OTAKI'S LOYAL FLAG

Evening Post, Volume XCI, Issue 146, 21 June 1916, Page 14

OTAKI'S LOYAL FLAG

HOW TROUBLE WAS AVERTED

The following story, revealing a littlekncvn piece of history, was supplied to the School Journal by Mr. H. S. Hadfield ; who states'that it was written1 years ago,by his mother, the lady whose ingenuity saved a tribe of'friendly Natives from being branded as rebels. Mr. Hatlfio_ld: adds..."! :may say that I have the1 original little Union Jack card from ■which the measurements were taken to ;.the correct proportions' of the flag. .1 i-wiiember the incident well, and 'also the Kingite chants, which we could hear from, our house. My mother was.a very old colonist, having been born, at'the BayJof Islands in 1831":— ; i;.-^;. ;;■; In the early 'sixties the Natives-were-'«:ry unsettled, and..; startedV.wbat, was, teoown as "the.,;;.KiiJg^',mpyemei)t, : '>;in, exposition to the'::Britjsh" rule* WWhen" tfcs -Govemment !-f Ouiia'- '■■ ; ■the C movement spreading,, a Proclajnatiiin'^vasrissjied. to the effect, that an^'^iendly- Natives/wjio. a 1 lowed the-Singi'tas"'-toV.cqme■ "into t-Keir districts would be."tre.ated.;as,'.rs.bela'.' 'As the 'irit'ntily^'NatTrey were;Tinarm'etl;--and_ therefore- ■ were—.-luiablji *to prevent .the. ' Kingites" fi'bra" 'enfe'ing;,. theii':, I'district-js/' the .l^'pclaipjiti.Wi:r.pia.c#:'th«n'in -a ;yery awkward position, -vl^ .--'■, r . ; -^iIn 1863, •to the- great', /distress of' the: mission settlement: SA Otaki, :news was received".that,-.a'- pftrtyi'of -Kingites .was coming. to the ■ villagei^ofPukekaralta," about Balf-a-raiie: a*a.y,:ajitT;'ii3tsndecr.to; hoist the. Kingit.?: fiag:.;"' There was great consternation in the. . place,'for there seemed no means ■' of "■ stoppiftj^ .them,: Archdeacon HadfieM was away ;at>.thel

time, and some of the Natives came to tell Mrs. Hadfield of their trouble. They could not resist the invasion, and did not wish to be considered rebels.

Mrs. Hadfield suddenly thought of a plan to save her Maori friends. She sent for the leading mau amongst -the Natives, and told him that the only way out of difficulties was to hoist the British flag as soon as the Kingite flag was hoisted. The chief was much pleased with the idea, and went 'to consult the other members of the tribe. They, too, were delighted and thought it would be a good way out of their difficulty.

Mr. Thomas Bevan, who lived in the village, and had a flagstaff (the mast of a schooner that had been wrecked on the beach near by), kindly offered the use of it for the purpose if the Natives would move it. There were plenty of willing hands to do the. work, and the flagstaff was taken down and re-erected, in the open square in front of the church.

The next difficulty was to find a flag. The Natives enquired of all'the old sailors in the district, and brought in all the flags they could find. Not one, however, was suitable, and there was lio time to send to Wellington for one. The only course was to make a flag; but no one knew the proper way to make the Union Jack to go in the corner. At last Mrs. Hadfield remembered that she had a little card showing the Union Jack, and giying a brief account of its history. The picture was only a little thing , about four inches long, but from it Archdeacon Hadfield (who, had returned home) traced the Union Jack in 'the corner of a. large calico flag which Mrs. Hadtield, assisted by some of the Maori :;!W3, had made. The'corner of this flag v.:r; spread out on the verandah of the CUaki Missionhouse, and . Archdeacon jdarifield, with the help of Mr. Prince, a carpenter, painted in the colours.

They had no painte of the right colour, so the blue was made of powdered .washing-blue, and the red of raddle used for marking sheep. When the flag was finished the effect was excellent, and the Natives were delighted. It was agreed tMt the flag should not be hoisted until the Kingite flag was flying, as it was feared that the hostile Natives might say1 that they would not havq, hoisted their flag if they had not been incensed by seeing an emblem of British authority.

■Next morning . the friendly Natives assembled in the square where stood our flagstaff, and patiently watched the King Natives busily, erecting theirs. At length the Kingite flag was hoisted, and immediately afterwards ours fluttered in the breeze, which was sufficiently strong to display it to the greatest advantage. The surprise of the Kingites may be imagined, and the shouts of the friendly Natives subsided only to give place to three cheers for the Queen. .Thus was the tribe of Otaki saved from being declared rebels. In two days the King natives left'the district, returning to the north of the island, and all was peace again at Otaki. The Government' acknowledged ' the action of the -Natives' by presenting them with a Union Jack for the use of the tribe, and it remained in their possession for many years. . ■-. ■