learn of (Bully) Hayes, the more shure we are of his intentions. I am extremely sorry he has proved such a scamp since it put all ower arrangements out. The trip would have answered all our pockets and have been a most delightful voyage. The captain personally is a remarkeably fine handsome man, well educated and quite gentlemanly in his manner, and a man of great courage, a most captivating fellow, in fact a splendid Pirate captain.”