WHALER WHO MARRIED PRINCESS

Evening Star, Issue 18057, 26 August 1922, Page 8

WHALER WHO MARRIED PRINCESS

NEW ZEALAND ROMANCE. “ Unsuspected rotnmno® lies buried in the associations which throng some of the busiest spots in tho bustling Wellington of to-day, says the ‘Dominion.’ An inquiry in England eighty-five years after a roving son of his family had- landed on those shores has resulted in recalling one of the most widely-known and loved, men of his day in New Zealand, whether by. Maori or pakeha—Richard Barrett I'i :ki Pareto), whose sterling integrity and b -pitality were watchwords, who took P-.« in the Ngatiawa-Waikato Native ;.. ;us,_ and who, through his marriage with the sister of Te Wharepouri, was able to assist greatly the negotiations of the first colonisers; the man, in fact, whose opinion was consulted in the fixing of the site of Wellington itself.” The inquirers say that they understood that Barrett, a whaler, had been wrecked on the coast of New Zealand, and had married a Maori princess, ami they wished to know if there was a will. There is a will, probate of which was granted on August 10, 1847 (the thirteenth will of which probate was granted in New Zealand), but the searchers are more likely to ho interested in the part taken in this . ouutry’s early history by the man who left England at least eighty-five years ago than in the contents of the will. " Barrett is first heard of in New Zealand in 1838 as a whaler and lias trader at [lie Sugar Loaf Islands, off the present site of New Plymouth. An important part was taken by him in- helping the Ngatiawas against the war of extermination waged on them by the advancing Waikatos. The attackers, who numbered 1,600, were weH armed with muskets, and were flushed with succeeding victories. Yet the Nga-Motu pa was held for three weeks against attacks and treachery, and in full view of unspeakable tortures to the captured. The Waikatos were beaten off, but, dreading their return in greater numbers, the Ngatiawas, in 1854, collecting in small parties from various parts of the country, decided to migrate, and moved off through the bush at t-he_ base of Mount Egmont, eventually reaching the coast again near Hawera. Barrett followed them down by sea, and thereafter his fortunes were linked with theirs.

When tho first expedition of the New Zealand Land Company reached Te Await! in 1839. in charge of Colonel William Wakefield. Barrett, at tho head of one of his whaling parlies, went off to the vessel. Barrett had then been a whaler at To Awa-iti, in. Queen Charlotte Sound, for five years. Ho had married Rangi, the daughter of an influential chief, and the sister of To WTiarcpouri, and had- daughters, but no sons. It was Barrett ■who piloted 'Wakefield's vessel in between Prncarrow and Baring Heads, and Barrett who was of inestimable value to tho expedition in every way, notably in its land purchases from tho Natives. Just exactly when he moved- to Wellington seems in doubt. At one time lie bad a house at Thorndon, where the hospitality of his large cooking pots ,md spacious table was too indiscriminating to appeal to some of his European visitors. Barrett’s Reef is named after him; but, of course, the most widely-known landmark ho haa left is Barrett's Hotel, though he never occupied the present building. The original Barrett’s Hotel was built on tho site of the present Hotel Cecil, and was erected in 1840. It was a portable house brought out from England—part wood and part canvas. Here, says the late Mr F. G., Moore, In reminiscences of Wellington. Dick dispensed very good English bottled beer, rum, and geneva. On the beach in front of the hotel were whaleboats cn skids, like any whalo station on the coast, equipped ready for launching, and when a not infrequent whale visited the harbor Dick would muster a crew of all sorts, the chase pften taking place in view of the settlors ashore. The cause of Barrett’s death in 1547 is not recorded, nor is there any indication of his ago at the lime of death.