PAGES OF THE PAST

Taranaki Daily News, 8 September 1923, Page 11

PAGES OF THE PAST

(By

"Juvenis.")

CAPTAIN COOK. 1 His FIRST VISIT TO NEW ZEALAND,. According to Captain Cook’s narrative it was on Friday, October 6, 1769, that the land was first, seen from the masthead. On Saturday, October 7,‘ it fell calm till the afternoon. At 5 p.m. Cook noticed a deep bay, and stood in for it, but when night came he kept plying off and on , till daylight. In the morning' (Sunday, Octdber 8) he found himself, considerably to leeward of the bay, the wind being to the north, and it was not till four o’clock in the afternoon that he anchored “on the N.W. side of the bay before the entrance to a small river at about ,hsilf a league from the. shore. In the evening Captain Cook went ashore, accompanied by Mr. Banks and Dr. Solander, and landed abreast of the ship, on the east side of the river, which was here about forty yards broad.- Seeing some natives on the west side, with whom • C<?ok wished to , speak, the party crossed in a boat. On reaching the natives they air ran away, and the-party, leaving the boat in charge of four boys, walked up to some huts close by. When they got some distance from the boat, four natives armed• with long, lances- rushed out of,, the - woods, -and running up to the boat, would certainly have cut her off if the boys had not been shouted to and ordered to drop down the stream. The boy's'lnstantly obeyed, but being closely pursued by the natives, the coxswain 'of the pinnace, who had charge of the' boats, fired a musket over their heads. At this, they L stopped and looked found them, but in a few minutes renewed their pursuit, brandishing their lances in a threatening manner. The coxswain then fired a second musket over their heads, but of this they took no notice, and on one of them lifting up his spear to daft it at the boat, another piece was firtd, which shot him dead. When he fell, the other three stood motionless for a few minutes, as if petrified with astonishment. As soon as they recovered they retreated, dragging the dead body with them, but soon abandoning it that it might not encumber their flight. After examining the dead native, and finding that he had been shot through the heart, the party returned to the ship, , where they could hear the people on shore talking with great earnestness and very loudly, probably about .what had happened and what should be done. The woods out of which the natives rushed upon the boat no. longer exi-.t in the neighbourhood, nor have there been any within the last fifty years, but forest is said by the natives to have existed formerly on the hillside within a short distance of high-water mark, which would form a convenient hidingplace for the datives', from whence they might observe the movements of the strangers without being seen themselves. FRIENDLY INTERCOURSE FAILS. On Monday morning, October 9, a party of natives were observed at the spot at which they had been seen the previous evening, and Cook determined at once ,to try and open up friendly intercourse with them. Cook and party, accompanied by three boats manned by seamen and; marines, proceeded to shore, and on advancing towards the natives the latter all started up, showing themselves to be numerous and all well armed with spears and patus, manifesting at the same time unmistakeable signs of hostility. The sailors and marines were drawn un and Cook advanced with Tupaea. Messrs. Banks, Green, Monkhouse and Dr. Solander. Tupaea was directed to speak to the natives, and it was soon evident that he could readily make., himself understood. After some parleying it was seen that all attempts to establish friendly relations were in vain, ’and at last one native snatched away Mr. Green’s and retired to a short distance, waving it about his head and uttering loud shouts of exultation. Tt soon became necessary to repress -the and Mr. Green, after firing at the man with small shot, fired at him with ball, and he instantly dropped. A volley from the sailors and marines wounded two or three others. The party' of natives thus encountered was not the same as that which had been seen the evening before.

A “FLOATING ISLAND.” According to the Maori tradition the ship had been seen coming into the bay the day before, and was thought to be a floating island, and this was a parry fyho had come from a pah just below the junction of Aral and Waipaoa rivers, for the purpose of trying to take possession of the ship: hence their hostile attitude. Having failed to establish any sort of friendly intercourse with the people Cook proceeded to examine the bay in search of fresh water, and also with the design of surprising if possible, some of the natives, and getting them on board his ship, that by kind treatment their friendship might be secured, as also that of their countrymen. An encounter unhappily took place between a canoe and the ship, resulting in the shooting dead of four natives. The remainder of the crew, three young lads, named Te Haurangi, Tkirangi and Marukaniti, were captured and taken on board. Their fears were soon allayed by kind treatment and they became very sociable. Next day (Tuesday. October 10) the lads were set on shore- and Captain Cook, Messrs. Banks and Solander and Tupaea. strolled up the right bank of tho Waikanae Creek, bent on duckshodfing, hut were very nearly cut off by a hostile body of natives. The next morning (Wednesdav, October 11) at- 0 o’clock, Cook weighed cn-| ehor and stood away from the place, which he named Poverty Bay, on recount of its inhospitable character, f-i* 1 it did not afford him a single thing which he wanted except a little wooL The south-west point of the bav he named Young Nick’s Head, after NichoJ las Young, the boy who first saw the land. COOK’S COVE. After touching at Tegado Bay (real name Anaura) on the 21st and obtaining a supply of fresh water, Cook put in at Tolago Bay. as he had been informed by some natives of a small cove, a little within the south point of the bay, where fresh water was handy, and wta* the tynJl night land without be-

ing exposed to a heavy surf. This was the cove which in recent times has always borne the illustrious navigator’s name. The natives here, were friendly, and a good supply of wood and water was easily obtained during the eight days’ stay of ’ the ship ' here. Amongst other natural curiosities here seen was the perforated rock, the arch of which was called by the Maoris Te Kotore-o-te-Whenua. Not far from the arch near the shore, is what is known as Cook’s well, a small hole into which water trickles down a tiny rill from a spring above in the hill. That it was not a natural cavity, but that it was made on the occasion of Cook’s visit, seemed to be satisfactorily shown by the name which the natives had given to it, viz., “Te Wai-keri a Tepaea,” or Tepaea’s well, Tepaea (in which they had pre-

served the name of Tahitian having been thought by them to been the name of Captain Cook. According to Cook the bay had bM| called Tolago, but this had not beis identified with any Maori name now ha use in the neighbourhood. Ou October 30, Captain Cook made again to the northward, and here leav* was taken of him.