MAORI AND PAKEHA

Evening Star, Issue 19942, 11 August 1928, Page 21

MAORI AND PAKEHA

EARLY HISTORY OF OTAGO MR H. D. SKINNER'S LECTURE Nobody is entitled to speak on Maori history of New Zealand with such authority as Mr H. _D. Skinner, who at last night’s meeting of the Otago branch of the New Zealand Historical Association gave an interesting address on ‘ Maori and Pakeha ’ in Otagoi Dr J. R. Elder presided over a good attendance. Mr Skinner commenced his lecture by paying a tribute to the late Robert M‘Nab, whose historical research had done much to the data on tho subject that were available. He went on to say that the relations between Maori and white man in New Zealand had depended more on numbers than on any other single factor. Everywhere tho Maori had resisted the coming of tho pakeha. In almost every district where there had been sufficient population regular campaigns had taken place—in the North Auckland Peninsula, in tho Waikato Valley, in Taranaki, about Wanganui, near Wellington, and at Tauranga. The heavilypopulated districts which had escaped campaigns with British Regulars had not escaped raids of hostile Natives or colonial campaigns. Neither of those types of campaign had been carried out in Otago, for the reason that Otato had not in European times a sufficient Maori population to make organised warfare possible. Resistance to tho coming of the white man had taken the form of tho murder ol individuals or tho small massacre of boat crews, shore gangs, and sealing ■parties. The history of tho Maoris in Otago could bo divided Snto three sections. Tho first period ended about 1800. Thou followed thirty years of scaling. From 1830 to 1840 was tho whaling era, after which camo tho era of settlement.

The population of Murihiku was always smaller than that of tho corresponding area in the North Island. Auckland had always had a great population. Tho staple foods were tropical and had been brought overseas from tho islands from which the Maoris camo The Natives doubtless had brought seeds and cuttings of their most important plants. Those included the coooanut and the breadfruit, neither of which would grow. The sweet potato grew at its best in tho north, and the most southerly point at which it throve was a little south of Akaroa. Otago was without the kuraarn, except so far as it could bo imported, and he was sure that some had been obtained from the north in exchange for mutton birds. Certain tussock lands in Otago wero at ono time covered with thick hush If this was within the human period supplies of food, such as birds, would bo greater. There was a time, however, when food was plentiful, and that was at tho period of tho first colonisation ot Otago. Birds must have been more numerous, and the seas had never been fished In their islands of Polynesia the Maoris had laid down tho strictest forms of taboo, and there were times of tho year when certain birds were out of season. That, however, had been lost on the colonisation of New Zealand, as was shown by the quick extermination of tho moa. Mr Murray Thomson had drawn attention to the fact that there had been considerable Maori population at' Long Beach and Murdering Beach. The speaker was sure that the times when Long Beach was thickly populated were entirely pre-European, .Murdering Beach was in its prime at the time of the coming of the white man. Ho thought that it was the village burned in ISI7 by Kelly, of the ship Sofia. The population of Otago was greater in pre-European times than in ISOO

In dealing with the sealing period Mr Skinner stated that the year 1800 was 'important from the point of view that the potato urns _ then first introduced into Otago, _ coining through the hands of Natives in tho north. Life became a great deal easier, and tho Maori population , consequently increased. The first exploration of Stewart Island was made in 1809, and it was found that there were no Maoris, Thoro wore two small towns near South Capo, however, each of which contained twenty or thirty houses. Each house contained two families, and it could, therefore, bo estimated that tho population of each of the villages was 250 people. In 1811 it was reported that several boat crows had been murdered bv Maoris.

j It was in 1817 that an attempt was : made to cut out Captain Kelly’s boats. Kelly and a party of men went to the village at Murdering Beach to obtain coniQ potatoes. They arrived in a courtyard, and, without warning, were ati tacked, and two wero killed. Kelly roI turned to the ship, which ho found to 1 be packed with Maoris, and then followed a romantic account of how tho Natives were driven away, Kelly stating that about 100 were killed. The speaker was of tho opinion, however, ; that Kelly’s report was grossly oxag- | gerated. Tho captain then set about ; retaliation, but his story was true only ,in parts. He said that he burned the ' town of Otago, which was the largest in New Zealand, but tho speaker thought that Murdering Beach was re-, ferred to. When Kelly said that it had 000 hour.es ho w’ns lying. Ho published the story in order to justify his retaliation. Tho lecturer felt certain that two villages wore burned, and that Kelly set fire to others in tho vicinity. The echo was heard in later periods. During tho sealing period the Maoris showed repugnance of Europeans. The villages, however, grow i n number. Tho Kaik was the largest village in Otago at that time.

Regarding the whaling era, it was possible to obtain definite data by which a reasonably sure estimate of the population could bo obtained. A whaloi named Morrell, who called at tho Molyneux, discovered a village of twentyeight miserable huts, ft could bo estimated that there -were 250 neoplc. The speaker went on to refer to tho establishment of Brown’s whaling station at Preservation in 1830, and tho Wellci brothers’ station in Otago Harbour in 1831. In 1833 the Lucy Ami took tho first cargo of whale oil from Otago Harbour, he said, and on its return the Natives threatened to take tho ship, which was owned by Captain Kelly, in revenge for the people whom he had killed. Captain Anglim, who was in tho shin, persuaded some of tho chiefs to come'on board, and, once they were on board, ho set sail for Sydney in tho most secret manner, keeping tho Natives as hostages for the good conduct of their tribe during the absence of the Lucy Ann. After describing tho hardships of tli settlers, the lecturer stated that in 1834 there were probably 1,600 Maoris in Otago, but no to 1844 there s a great decrease, which appeared to have been due to a fearful epidemic of measles. The population decreased almost by a half. When the Otago block was sold to Tucker for the Scottish settlement only 150 Natives, including women and children, wero present.

At the conclusion of tho address Mr Skinner was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.