OUR EARLIEST SETTLERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6566, 2 December 1882, Page 1 (Supplement)

OUR EARLIEST SETTLERS.

[i'APER HE 111 BEFORE TIIK AUCKLAND INSTITUTE JiV Mil. K. O. BAIISTOW.] A DEFINITION. ! I must commence by giving a definition of the word <; settlers." I do not mean " colonists" thereby, because at the time of which I am about to spealc the notion of forming a colony in New Zealand—by colony I understand a body of xieoplc transplanted from the ] parent state, but remaining in more or less : subjection to it—had not entered into men's minds; nor do I yet mean the first white people who came by chance to be dwellers iu i these islands ; for these were, without excep- j tion, runaway, convicts from New South ; Wales, and deserters from ships—the former seeking to regain their liberty ; the latter either disgusted at their treatment on board ship, or perchance beguiled from their duty by the blandishments of Maori maidens. To • these classes may be added a few notorious j miscreants whom masters of vessels, for their own safety, had put on shore. But the people ; of whom I am about to speak were those ' who came here deliberately, with the intention ' of remaining for years or for life. Their last survivor has but recently passed away. ' VISITS OF TASMAN AND COOK. i These islands were first made generally known to Europe owing to Tasinan's having anchored off the southern one so long ago as the year 1(542. The hostility ot the numerous inhabitants deterred him from attempting to '■ laud, but we owe to this visit the name which our country still retains, "New Zealand." We have no record of its having bo*n again visited until Cook, in 1769, reached its shores from Tahiti. Bat from this, and his two subsequent voyages hither, can be traced every successive step which has led to making New Zealand what we now see it to be. Through Cook became known the extent, populousness, fertility of the land, the excellence of the harbours, whilst upon the other hand the natives acquired pigs and potatoes, at the same time becoming aequainted with the uses of iron and of tirearms. We shall see presently the consequences of these so diverse subjects. SYDNEY TRADERS. The accounts of Captain Cook's voyages led totwo schemes of very different characters, the one being the formation of a penal settlement at Fort Jackson in 17SS, by Captain Phillip, with some 7-jO convicts ; the other the despatch by the London Missionary Society of a body of missionaries iu ITfIG to Tahiti, in the ship Dull'. Of this party, a Mr. and Mrs. Henry were still living when I was at Tahiti in lSii. Each of these expeditions had an iiifhicucc upon our own laud. Sydney, by the influx of settlers and convicts, rapidly became populous ; em long vessels were built there, and trading or exploring voyages undertaken. Those colonists were early stimulated to engage iu the whaling trade, which London merchants, aroused by the narratives of Wallis, Carteret, and Cook, by the beginning of this century were pushing in the southern hemisphere, French privatcerr, having rendered cruising in the north too hazardous ; and both Knglish and Colonial whaleships soon began to resort to New Zealand for wood and water, pork and potatoes—these latter already abundant from Cook's introduction of them. A life of adventure and excitement wi3 congenial to Maori temperament; they shipped for a cruise, ussuajly with a proviso that their discharge should take place at the port of / departure, a stipulation too often disregarded t when its c xesution was inconvenient to the masters. Indeed a New South Wales governor, Mucquarrie, found it necessary to issue.a proclamation against kidnapping New Zealanders, and making them serve as sailors against their will. In these modes some Maoris found their way both to London ind Sydney ; whilst to this nearer port others went in trading vessels as passengers, being inient upon procuring axes and iron tool*, but more especially covetous of the possession of firearms, whose deadly effects they had seen in all their c.-.rly Communications with the whites. Ci>ok, a fairly humane man, had shot seren in his first week in New Zealand, and three years later Marion du Fn'sne, in retaliation for the slaughter of some of his crew, attacked a pa at the Bay o! Islands, and shot a large number of its inhabitants. TIIK FIRST MCSKF.T. MMiy years back I tried to lind out when the northern natives first became possessed of guns, and put the question to an aged chief of hapu—the same people who had come into collision with Marion. He had not he.ird of any guns Icing captured when the Frenchmen were killed at Manawaora, but told nieth.it hu had helped to get the first gun that he knew of their lie said that a party of sailors bad landed some c;>sks to water, aiul as it was colli had made a fire to warm themselves by while the water was running by a tvpoirt into the casks. One of the crew walked up and down with a musket as a sentinel, showing that amicable relations with the islanders could not be trusted to ; but, as no Maoris were visible, he rested his gun against the ateep

• bank of the gully, waited to the fire, am > warming his hands, chatted to hie comrade: , Three young natives had, however, bee : watohing the movements of the sailors, anc i marking the opportunity, one of them crej ; from his concealment in the scrub, and, ul j observed, possessed himself of the prizt i which the three then hurried away with For some time subsequently a warrior of th hapu always carried this piece in front of hi war party as an intimidator to the enemj though the mode of using it was quite un known to them. This must have happene prior to the destruction of the ehip Boyd, a the northern natives acquired then a con siderable number of firearms, and hadalread; learned their use, but this must have been lon] after Captain Furneaux's boat's crew was cu off. ' Several of his party were armed. Th northern natives might not have even hean of that event, as owing to the incessau hostilities prevailing among the people, new would not reach far, and that tragedy hap pened on the South Island. THE FIRST MAORI VISITOR TO ENGLAND. As far as I know, a Whangarei nativi named Moehanga was the first Maori wh< reached England, whither he was taken bi a Mr. Savage in ISOS. Moehanga was ther" looked upou as a great curiosity, was pre sented to George 111., many useful article: were given him, and the Government sem him back to Sydney, whence he was for warded to the Bay of Islands. Althougl Moehanga had a well-tattooed face, he was t man of no importance; he was therefon soon bereit by his superiors iu rank of the goods and tools with which he had beer supplied, and incurred, besides, the too com moil misfortune of travellers, of being pointed out as a man who told such marvellous stories, that he was deemed to be "porangi , or insane. TE PAHI. To Sydney, Port Jackson as it was then generally called. Maoris had found their way much earlier. Captain King took two chiefs over in 1794, and a year or so later Te Pahi, chief of Rangihona, a pa near the north head of t!ie Bay of Islands, with several of his sous, went thither. As Te Pahi was favourably spoken of by the masters of whaleships and traders, he was made a good deal of by the Governor. An eager desire for cultivating I trade in ilax, timber for spars, salt pork, or any other return cargo for convict ships, existed, and it was hoped by his means that commerce of that kind might be developed. Te Pahi and family were conveyed back in a Government vessel. Mr. Marsden, the Colonial Chaplain, had taken great interest in him, and during his stay at Paramatta had managed to learn a few words of the Maori language. Te Pahi visited Sydney again some eight or ten years later. THE MISSION PROJECT. By this time the success of the London Missionary Society at Tahiti had become known, and Mr. Marsden, stimulated by the accounts received thence, thought that a favonrable opportunity now presented itself for a similar undertaking in this country. With this view he took Te Pahi to his house, keeping him there for some months, partly with a desire to instruct him in the doctrines of Christianity and convert him, and thus open up a way for further operations amongst his people, partly that he himself might learn from his guest more of the language and customs of the inhabitants of Uiese islands. Mr. Marsden indeed made a promise that ere long he would pay Te Pahi a return visit. With this object, amongst others, Mr. Marsden obtained leave of absence and returned to the mother country, where he with much difficulty prevailed upon the Church Missionary Society to look favourably on his project, and to promise him £500 a year for its support. He induced a Mr. Kendall, by profession a schoolmaster, but a man of some means and imbued with a love of adventure, to join in the undertaking, and to become a missionary to New Zealand. Mr. Marsden was ordered by the Government to return iu the ship Ann, and after being on board a few days, found there a sick Maori, named Tuatara, who, having been buffeted about from one whaleship to another for some four years, was no\v trying to get back to hia wife and family in New Zealand. He turned out to be a nephew ot Tu Pahi's, and denizen of the same place. This gave Mr. Marsden a further opportunity of increasing his Maori learning, of which he was not slow to avail himself. This he could do with more effect, as during his voyages, Tuatara had picked up a good deal of English. Mr. Kendall did not accompany Mr. Marsden, but two other persons did so, Mr. Hall, .i bnilder, and Mr. King, a shoemaker, both under engagement to the Society. The former, I believe, married just prior to sailing, and brought out his wife with him. THE MASSACRE OF THE BOYD. On the arrival of their ship at Sydney, in February, I.SIO, they were- met with the news of the massacre of the crew and passengers of the ship Boyd, in Whangaroa harbour. I dare say that many of you have heard the story, still as it may be unknown to some, and the event bore materially upon the train of affairs which I am now narrating to yon, I feel thatl am not digressing in giving a brief account of the matter as it has come to me, partly from a. participator in it. Captain Thompson, of the ship Boyd, of some 000 tons, fell in at Sydney with two Wh.iugnroa natives, and as his ship was bound home with some and but little cargo, gladly acceded to their suggestion of calling at that place for a quantity of spars, which they undertook to procure for him ; they themselves agreeing to vork their passages down. In the course of the voyage, one of these natives, Hori by name, being ordered by thu captain to do some work aloit, made the excuse that he was sick, and being threatened with a flogging if ho continued his refusal, pleaded that he was a chief, and should not be so treated. Flogged he was, though. The ship arrived safely at Whaugaroa, the natives v.'ere allowed to land, and next day returned on board to take the captain to sec the spars. Meanwhile Hori had told his people of the indignity put upon him. Captain Thompson, tvith two boat 3! crews, were guided by the Maoris some live miles from the ship up the Kaeo river, and, after lauding, were led into the kahikate.n bush, which grows near the banks. Ai: onslaught was made upon them, and every man slain. The natives, after putting on the sailors' clothes, pulled rlon-n in the dark tc the snip, which they surprised—Horianswer' ing the sentry's hail—except some few sailors, who took refuge in tho rigging, :i Mrs. Morley and child, a girl named LSroughtin, and the cabin boy. All on boarr were ruthlessly killed that night; the sailor, were shot next morning, lint tho other four, who had shown compassion towards Hori after his flogging, wen: spared. They were afterwards given, up to a party of Bay ol Islands natives, of whom Tamnti Waka iv.is o.'ir, taken over thither, kindly treated, ami put ou board t!ic first vessel bound for .Sydney. Altogether seventy souls belonging to the ship perished in this sad afT;\i:r, but more lives yet were lost in consequence of it. Unfortunately for himself, Te Pahi was al Whangaroa when thu tragedy took place, He subsequently asserted that he was altogether ignorant of thcultack at Kaeo, having been at a distant part, of the harbour, but hearing ot the capture of the vessel, went or board and did his best to prevail upon tin natives to spare the surviving sailors, bul without avail, and thereupon returned di 3 gusted to his own place at the Bay. Tlu tidinge quickly spread, and reaching the captain of a whulcship lying .it the Bay, he at oncii put to sen, Shortly after, falling h off the coast with several other ships, the crews, upon hearing tho news, determined upon revenge, and learning Te Pahi had l>cei at the scene of slaughter, manning tlioii boats, pulled m at night, and atlr.eked a p: situated on a small islet opposite to Katigi houa, in which Tu lVlii usually lived Except l'e Pahi himself and one other man every native in the pa was killed, and tln.-si two were wounded, tiie former whilst svini mini; ashore being struck by a musket bal liicd at him by a lad who w;ui krcpiiu oik: of tlit! boats. Te Pahi died from tlii wound wit'liu a year, and thus Mr. lost his most powerful and tru.ity supporter It sfc.i-.s probable, judging from the partialis shown by Te Pahi to the ■•pakelia," tliu his story was the correct one, and that In suffered owinn to the .similarity of liia r.rmu to that o! Mori'a brother, " Tc Piilii," win undoubtedly was one of the ringleaders ii the bloody affair ; but it is certain that T' i'ahi's people participated in the plunder o the ship, for some was found in his pa. Kar rings were made of dollars captured in th Boyd, and being worn far and wide among th natives, terved for years after as memorial of the catastrophe. The destruction of T i'ahi's people was not the ouly rctributio received by the natives, as twenty-one wes blown up by the explosion of a quantity o gunpowder, which, liuving been aecidentall i wetted, they were drying on one of the ship' sails. The only survivor of the part narrated that whilst they were .all sittin round tho powder, one stated that it wo

I, ' dry enough, another contradicted him, and i. after a few words more, threw the ashes out n of his pipe into the powder, and thus put the I, dispute to the proof; the survivor, though t blown up, escaped by falling into the water. 1- A fig tree on the bank of the Kaeo, near Mr. \ Nisbet's house, used, in my time, to mark the . site of the '• hangi" iu which Captain Thompe son and his boats' crews were cooked. A s fragment of the Boyd and one of her guns , are in our Museum, another gun is in the - j crater of a volcano at Pakaraka. I have I j eeen at low water some of her timbers in 3 Whangiroa harbour, though the upper - works of the ship were accidentally burned. ■f [T 1 be continued.]