Times are mending.
Grey Street, Shortland, showing the same woman and the first Post Office.
National Library Ref: 1/2-096130-G
National Library Ref: 1/2-096134-G
 |
| Recent arrival at the Thames, surveyor Daniel Manders Beere, was also a keen photographer. Here he has photographed the family of his brother Gerald Butler Beere on the veranda of a house in Shortland, 1868 Interestingly the woman seated on the left also appears in the following two images.National Library Ref: 1/2-096138-G |
Grey Street, Shortland, showing the same woman and the first Post Office.
National Library Ref: 1/2-096130-G
The same woman at right centre
House and garden of Wirope Hoterini Taipari National Library Ref: 1/2-096134-G
Thursday, 30 April
A rumour is current
in Shortland this morning that information has been received from Auckland via
Tapu Creek, of the accidental drowning of Matthew Barry, a pioneer of the Thames goldfield. There is general disbelief and then relief when it is realised the
origin of the rumour is the fact that Mr Barry, of the Kuranui company’s claim,
accidentally fell in the water on Tuesday night, when boarding the
Enterprise.
A parcel of 18 lbs
stone brought to town from the Puriri is crushed and retorted, yielding 47 oz gold.
Mr D Lundon,
landing waiter at Shortland, writes his report showing the number of vessels,
the nature of their cargo and the number of passengers arriving and leaving
Shortland to the fortnight ending 30 April.
“The population of this district is increasing steadily, the building
trade is brisk, and in consequence, timber is fetching higher rates, stores and
cottages are springing up in all directions, and on the whole this place is
assuming the appearance of a settled population. At Hastings (Tapu Creek) there are new
discoveries of gold every day and the Clyde is now a regular trader between the
latter place and Shortland, and is doing great passenger trade."
During a quarrel
this evening a miner named James Clarkson, working in Mulligan’s No 1 claim,
has his leg fractured. Dr Sam is sent for to set the injured leg.
Fly for Shortland with 8 trusses hay, 2 bags flour, sundries
Friday, 1 May
There is now a growing sense of optimism and hope around the
Thames goldfield. The Daily Southern Cross comments “It is agreed by all
businessmen in the community that the depression under which the city and
province has suffered is fast passing away and that we have prosperity in view
of a better character than we have had in war times . . . the Thames goldfield
has progressed steadily and rapidly since it was opened, and has been of great
assistance to Auckland.”
The NZ Herald editor agrees - “It is indeed with thankfulness and pleasure
that we are able to write more cheerfully than for some time past . . . of the
condition and prospects of the Province of Auckland . . . not only are we
assured of the certainty of prosperous times in the future, but we are already
beginning to enter upon them. We have
passed through the worst, and to use a homely phrase 'times are mending.' Of course very much of this is owing to the Thames
goldfields. The yield is as yet
comparatively small, but its effects have been the more felt since it has
fallen almost entirely into the hands of Auckland men and has found its way to
the city, instead of Melbourne or Sydney, as in the case of the Otago and West
Coast diggings. That the yield is not at
the present moment equal to the return from the southern goldfields is simply
owing to the fact that all hands are either engaged in the erection of
machinery, or are waiting for the erection on neighbouring claims . . . The
Thames has justified all our expectations.
The field is very extensive and almost uniformly auriferous, and what is
more, cannot be worked out in a generation.”
At the Auckland Police Court Mr Coombes, proprietor of the
Empire Hotel, stands accused of having music in his hotel. He produces a permit for dancing and singing but His Worship says “You are asking me for what I cannot
do. What is it for?”
Coombes says “It is a provision for some friends - some
diggers. I want a little singing going
on in the house."
His Worship asks “Do
the diggers want singing at the Thames?” Mr Coombes replies ‘They
are up from the Thames”
“Are they, indeed?” says His Worship. “The sooner they
go back, the better. This is no special
occasion. What I call 'a special
occasion' is not meant for a number of diggers and others. The diggers are generally a class of good and
orderly people, as far as we find, they are a marvelously well behaved set of
people down there – remarkably well behaved, and don’t require this sort of
thing. There are only two policemen down
there to preserve order, and it shows very clearly the diggers don’t require
this dancing and singing you hope to provide for them.”
Mr Coombes concedes “No
dancing your Worship.”
His Worship replies
“They require no singing; they prefer going to bed and resting themselves to be
prepared for the labours of the next day.
You desire to keep them up nearly all night and they would rise in the
morning with a headache probably. This
is not a special occasion and I cannot grant a permit.” There is some question over the authenticity
of the permit and the signatures of justices of the peace on it.
Apprehension is felt for the cutter Avon, which left Auckland for Shortland heavily loaded
on 25 April and which has still not arrived at the Thames. She had on
board merchandise for several storekeepers to the amount of £1,500 together
with casting for a crushing machine. At the time of leaving Auckland rough weather
ensued with fierce squalls of rain and gales.
Mr John Lambert Tole is appointed Mining Registrar for the
Thames Goldfield. Mr Tole, J Breen and Daniel Manders Beere are appointed as mining
surveyors for the Thames Goldfield. Daniel Beere, an Irishman, is a
civil engineer as well as a very good artist and keen photographer. He has
spent time in Canada and the USA doing survey work on the railways while continuing his sketching. He came to New Zealand in 1863, and in 1864 was
appointed to serve under the Provincial Government as a surveyor at Auckland. He then worked in the Waikato District,
leaving the service in October 1867 after completion of the road from Mercer to
Ngaruawhahia. He and brother Holroyd now live at the Thames, surveying
the goldfields and dealing in fractions and shares of claims. John Lambert Tole is the son of John Tole, an early Auckland
surveyor.
Map of the Karaka block, Thames goldfields, survey by D.M. Beere.
Joseph Mulligan gives a grand ball and supper at his new house, the Governor Bowen Hotel, Waiotahi. Everything is done in the first rate style for which the house is celebrated.
Wahapu for Shortland with 2,000 bricks, 1 ton
machinery, 2 packages drapery.
 |
| DSC 1 May, 1868 |
 |
| NZH 1 May, 1868 |
The slight flavour of winter.
Saturday, 2 May
An address from the
inhabitants of the Thames will be forwarded this day to the Agent of the
General Government for presentation to his Excellency the Governor, George Bowen. It is plainly embossed on parchment.
George Hamlin and his mates, the last of the Manaia
prospectors, have been obliged to leave that locality through lack of supplies,
which they depend on receiving from Auckland.
These men are experienced miners and deserve encouragement for their perseverance.
The Shortland sharemarket reports a week of wet, cold and
boisterous weather which has had more effect in depressing the share market
than usual. The slight flavour of winter
experienced during the past week has considerably damped the ardour of
speculation, roads have been rendered impassable and one of the largest
crushing machines has been brought to a standstill.
Seaflower for Shortland from the Bay of Islands with
a cargo of coal.
Stag
for the Thames with 15,000 ft timber, 4 tons sashes and doors, 7,000 shingles, ½
ton coals.
Captain Thomas Seon, master
of the Enterprise, is obliged to put pen to paper and writes to the Daily
Southern Cross to contradict a statement
which has appeared in the Thames Advertiser respecting Mr Barry having
fallen overboard from the Enterprise. In
fact Mr Barry fell from the Maori Chief on her way to the Tauranga, the Enterprise
being in Auckland at the time. He adds that
the death of Mr Peck, found drowned in the Hape Creek, was attributed to the Enterprise
as well, which is an untruth, the man never having been on board. “I should not trouble you with these remarks,
only that any accident happening is always put down to the Enterprise,” he
huffs.
At Nelson, Mr Stafford addresses the electors of the district,
saying in part, “I accompanied the Governor
lately to the gold district of the Thames and did not meet with a single discontented person. I met as I walked along the beach more women
and children, asking how they were doing and with a single exception (and this
man admitted that he had made 30s the previous week) all said they were doing
well and were contented. The tents are
disappearing and give place to substantial houses, and the diggers are daily
sending for their families . . . that
goldfield has saved Auckland, by preventing the loss of population, and
population is the strength of our country.”
This afternoon, as with every Saturday afternoon now at the
Thames, there is a great gathering of men at Butt’s corner.
6pm
The missing cutter
Avon arrives safely at the Thames. She left Auckland on Saturday 25th
April at 8pm for Shortland and was compelled by calms to bring to off Taylor’s
Island, where she remained for the night.
She left there on the evening of Sunday between 10 and 11pm heading for
Shortland when, about three or four miles off the sandspit, her starboard
rigging was carried away in a squall.
This necessitated the vessel being put on the other tack and stand
away down the Thames and out to sea.
Cabbage Bay didn’t have sufficient shelter so she made for Great
Barrier, arriving on the 27th about 2pm. The wind freshened and as
the night was murky, there was no possibility of repairing the rigging. At daylight the Avon was below Waiheke. She
put into Tryphena Bay and while there was fitted with temporary rigging. The
wind continued to blow for three successive days and the Avon was unable to get
out until Thursday night, 30 April. The
Avon, in the company of the cutter Waterlily, then started for the Thames.
A complimentary benefit is being given tonight by gentlemen
amateurs to Mr Clifford, lessee of Captain Butt’s theatre. The house is a bumper one and the performances –
farce, tragedy and acrobatic feats- are received with appreciation.
Various garbled reports reach Auckland this evening regarding the missing cutter Avon but there is little doubt that she is safe, whether at the Thames, Cabbage Bay or
the Great Barrier. On the arrival of the Enterprise it is reported
that the Avon is at Cabbage Bay dismasted, but the Tauranga, which arrives
about an hour later, reports her safe arrival at the Thames. It is thought possible, however, that the Sumter may
have been taken for the Avon. It is hoped the Midge
will bring some reliable information as to her whereabouts.
 |
| NZH 2 May, 1868 |
Sunday, 3 May
The new Presbyterian Church at Shortland, fronting
the Karaka Hill, is opened for Divine Service today by the Rev James Hill of
Auckland. The new gentleman conducts
three services, but due to the very unfavourable weather the attendance is not large, and
collections made at the close in aid of the building fund total only £4 17s. The church building is almost complteted, although it was only begun five weeks ago. It is a spacious but plain building and has
46 rows of seats, capable of accommodating 300 persons. It includes a vestry and there are 12
windows, affording ample light. A
platform with a book board and panel front will serve as a pulpit until the
requirements of the Thames warrant a more suitable church. The present building will then be converted
into a school room. The church, built
by George Heron, reflects great credit on him with its neatness and
general workmanship. The simple style of the building with no ornamentation is eminently suited for
the purposes of a goldfields church. Rev
Hill reflects “We commenced our services in the old court house, but by and by our worthy friend John Butt gave us use of his theatre . When I first came here there were only two ladies in
the place. No community can prosper
without ladies.”
Monday, 4 May
It is a day of incessant rain; it rains, then pours and then
mildly rains again. Despite this the NZ
Herald correspondent does his rounds of the claims, going up to Moanataiari
Creek as far as Punga Flat to see the new road there. Taking the line of creek he passes several
claims in various stages of industry. At
Carpenter’s he observes an attempt has been made to put up machinery but it
does not look likely to succeed. There
is a very small engine which is intended to drive eight stampers but somehow
the steam is not sufficient to drive the one stamper already erected. Leaving these claims he sees men who are
sawing large and small timber for the machines.
He is shown over Clark and Kesterman's machine but by now he is wet and
hungry and doesn’t have the concentration for absorbing scientific knowledge that he
usually has. The report generally along the whole of Moanataiari Creek is favourable but there is not the crushing power for one-twentieth of the stuff ready for the mills. If this is what it is now, what will it be by the time fine weather comes again to dry the roads? There is nothing for it but roads and tramways and the sooner the better. Two or three weeks ago the cartage of 1000 bricks was 10s, now it
is £5. A two horse sled can just dray
along 100 bricks – a man sinks to his knees on the same road.
A shaking machine is in the course of completion by an
enterprising gentleman on the Karaka which will prove very valuable in saving
the gold with the use of quicksilver.
Already a test has been made and gold saved from the tailings. The men of the Bobbie Burns claim at the junction of
Karaka and Collar Bone have been busily engaged during the week at several new
drives, with a view to testing the ground.
This claim was one of the earliest taken up but until recently little
was done in the way of systematic working.
A very large extent of ground at the Thames has now been prospected and pegged off into claims and proved to be auriferous. Gold is regularly sent to Auckland. Machines are being put up in every direction, but the hilly and broken character of the country renders it difficult to transport heavy articles up the numerous creeks and gullies and hillsides. There is a large and daily increasing population. The flat land at the foot of the hills from Shortland to Kuranui is being rapidly covered with houses and stores. There are plenty of unemployed men, but it is anticipated this will change shortly as more machines get into operation. Wages vary from 5s to 10s per day, bread is 6d to the 2 lb loaf, beef and mutton 5d to 7d per lb, butter 1s to 1s 4d. Groceries are a shade over Auckland prices, so that the cost of living is not very high. The Warden’s court has a good deal of business and lawyers are making money rapidly.
The question of street formation and the construction of
roads and other public works is one of pressing and immediate necessity as winter sets in. There is a suggestion that, with the abundance of material
close at hand for making good roads and streets, 60 or 70 prisoners from Mt Eden could be drafted in to the Thames. A rough suitable building
could be put up for them at very little expense. The cost of keep and guarding them would be
very little more. As an inducement for
diligence and good behaviour, they could be granted certain luxuries in the
shape of tea and tobacco and a small weekly sum. To those who labour diligently three weeks of labour could be counted as five weeks imprisonment.
The NZ Herald notes approvingly of the Thames “the very glowing accounts
with which we are now favoured from so many quarters leaves little room for
mere everyday reports of what a more commonplace observer may be able to
see . . . those who but a few short months ago declared we were all mad to come
here at all, are now rushing about looking out for interest in claims and bank
managers are to be seen speaking to fellows with blue shirts on their backs. “
Spey for Hastings (Tapu) with sundries.
Rosina for the Thames with 6,000 bricks.
Stag for the Thames with 15,000 ft timber, 4 tons sashes and doors, 70,000 shingles, ½ ton coals.
The first meeting of the members of the Auckland Institute
is held this evening in the Museum Room, Provincial Government Buildings,
Princes Street, Auckland. Mr Gillies
reads a note that had been left at the museum stating that a number of miners
from the Thames had visited the collection, and were much interested and
gratified at examining the minerals there. Several items have been sent to the
society including part of a porpoise's head and a piece of copper off the ship Boyd,
the crew of which had been massacred and eaten.
Dwellings too numerous to count.
Tuesday, 5 May
Early this morning the Harriet leaves for Shortland taking
down a steam engine which has been obtained by Mr Fleming to drive a battery of
stampers on the Royal Duke of Edinburgh claim, Moanataiari. The engine is of English manufacture. During a recent disastrous fire in Grey Street,
Auckland, the machine was only saved from complete destruction by the energetic
efforts of Mr Hawkeswood of Chapel Street. The fire, which broke out at quarter to 4 on
the morning of 28 April, originated in the kitchen under the shop of Mr
Teasdale, baker. Nine shops and houses
were destroyed.
6am
The injured cutter Avon arrives safely at Auckland harbour
eleven days after leaving. She will
remain in harbour for repairs until tomorrow night.
Up the Waiotahi new ground is
being taken up in advance each week. Some new ground of considerable richness
has just been pegged out high up on the Moanataiari and causes a slight rush in
that direction. From the Waiotahi Hill overlooking the low land where,
only a few months ago, nothing save the
scrub and patches of green foliage could be seen with Maori habitations dotted
here and there, there are now tents and dwellings too numerous to count, and
a host of busy people at work. The most
notable feature is the prominent machines with their water wheels steadily
turning and the reverberation of the stampers.
Of these there are three at work and two others nearly ready. There is
perhaps no prettier picture on the field than a neatly arranged quartz mill
nestled by its stream of water under the shelter of the evergreen hill, with
its white steam escaping and evidences of life and labour around it. .
Passing over the Karaka, the men of the Cuckoo claim with others from the Tui and Captain Cook
claims immediately underneath them, are felling huge trees to
clear a road to get to the nearest machine and are also bridging over the creek
at the foot of the hill leading on to
Waiotahi. Mr Roennau, manager of the Two-Fingered claim, Waiotahi,
calls at the Cross printing office with some magnificent specimens of gold
bearing quartz taken from five distinct leaders. The gold is exceedingly fine in character and
it appears likely that machinery will have to be obtained from Australia to
work the claim to advantage. The gold is
so scaly and light as to float away on top of the water supplied to the
stampers. The owners of the Star of the South claim are leveling a piece
of ground today for a tent and discover close to the surface a leader of
extraordinary richness.
Mining matters at the
Puriri are assuming quite a business-like aspect. There are no less than five claims on the
ground in which auriferous quartz has been found and the majority of miners
have only been at work on the ground a few weeks. Samples contain alternate patches of brown
and blue quartz which is the general run of stone there. There are occasional runs of snow-white
crystals in which gold has been discovered.
A party of Maori are at work on the opposite spur, with a tolerable
prospect of success. There are about 100
miners on the ground altogether. Messrs
Buckland, Wrigley and Co will be erecting 10 head of stampers on the Puriri in
a few weeks time.
The Colonist informs its readers that over £100,00.00 has
been expended on the goldfield alone in buildings and machinery since it was
leased from the Maoris.
A NZ Herald correspondent notes drolly that lately “the roads, the wharf and the local
independent committee are in a state of coma.”
During this afternoon at Auckland a shocking report gets
afloat about town that the boiler of the Enterprise has burst at Shortland
injuring a number of passengers and considerably damaging the vessel itself.
Dozens of people arrive at the Thames by the Tauranga
tonight – so many indeed that the Clyde as well as the Maori Chief have to convey
passengers from the steamer to the landing place. The visitors have come to assist at the
Presbyterian Church Soiree which is held at 6pm. The church is profusely decorated with flags and
evergreens. More than 300 people are
present during teatime. Ladies contribute
trays of cakes and there is a very good assortment of flowers. After the tea tables are cleared a meeting is held. ‘Gloria in Excelsis’ is then
sung by the full choir. Rev Hill
announces that a picnic will be given tomorrow to the children who attend Mr James McKee’s school.
10.30pm
The Enterprise’s whistle is heard at Auckland and in a few
minutes she hauls alongside the Queen Street wharf without a trace of any
damage whatever. The report that has
been circulating throughout the day is found to be nothing more than a disgraceful
hoax. The NZ Herald correspondent scribbles furiously “We cannot strongly
reprehend the malice, stupidity or culpable carelessness of parties who
fabricate or circulate such canards without reflecting upon the anxiety or
mental anguish they might cause to many persons in town.”
Harriet for Shortland with 5,000 ft timber, 2 tons hay, 2 bags oats, 2 bags bran, 2,000 bricks, 1 boiler.
Rob Roy for Shortland with 5,000 ft timber, 2 tons hay, 3 tons flour, 2 horses, 1 dray, 5 bags sugar, 5 cases kerosene, 5 boxes candles, ½ ton cheese and 4 tons groceries.
Wednesday, 6 May
9.30am
The children belonging to the Presbyterian school at
Shortland have their first treat today.
About 80 boys and girls assemble in the school room, and headed by
their esteemed master, James McKee, march through the town to the new
Presbyterian Church. The children
indulge in the usual games of innocent enjoyment during the morning.
At the Resident Magistrates Court before Allan Baillie and
Archibald Clark, JP, James Horn is
charged with stealing on 30 April 2 oz gold, £4 in money and two miner’s
rights, the property of Alexander Smith, a miner from the West Coast. He is committed to trial at the Supreme
Court, Auckland.
Considerable interest is taken in a case which is about to
be heard at Shortland in connection with McIssac’s claim (now the Tapu
Company’s). An injunction has been
obtained to prevent the working of the surface ground by a party distinct from
the company and every effort is now being made to get rid of the unwelcome
neighbours. The Thames diggings have
certainly been a harvest for the gentlemen of the legal profession.
The NZ Herald makes a scathing observation of the fledgling township of Grahamstown at the Thames. “The whole line of beach
from Shortland to Waiotahi is being rapidly covered in houses. Giving new names, such as Grahamstown, to
what is in reality part and parcel of Shortland, is the opposite of wisdom and
the attempt to have duplicate sets of officials and expenses for two ends of
the same town is something more than foolishness; it is seeking to burn the
candle at both ends. A few houses have
sprung up a little more than a mile from the centre of the goldfields and we
are virtually asked to form these into a new town, with all the attendant waste
of public money. The expense of carting
goods from Shortland to Waiotahi is put forward as a grievance. We look upon this as the merest
childishness. The distance between the
two places is a little over a mile . . .
a few roods of land is called after some English town covering an area
five hundred times as large, such as Devonport and Cheltenham, for instance, at
the North Shore, and now we have Grahamstown at Shortland, as if Grahamstown at
W(h)angarei was not quite enough. The
Provincial Government has not received one penny from gold duty during the last
ten months. The general government has
retained all that has been paid and if the goldfields were made a county
tomorrow, the general government would not pay any portion of the gold duty to
the new county, anymore than it does now to the Province. It is the merest folly imaginable that the
General Government is a most liberal stepmother, and will give the Thames more
than it receives from it.”
1.30pm
The children of the Thames Presbyterian School are sumptuously regaled with cake and buns and then resume their games.
The children of the Thames Presbyterian School are sumptuously regaled with cake and buns and then resume their games.
A shareholder in the Fitzroy claim at Tapu, Peter Brown, a
Swede, is engaged in opening the face of the hill when a large quantity of
earth falls on him from a considerable height.
One of his ankles is fractured. His
comrades promptly secure a stretcher and have him carried over the hills and
through the gullies to Tapu township, a distance of three miles. He is put on board the Clyde to be conveyed
to the Tauranga later this evening which will take him to the Provincial
Hospital in Auckland. One of his mates
accompanies him.
The master of the cutter Sovereign of the Seas, on arrival at
Auckland from Whangapoua, reports that some good gold has been found at
Kennedy’s Bay.
5pm
The young folk of the Thames
Presbyterian School are marched back to the schoolroom and disperse, evidently
well pleased with their day’s amusement and recreation.
The new Presbyterian church is crowded this evening by the
residents and other members of the denomination, to celebrate the opening of
their first place of worship in Shortland.
Ministers of the Church of Scotland from Auckland assist. Ladies who have never been on a
goldfield before are amongst the visitors. In the preliminary part of the
proceedings Chief Taipari and many of the influential Maori in Hauraki take
part. Mr James Gillespie makes some
remarks on the early state of the Scotch church in connection with
witchcraft. Whatever witches might be in
those days, he could not say, but he is quite sure that the ladies present now
are the most bewitching.
A meeting of the Thames Improvement Committee is held this
evening at Butt’s Hotel. Replies and answers to Superintendent
Williamson respecting the wharf and tramway are received. Four diggers are added to the committee to
represent the digging community. A NZ Herald correspondent, Charles Mitchell,
resigns, reserving himself the right to report on the proceedings in whatever
manner he pleases. The committee resolve
that members of the press be not admitted to these meetings, but reports of the
committee will be sent to newspapers. The question of a Shortland county is
discussed, and after lengthy debate, the meeting is adjourned to Monday next.
The American Theatre is crowded this evening, the occasion
being the complementary benefit to Mr J Hooper, one of the members of the
corps. A very large bill is provided,
including the French play 'Camille', the part of the heroine being played by
Mr Hooper with considerable skill. The make
up and general conception are very good and do not fail to receive the applause
of the audience.
Sketch for a "closer wood" stage scene at Shortland's American Theatre by Thomas Monkhouse.
On board the Tauranga, a passenger from Shortland, Mr
Aicken, of Newton, kindly applies bandages to the injured leg of Peter Brown, party
relieving the suffering of the poor fellow.
 |
| DSC 6 May, 1868 |
*********************************************************************************************************************
Mr Lundon's report also noted the number of vessels arrived at the Thames from 16th to 30th April were 62, showing a total tonnage register of 1,862. The passenger arrivals were 1,415 and departures 975, leaving a balance in favour of immigration of 446 souls in a fortnight. Dutiable goods imported – Spirits – 878 gallons, wine – 57 gallons, tobacco – 778 lb. Fifty tons of Kawakawa coal also arrived direct from the Bay of Islands. During the month of April 5047 ozs 0 dwts 5 grs of gold from the Thames was exported from Auckland, yielding a revenue to the colony of £634 5s 1 d.
The Boyd was a 395-ton convict ship that sailed in October 1809 from Australia's Sydney Cove to Whangaroa, NZ, to pick up kauri spars. The ship carried several passengers, including ex-convicts who had completed their transportation sentences and four or five New Zealanders who were returning to their homeland. Among the latter was Te Ara, or Tarrah, known to the crew as George, the son of a Maori chief from Whangaroa. The Boyd massacre occurred in December 1809 when Māori residents of Whangaroa killed and ate between 66 and 70 Europeans. This is reputedly the highest number of Europeans killed by Māori in a single event in New Zealand, and the incident is also one of the bloodiest instances of cannibalism on record. The massacre is thought to have been in revenge for the whipping of Te Ara by the Boyd's crew. In retribution European whalers attacked the island pa of chief Te Pahi in the possibly mistaken belief that he ordered the killings. Between 16 and 60 Maori and one European died in the clash. News of the events delayed the first missionary visits to the country, and caused the number of shipping visits to fall to "almost nothing" over the next few years.
The land for Graham(s)town at Whangarei was purchased by Henry Walton and William Smellie Graham in the mid-1860s. It was then called Kaiwaka Point, but they renamed it Graham(s)town. In 1912 it was renamed again to Onerahi to prevent a conflict with Grahamstown at the Thames.
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Sources
Papers Past
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyd_massacrehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onerahi
© Meghan Hawkes / First year on the Thames Goldfield 2017 - 2018
Please credit Meghan Hawkes/ First year on the Thames Goldfield 2017 - 2018 when re-using information from this blog.
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