The Sketcher.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 422, 13 March 1880, Page 6

The Sketcher.

.jfTHE LATE CAPTAIN GEORGE ' HEMPELMAN.

The following notice of an old colonist who has just joined the majority appeared in the Lyttelton Times of the 19th instant. The deceased was well-known to many of the old residents in this city, and some of his family connections still reside here. His numerous petitions to the House of Representatives concerning his alleged claims against the Canterbury Association are matters of wellknown record :—" On February 13 there died suddenly, at Akaroa, in the eightyfirst year of his age, Captain George Hempelman, whose name has figured more or less prominently in public since the foundation of this colony. For the last thirteen or fourteen months the deceased has resided at the Akaroa Cottage Hospital, and has been, considering his advanced years, in tolerably good health. On the day above mentioned he went out for his usual walk about the middle of the day, and after calling at one or two places w r ent in to M. do Malmanche's, apparently to rest himself. On sitting down a peach was offered to him, and, as it fell from his grasp, he stooped down to pick ic up, and immediately expired. Captain Hempelman was born at Altona, near Hamburg, in the year 1799, and was brought up to the sea. In the year 1835 he was master of the brig Bee, of Sydney, on a whaling voyage ; and as that vessel was in a leaky condition he made for Banks Peninsula, cai'eening his ship in Peraki harbor ; and, while she was repairing, whaling from there. On Monday, July 25, 183 G, the Bee resumed her voyage, Captain Hempelman leaving a shore party with try pots, gear, and boats behind him, to carry on a whale fishery at Peraki, the vessel arriving in Sydney on August 9 following. Shortly after, Captain Hempelman returned to New Zealand, anchoring in Port Cooper (now Lyttelton) on Friday, September 2 of that year, and thence, after communicating with his shoi'e party, returned to Sydney. In March, 1837, Captain Hempelman was again in New Zealand, and on October 23 in that year, himself, wife, eight Europeans and one Maori settled in Peraki ; the vessel which brought them sailing away from there on that day. The following day Taiaroa, the principal chief of Otago, with two boats fully manned, arrived at Peraki from the South, and left again on the 31st for Port Cooper. Shortly after Taiai'oa and his party had left two Maoris arrived at Peraki for the purpose of inducing them to go to Cloudy Bay to fight Rauperaha. Taiaroa's visit to Port Cooper was ostensibly to collect whalebone, and for this purpose he obtained a whaleboat from Hempelman, leaving one of his boats which was leaky and one of his principal men as a protection behind him. On Nov. 13 Hempelman was visited by a native chief of Port Cooper named Tommy, who with other natives arrived in a boat and canoe ; and on the 18th of the same month Taiaroa returned, minus whaleboat, bringing back Hempelman's boat, and sailing for Otago on the following day. On the Christmas of 1837 Hempelman's party were nearly starved out, the last of their flour having been served out on the previous day, and other necessaries also being wanting. Pig hunting expeditions failed, and so did a journey to Wangaloa (now Akaroa) for the purpose of obtaining food from the natives. This state of affairs got so bad that from the middle of January, IS3B, until the end of February, when some supplies were obtained from an American whaler at Wangaloa, each man had to look out to do the best for himself in the matter of obtaining the necessaries of life. From this time supplies were more easily obtainable, as American, French, and Colonial whalers were very often on the coast and called in either at Peraki or Wangaloa. In October, 1839, Peraki was visited by the renowned southern warrior chief Y'clept Bloody Jack, who, with hisparty and Taiaroa, arrived there in fifteen boats and barbarously murdered a native boy that was with Hempelman. Taiaroa saved another boy from slaughter, but compelled Hempelman to give him a new six-oared whale boat as utu or recompense. At this visit Bloody Jack claimed payment for Peraki, and Hempelman gave him a large boat with sails and gear complete. The transaction led to the tedious suits of litigation which Hempleman had with the Canterbury Association in its early days, and to the different petitions which have at various times kept his name so prominently before the public of the colony. There, are few now left who can tell the history of pre-colonial times such as it was with its terrors of natives and starvation ; and it is a great pity that these„old men are allowed to die off without any attempt being made to obtain what may be hereafter something more than useful information. With Captain Hempelman has passed away one of the last of the leading Bay whalers of the olden time."