IN SEARCH OF THE NORTH ISLAND

Manawatu Times, Volume 60, Issue 276, 22 November 1935, Page 5

IN SEARCH OF THE NORTH ISLAND

Wakefield Comes To Whanganui

(XLVI) (Copyright).

Up to and until the time the trader Rowe came to the Whanganui river to meet an untimely end little was ltnown of the existence of the river among the Pakehas then living scattered about the northern part of New Zealand and presumably even those who had ventured into Cook _ strait, bent upon whaling or trading m flax, were unaware of this waterway which the Rev. W. Yate identified on his map of the North Island in 1335 as“Knowsley Bay.” Cook missed the river during his remarkably accurate navigation and survey.of the island and in 1814 the. Mission ship “Active” failed to find this opening in the west coast ■which the Rev Yate described as “Knowsi'ey Bay.” Three years after Yate, J. S. Polack repeated Yate’s error and when Col. Wakefield visited Whanganui in November 1839 "he reported on "Knowsley river.” How the Tiver came by such a name is not known. However, the name endured but five years for in IS4O it was known by everybody by the name accorded it by the Maori—Whanganui.

The coming of the Pakeha to Whanganui, which the New Zealand Company first named Pctre (after Lord Petre, a member of the Zealand Association, formed in London in 1837) was accompanied with bloodshed, as already recorded, and further serious trouble eventuated as the agents of Wakefield commenced to push, their claim for the ownership of the district. It will bo recalled that while at Walkanae, Colonel Wakefield, principal agent of the Coy., secured the signatures of a few Maoris to a document which purported to transfer to the Company the ownership of practically the wholo of the West Coast, but before proceeding to recount some of the happenings following tho first contact between Maori and Pakeha at Whanganui, it is of importance to note that, synchronising with the development ot Wakefield scheme of settlement, was jthe spread of missionary influence among tho Maori. The Gospel word had travelled from tho North to Waikanae and soon the Whanganui natives desired a “mihinaro” and tho Rev. Henry Williams, who brought the Rev 0. Hadfield to Waikanae, visited Whanganui and was tho first Pakeha to journey up the river. Ho promised to send tho Whanganui natives a missioner and the Rev John Mason came early in 1840 to be the first missionary to be stationed at Whanganui. Within a few days of the departure of tho Rev Henry Williams north, the Rev James Buller, the Wesleyan missionary, came down tho Tiver on his 500 mile march from Kaipara to Port Nicholson to meet the first batch of the New Zealand company’s colonists. Strangely enough these two missioners did not meet although. they must have passed within almost coo’eo of each other. Within three years of his stay at Whanganui ’ the Rev Mason was drowned when attempting to cross the Turakina river which was in flood. He was travelling south with the Rev Hadfield and both entered the river on horseback and, although a gallant attempt was made by the Rev Hadfield to rescue his friend, he was compelled to give up as he was in a perilous position and with great difficulty reached the river bank in an exhausted condition. In his “Adventure in New Zealand” Wakefield records setting out for Whanganui. "A great advantage was held out to mo by the arrival in Port Nicholson, on a visit to some friends, of Te Rangi Whakarurua, or ‘the Calmed Sky,’ one of tho chiefs of Whanganui, who had received a gun in part payment for that district on board the Tory at Kapiti, in November, 1939.” Wakefield sailed in a canoe from Kapiti towards Whanganui but a gale springing up decided the natives to make for land and the remainder of the journey was continued along the coast commencing just south of the Wangaehu. After a walk of some eight miles Wakefield obtains his first sight of the river. “We were close to its south bank, and the entrance appeared about two miles to tho westward,' leaving but a narrow tongue of sand between this reach and the sea. Descending to the beach of the river, we soon reached an encampment at tho foot of a high cliff, which formed a bluff point on the south bank. Several ■ large canoes arrived in the course of the day from tho villages higher up; and there were soon about one hundred persons assembled near the tent. Many of the chiefs made formal speeches, to the effect that I was welcome to the place. About noon, Kuru-kanga (son of Rangi Whakarurua) took me in a canoe to the principal village on this part of the river, on the same side as our camp, and about a mile abovo it. The high land, of which the cliff forms one extremity, recede from tho river near the mouth of a small' tributary, and‘another low range of table-land closes in upon tho river about a mile above this. On the river bank, in the midst of the level between the two ridges, the pa named Putiki-waranui was situated. On landing I found about thirty large canoes ranged along the shore, and 300 or 400 people assembled to receive me. Among them was an uncle of Tuarau, who had taken a principal part in the sale of the Taranaki district, and who was on his way to Waikanae with a numerous following. Ivuru introduced me with duo form to the three principal chiefs oE the Whanganui tribes. Tho first was Turoa, or ‘High stand,’ an old chieftain of the trjbes that had migrated hither from faupo. Ho said tho land was for me. Like speeches were made •to me by Rangi Tauwira, or ‘Sky marked with Lightning,’ a very venerable grey headed chief bent nearly double with years, an uncle of Kuru; and Te Ana-ua, or ‘the Rainy Cave,’ the head chief of the Nagti-ruaka, or aboriginal tribes, whose sister was Turoa’s principal wife.”

Tho narrative continues: "To Ana-ua landed me a'strip of- paper from -a

cloth in which it had been carefully wrapped. On persuing it, I found it to bear the-following written statement: ‘Wanganui, December 17th 1839 —This is to give notice that this part of New Zealand has been purchased of the Native chiefs residing here for the benefit of tho Ngati Awa tribes, extending from Raugitikei to Patea, to-

wards Taranaki, by Henry Williams.’ I translated this to the large concourse of natives who were assembled on the spot, and asked them if it was true. They assured me most fully and unanimously, that neither had any such agreement been mentioned to them, nor had a sigle fish-hook or piece of tobacco been paid to anyone, except to the boys

■who carried Mr Williams’ things, or to those natives who became converts to tho Christian religion. I then asked Te Ana-ua whether he had been aware of the contents of the paper. He answered that he had not; but he thought that is was a certificate of good character and hospitality loft with him by the Missionary in order that future

travellers might not hesitate to. place themselves under his' protection. I could scarcely believe for some time that such a deception could have been made use of by Mr Williams, in orde. to prevent our completion of a bargain wo had commenced at Kapiti a month before his arrival. I could not seo a singlo excuse for the action. It was by no means calculated to give these ignorant natives a high opinion of the character of tho whito man for honest and straightforward conduct; as they were kept uninformed of its motive, either real or apparent. I did not hesitate to write on tho back of the notice that is was an ‘arrant falsehood’ together with, the information which, fathered from tho natives on the spot, had led me to form this opinion. I then returned it to Te Ana-ua convinced that he would hand it to Mr Williams on his next visit.” (To be Continued).