The Natives’ Side.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLIV, Issue 25, 22 June 1910, Page 43

The Natives’ Side.

AN INTERESTING NARRATIVE. Some little time ago one of our representatives had an interesting conversation with llori Teira (Mr. George Taylor), of Pungarehu, concerning the early days of our settlement. At’ that time the subject had been worn threadbare, so the notes were pigeon-holed pending the arrival of an occasion when his graphically-told life-story could be introduced into the columns of passing events. Such an opportunity presents itself in the celebration of the engagement between the settlers and the Maoris at Waireka. It is not often that one finds in Taranaki a Maori at the same time so well informed and so communicative as Mr. Taylor, and his story should be read with interest, particularly as it introduces fresh matter with regard to one or two incidents of those troublous times which have made Taranaki’s history worth writing and worth preserving. The Narrator. The narrator of the story given below was born at Kororareka, in the Bay of Islands, a good many years ago. His father was a ship’s carpenter; his mother a full-blooded Maori, who had been taken from her home in Taranaki by one of the marauding bands of warlike Waikatos. She was very young then, and in course of time she found herself in the Bay' of Islands district, probably as the result of missionary effort. As a boy he was educated at the mission school, and knew as much English as Maori. Whilst still a lad he was brought back to Taranaki by relatives, and he went to Ikaroa, near Warea, to live. His mother came down to Taranaki not long afterwards. He was living at Warea when the war broke out, and he was at the Waireka engagement whilst only a lad. 'Waireka—His Own Story. “From what I have read and heard all along,” he said, “the pakehas seemed to think there was a big crowd of us Maoris at Waireka, but I don’t think there were more than three hundred in the whole force, which comprised only a part of the Taranaki tribe and very few of the Ngat'iruanui. When the Maoris decided to stay at Waireka they built a pah.” From there they ■made excursions into the surrounding country, pulling down houses and looting wherever opportunity offered. At the lime the troops arrived from town and set up an attack on the pah there were very few there, the great majority of the men being out on a foraging expedition. Presently those at home were surprised at seeing the pakehas coming by way of the beach. The sound of firing brought the other Maoris in to the pah. It must have been known to the whites, he said, that there was a force of Maoris to be encountered, for they had had word of the killing of the man Ford. At this stage, Mr. Taylor remarked that the Maoris had not interfered with a Portuguese and a Frenchman, knowing they were ■ not English; or with Mr. Brown, because he was a parson. The bluejackets appeared on the scene when it was just getting dusk. When they came up there were no warriors in the pah—only the old men, “who were no good down below,” and a lot of boys, unarmed, amongst these being the narrator. They had been looking on all day and until evening. Suddenly the bluejackets came over the hill and rushed into the pah. So short was the notice that two very old chiefs, Terei Hanetaua (lloni Pihama’s uncle) mid Paul Kukutai, were unable to reach the pallisude before them. “We boys tumbled into the rifle pits. They didn’t bother about us, but went straight for the flag, and went away again. They met one Maori boy just going in. He bad an old fowlingpiece in his hand; it was no good, but he was proud of it. One of the sailors

gave it a cut with a cutlass, and nearly cut the barrel through; but the boy got in all right.” The Maoris all retired from the position during the night, taking their wounded with them in draya. They had commenced burying their dead, but the friendly Maoris from Potuku relieved them of that duty. After Waireka. After this the Maoris remained quiescent fo-r some time, and then they started off again with a bigger body of men. with the idea of again taking possession of Waireka. This they did, and built a second pah there, near Jury’s. Their object was to have the Omata redoubt shifted, but they never attacked it, for the wise old men of the tribes considered it too strong to be taken, and the Maori force not sufficient to starve the garrison out. So they remained in the locality, looting. Upov their retiring, the troops occupied Waireka and built a redoubt there. Mr. Taylor said that often, when pillaging, the Maoris came across plate and other articles of value which settlers had buried for safety before fleeing from their homes. The Maoris returned again to the locality and built a pah on Mr. Harrison’s or Tom Wilkinson’s farm, whence they frequently exchanged shots with the soldiers in the redoubt. The Maoris lived in expectation of an attack, but none came. An incident related here showed the Maoris respect for the Sabbath. In those days no Maori was allowed to fire a shot on Sundays. “One Sunday we saw about half a dozen soldiers come out of the redoubt and, as far as we could make out, they were unarmed. I, like a fool, and some others ran out, calling ‘Haeremai,’- and inviting them to have a ‘korero.’ All of a sudden one of the men dropped to his knee, picked up a rifle which he had •been dragging behind him, and fired. But he just' missed us. We were not allowed to fire back: it was Sunday.” Warm Corners. Another narrow escape befell Terra. One night he and a friend went out in the hope of stealing a horse or two fropr a paddock just below Captain Good’s , and alongside a pakeha potato patch, from whence the Maoris drew potato supplies under cover of night. Ihey crept along the hedge to the gate, when suddenly they heard triggers being cocked . on the other side. They dropped down and crawled away among the potatoes. When they had gone about fifty yards a volley came singing after them, but without effect. Evidently there were men on the look-out for the robbers of the potato patch. Stories were told of the shelling of the pah at Kaihibi. One Maori picked up a live shell. ' It went off. The man recovered some time afterwards. In another,case a man saw a shell coming, and gave warning. It fell where he stood and blew his head off. The Maoris left the pah the same night, fearing that after the shelling the pakeha might rush the pah. Partial Peace. Then came an interval of peace. Sir George Grey and a number of chiefs from the Bay of Islands met at Waitara. “They didn’t come to our pah and make peace, but made peace only with the Ngatiawas and Waikatos. Of course sonic of our chiefs were there, and they agreed in a way. It was agreed that what laud we took from the pakeha we should keep. Tire peace lasted for about a year but we didn’t feel that it was a proper peace. None of us went into New Plymouth, and we saw none of the pakehas.” Wreck of the Lord Worsley. It was during that year that the ship Lord Worsley came ashore at Te Namu. We treated the passengers well, and gave them houses. William King! was there, and he directed things. The passengers were allowed to bring their own personal belongings ashore, but the Maoris insisted that the ship’s effects were theirs, and took all the arms and ammunition they could find. In connection with this there was the making of an unpleasant situation. During the evening after the landing of the people a man Robert Graham went down to the cliff and shouted to the cook t# throw nil the gunpowder overboard. This was done. When the Maoris discovered this they became infuriated. There was a great korero. Some of the chiefs were strong in their demands that the lives of all the pakehas should pay forfeit, and there were many who favoured that

course. Wiremu Kingi and Te Whiti were opposed to that plan, and their counsel prevailed, but only after a long and animated korero. Then the shipwrecked people were sent off to New Plymouth, their belongings being carried in drays. They had to pass through the Maoris’ toll-gates, and Hori Teira was in charge of the gate at Ikaroa. Every man was required to open his box for inspection, and the Maoris collared all the revolvers, cartridges, and so on. The man Robert Graham, previously referred to, had two boxes filled with gold. This the Maoris wouldn’t touch. But Graham wouldn’t trust the Maoris too far. Instead of carting the gold into town that day he. threw the two boxes into a flax bush by the wayside, and he came back at night for it, with three Maoris, who got £. 5 each for the job. This incident of the generosity of the natives towards the ship-wrecked people was cited by Mr Taylor as an instance of the nobility of the Maoris of those days. Not long afterwards the European settlers began to drift back to Tataraimaka. The Maoris told them to go back, for the land belonged to ths Maoris. Then Sir George Grey determined to re-take Tataraimaka. Hearing of this, the Maoris built a pah at Kaitake, and sent a letter to Major Parris to the effect that if the troops crossed the Tapuae river the Maoris would re commence hostilities. Nevertheless, the troops were sent down to Tatara, and the Maoris were not sufficiently strong to oppose them.