MAORIS TRAVEL TO AMERICA

Southland Times, Issue 23392, 27 December 1937, Page 5

MAORIS TRAVEL TO AMERICA

CAPTAIN HOWELL’S TRIP TO CALIFORNIA Years before the gold rushes brought “diggers” in their thousands to New Zealand, the Californian gold rush attracted some of New Zealand’s early settlers most of the way back to the old world in search of quick prosperity. Captain Howell, the founder of Riverton, took with him from Riverton to California an eager crew. They were not many months in America, but the adventures they had in their short stay convinced them that there were worse places than New Zealand. For years, the Riverton visitors—most of them Maoris—who went to California were known ds “forty-niners,” the term celebrated in the famous song “Clementine.” The members of Captain Howell’s party were soon disillusioned with life on the diggings, but it was not failure to find gold that caused their disappointment. The success in finding gold of the party of New Zealanders was such that less lucky miners on nearby claims became covetous, with the result that Watson, Captain Howell’s mate, was murdered and a portion of the gold discovered by some of the Riverton men was stolen.

Watson had been placed by Captain Howell in charge of work at the claim. In the party working the claim—mostly Maoris—there was one traitor, a European ticket-of-leave man from Tasmania. It is thought that this man met some of his former associates in crime among the huge, cosmopolitan crowd at the diggings, and with their aid arranged a careful plan to rob the whole party. However, the Maoris of the party, toughened by bitter experience, were suspicious of the Tasmanian, and although they could not save Watson from being murdered, the; saved the beet part of the gold, divided it equally among the party, and tired of their Californian experiences of theft, robbery and murder, hastily went to their ship, to set sail for Aparima again. Nothing would induce them to return to California, and Captain Howell acceded to their request that they should be home as soon as possible. The return voyage was made via Sydney and in that city jewellers were kept busy making rings and trinkets for coy wahines at home in Riverton. The gold had been equally divided and each of the Maoris proudly carried a bag of it.

Mr George Howell, a son of Captain Howell, until some years ago possessed one massive ring brought by Captain Howell from California. The native miners on their return to Riverton did not speak much of the reasons behind their hasty departure from the lucrative gold fields. The Macri members of the party, with widebrimmed panama hats and clothes and ornaments bought in America, enjoyed the sensation they caused in quiet Riverton, and were “a nine days’ wonder” with their travellers’ tale of a foreign country. A forecast of the gold available for winning in New Zealand was given by one of the Maori miners in California.

“Can you find it, though?” asked the cautious captain, but the Maori was confident. “You take us back, skipper, and we show you where to find plenty,” he said.

Such a promise may well have been inspired by the desire of the Maoris to get clear of the America they did not like, because the promise was not fulfilled on return to New Zealand. There is no doubt, however, that the Maoris knew of gold in the western ranges. It was left to the white man, however, to find the first reef, when in 1861 the news of the Central Otago discovery brought men from all parts of New Zealand. The Riverton Maoris did not contribute many to the rush. They had had their fill of gold mining.