Note 154 — Chapter VII · WAKEFIELD AND THE WAIRAU

On the 13th June, Captain Wakefield wrote to his brother from Nelson: "The magistrates have granted a warrant, and Thompson, accompanied by myself, England, and a lot of the constables, are off immediately in the Government brig to execute it. We shall muster about sixty, so I think we will overcome these travelling bullies."

[155] As told to the author by the late Mr. Barnicoat.

[156] Saturday, June 17, 1843.

[157] John Brooks had been engaged as a sawyer at Cloudy Bay. He was thoroughly acquainted with the native language and habits, having been eight years resident amongst the Waikato tribes.

[158] Rawiri Kingi Puaha was born at Kawhia, and belonged to one of the best of the Ngati-Toa families. He migrated southward with Te Rauparaha, and was married to one of Te Pehi's daughters. He died at his own village, Takapuahia, Porirua Harbour, on September 6, 1858. He was a man widely respected by the colonists, and to the day of his death he "maintained a high character as a consistent and conscientious Christian."

[159] "The conduct of Mr. Thompson has been unquestionably the means of bringing about the fatal conflict in which he himself lost his life. There is only one way of accounting for the part he has acted in that affair; as far as he is concerned, no more blame can be attached to him than to any other lunatic, for such he was to all intents and purposes, and such he was well known to be, even to Mr. Shortland" (Martin's Letters).

[160] Te Rongo was not the daughter of Te Rauparaha, as that word is generally understood by Europeans, but a much more distant relative. She was the widow of Te Whaiti, a nephew of Rauparaha and a first cousin of Rangihaeata, who married her because she was the widow of his near relative. The story that she was shot while standing in front of Rangihaeata to protect him is pure romance. She was killed by a stray bullet while hiding in the swamp at the rear of the Maori camp.

[161] "Yesterday we passed (near Maraekowhai) the grave of Te Oru, the chief who killed Captain Wakefield at the Wairau" (Crawford's "Travels in New Zealand").

[162] This referred to an incident which occurred in 1839. A degenerate whaler named Dick Cook had cruelly murdered a native woman, Rangiawha Kuika, who was the wife of an Englishman named Wynen. The natives wished to deal with him in their own summary way, but the Rev. Mr. Ironside persuaded them to send him to Wellington to be tried according to the British forms of justice. He was charged with the crime at the Supreme Court, but was acquitted, the evidence being mainly circumstantial, his own wife (also a native woman), who saw him do the deed, not being allowed to give testimony against him. This was a delicate point which the natives could not understand, and they ever after retained the firm conviction that an injustice had been done in not punishing him.

[163] Mr. Clarke, Sub-Protector of the aborigines, estimated that in 1843 there were 11,650 natives capable of bearing arms inhabiting the shores of Cook Strait. In a petition to Parliament signed by seven hundred residents of Wellington shortly after the massacre, it was stated "that it is in the power of the aborigines at any time to massacre the whole of the British population in Cook Strait, and Rauparaha has been known to declare that he will do it."

[164] On the 29th June, the Wellington magistrates met at Mr. McDonough's house, and on the motion of Dr. Evans, seconded by the Hon. J. Petre, it was resolved: "That Mr. Spain, the Commissioner of Lands, be requested to go in his capacity as one of the magistrates to communicate to the native chiefs and tribes of Cook Strait their determination, which is not to take or to sanction any attempt to take vengeance for the death of the white men at Wairau, but to leave the whole matter to the decision of the Queen's Government, who will inquire into it and decide according to law."

[165] Now known as Whanganui.

[166] Te Ahu karamu's son was travelling with Wakefield on this journey, and under the impression that Wakefield would kill him in revenge for the massacre, Te Ahu "had furiously urged the Otaki natives to join Rauparaha and Rangihaeata in an attack upon Wellington."

[167] "Some of the whalers present laughed at this, having too many friends and relatives by their wives to fear being turned out. Taylor, among the number, laughed outright, for he had lived with the tribe for many years and was a general favourite among them. Rauparaha turned to him and said, 'You must go too, Sammy'" (Wakefield).

[168] Wakefield has said that Rauparaha not only rebuked the Queen, but spoke offensively of her. But it must always be remembered that he was naturally prejudiced against the chief, and that he was frequently vindictive towards those from whom he differed.

[169] "Taiaroa talked to me for some time about land in a disgusting jargon composed of whaling slang, broken French, and bad English, so that I was obliged to beg him to speak in Maori, which I could better understand. I then made out that he was angry with 'Wideawake' (Colonel Wakefield) and other white people for taking so much land, and he said he would turn the white people off to the southward if he did not get plenty of utu" (Wakefield).

[170] These displays had a distinctly disturbing effect upon the native mind, the Maoris regarding them as a sure and certain sign that the settlers meditated an attack upon them.

[171] The entire military force in the Colony at the moment of the massacre was one weak company of infantry stationed at Auckland, and there was no vessel of war on the station (Mundy).

[172] This decision was written out in pencil and handed to Mr. Clarke to read out to the assemblage. Because Governor Fitzroy did not claim the Wairau district as having been paid for with blood—a course which the chiefs fully expected would be taken, in accordance with their own customs—British prestige and power are said to have suffered considerably in their estimation, and Rangihaeata is reported to have remarked, "He paukena te pakeha" (The Governor is soft, he is a pumpkin). When the Middle Island was sold to the Government by Taiaroa and the descendants of Tamaiharanui, Rangihaeata claimed part of the payment as compensation for the death of Te Pehi and his friends killed at Kaiapoi, and his claim was allowed by Governor Grey.