Historic Paremata

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 173, 19 April 1937, Page 13

Historic Paremata

Sir. —I have a fellow feeling toward “N.J.8.” and others in their search for historic accuracy, having experienced difficulty in reconciling the various accounts of other early New Zealand incidents. “ . For “N.J.B.’s” consolation I may mention T. M. Hocken’s comment iu his bibliography of the literature relating to New Zealand, Hockeu says (page 375) : “This histbry (Wallace’s) is most incomplete and often incorrect.” In a lecture given iu Wellington quite recently-'on early New Zealand, and reported in “The Dominion” (7/4/37), it was stated, in speaking of the derelict ship Endeavour in Dusky Sound, that it was the late R. McNab who cleared up the mystery surrounding this wreck (apparently about 1907, the date of his book “Murihiku”), whereas T. M. Hocken,' in a paper read before* the Otago Institute on June 14, 1887, and published in the Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, ISB7, ha<> unravelled the whole mystery. This shows the care to bo taken before accepting one or any account as being correct.—l am, etc., J. McK. Petone, April 16.