South Sea Miscellany

Give the man a cigar

2010-01-07T18:26:00.001-08:00

Tamati Waka Nene in old age. ca 1870. From : Pulman. Elizabeth fl 1861-1881 : Portrait of Tamati Waka Nene. Alexander Turnbull Library collection.

After all this plagiarism business about the Trowenna Sea I looked up some of the government correspondence on the matter. However, the same source (New Zealand. Further papers relative to the affairs of New Zealand. Correspondence with Governor Grey. HMSO 1848), reproduced the wonderful letter below from Tamati Waka Nene to Major Cyprian Bridge. So I'm going with that instead.

Waka Nene had just changed the course of the the Flagstaff war by defeating Hone Heke in battle at Ahuahu pa. The war started when Hone Heke started repeatedly cutting down the flagpole at Kororareka. Heke had had provided the pole himself, intending it to fly the flag of the United Tribes. The British however, flew the Union flag. There were a whole lot of other issues invloved, but this was the flashpoint. There were several resulting actions between the British and their Maori allies (and Heke's rivals in the Maori world), and Heke and his allies. The British couldn't get a victory, and it took the mercurial and long-experienced NZ campainer Waka Nene and his forces to defeat and capture Heke.

[Gilfillan, John Alexander] 1793-1863 :Honi Heke [about 1846]. From the Alexander Turnbull Library collection

Below is Tamati Waka Nene's victory letter to the chief of the British Army forces in the area in full:

Te Ahuahu, February 14, 1848

Friend the major:

Hone (Heke) and I am here at the Ahuahu ; we are waiting for you and the captain of the man-of-war to come and see "Hone Heke:" come you two to-morrow and likewise bring some tobacco.

Come, do not you delay, bring some tobacco. Oh, captain of the "Calliope," let there be plenty of tobacco.

From Waka Nene, Tamati Waka.

Happy Birthday Queensland

2009-06-04T20:09:00.000-07:00

The image at left shows Queen Street ca 1859, taken from the Edward St end looking toward George St. There's a bar now where the horse and cart is (the place with the blue neon hidden among the trees here. I can't remember its name, but it's a nice spot.

A surfeit of Queens

As an entity, Queensland is 150 years old today. At one stage, the entire eastern half of Australia was New South Wales.

You wouldn't think it to look at these days, and very few locals have an interest in it, but Brisbane has a rather interesting history. "Drive your cart and your plow over the bones of the dead" could well be the city's motto. It is always being knocked down and rebuilt. A place of energy, people are always looking for and being distracted by the next shiny thing.

I'll write something about Brisbane at some stage, or some othe place in QLD. I'm a bit pushed for time at the moment though, so this post is a just a nod to my home state. Many happy returns.

Here's an article from the Moreton Bay Courier (20 July 1859) telling us why the names of Moreton Bay and Brisbane should be changed. The image is scanned from the Historic Australian Newspapers database .

I've copied it:

IT has been wisely said, that "a multi-tude of counsellors darken wisdom;" and as we have no desire to cloud the horizon of our new colony, we make the following suggestion in all humility. We presume that the question as to which is to be the capital of the district has long been settled. The position of Brisbane - its nearness to the Bay, its possession of the Government offices, and its age, will certainly enable it to take rank as tho capital.

We have no wish to help to erect such a capital as shall prevent our Ipswich friends from sharing in our glories,or rising in importance as fast as she can. Our idea is simply that as we borrowed our starting name from a past Governor,and the name of our Bay from a navigator; and that, as the Colonial Office has been pleased to call our colony by the euphonious name of Queensland, that we should endeavor to harmonise the names,and make a similarity to prevent misunderstanding.

We therefore propose, with all modesty, that the name of the Bay be Queensbay, and that the name of the capital be Queenstown or Queensburgh,whichever it may please the people to assent to; but that in no wise would we permit the capital of Queensland to retain the name it at present bears. A friend of ours has been very witty in accounting for the discarding of tho name of Cooksland in its application to the colony. He says that name smells too strongly of the kitchen; and that the name given by the Colonial Secretary is far more appropriate.

Without wishing to cast any slur upon the men whose names have at present figured largely in our district cognomens, We think Queenstown or Queensburgh, better suited as the name for the capitalof Queensland than Brisbane. And to remove any jealousy for the honor of names in the minds of those who may fancy the names of Cook and Brisbane, we propose that justice be done by erecting suitable monuments to their memory, which will satisfy that, in consulting ourfuture advancement, we honor those whose names were mixed with our early struggles.

Needless to say, these suggestions fell on deaf ears.

Pilots in Wellington

2009-05-28T19:32:00.001-07:00

Left: Pilot Holmes and crew at Worser Bay, Wellington, ca 1883. Source: Timeframes

The men who met their end as described in the article below were probably using this boat pictured, taken five years previously. Most of them are likely pictured also.

The Pleione was the source of a bad run of luck. In March 1888, she ran aground on Waikanae on a trip out from England. She ended up floating again, but she wasn't insured and lots of money lost in fixing her up on the slip at Evans Bay (Pictured here with a beautiful gig in the foreground). The episode described in the article below must have been her first round-trip since the relaunching, which took place in November 1888.

Wellington waters can get very rough at times (recently we had 12 - 14 metre swells in the Cook Strait, and 60 Knots of wind recorded at the heads where this takes place). The Wahine, a not insignificant vessel, sank in 1968 when she was pushed by a wave on to Barretts Reef, the scene of the tragedy here recorded.

Source: Evening Post. 18 August 1889.

Skullduggery

2009-05-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

This photo is copyright to Tanya Katterns/Dominion Post. Sourced from Stuff on 22 May 2009. I didn't ask permission to use it, so sorry about that.

There are all sorts of funny little anomalies around and about, eg the Tamil Bell, Spanish helmet and Korotangi. This skull is the latest.

Of course, where this skull could be interesting is that each of the above items may very easily be recent (although in flights of fancy I like to think that the idea of the Roc comes from the Haast Eagle. But that's a bit silly really, Asian Eagles are big enough to spawn that idea).

The big show-stopper for me about this skull, is that radio carbon dating is not very reliable (here and here).

Considering the mulch that abounds on the East Coast, this woman could have died only a few years ago. Still, if she was alive in the 17th Century, it is unusual that it is the skull that survivies. Perhaps she was a survivor of a wreck and she was kept as a prize, her head preserved? Anyway, all a bit funny.

I'll wait till the genetic testing comes about.

Below can be viewed at: http://www.stuff.co.nz/science/2424675/Skull-riddle-may-be-solved

Skull riddle may be solved
By PAUL EASTON

An ancient European skull found in a Wairarapa riverbed could belong to a victim of an early Dutch shipwreck, a scientist says.
The 2004 discovery of the skull sparked a coroner's inquest, and the involvement of forensic anthropologist Robin Watt. His findings could overturn what is known about New Zealand's prehistory.
Carbon-dating put the skull's origin at between 1619 and 1689 overlapping with and pre-dating visits to New Zealand by Abel Tasman in 1642 and Captain James Cook in 1769.
The skull, found in the Ruamahunga River by Sam Tobin, was of a woman aged between 40 and 45.
How she died was a mystery, Dr Watt said. The shape of the skull showed it was of European rather than Maori origin.
"When I saw it, I thought what on earth have we got here?"
Permanent occupation by Europeans did not occur until New Zealand Company settlers arrived in 1840. Earlier, whalers came ashore in the late 1700s. So what was Dr Watt's explanation for a woman in her 40s wandering in Wairarapa during the 1600s?
"At this time there was a tremendous amount of movement by the Dutch. We know they were exploring the southern coast of Australia. Anything sailing this way has a chance of being stopped by New Zealand, so for my money there was either a visit here or a wreck. I'd say it was probably a wreck."
The key was that the Dutch ship was on a voyage of settlement, not discovery, and probably heading for what is now Indonesia.
"When they came out, the local governors, dignitaries and the people brought their families, and who was with them? Their wives."

Paekakariki will always be Pie Cock

2009-04-21T19:09:00.000-07:00

Te Awaiti, or “Tar White” as known to the Europeans who had a hard time with Maori words, is an old whaling station at the top of Tory Channel. I took this photo while sailing past late last year.

Funny - I commented in this post on the the dreary nature of the names of the Islands of NZ and now it seems the NZ Geographic Board has caught up with my inciteful scholarship! In case the link there dies, I'm pasting the full text of the article below. It is from http://www.stuff.co.nz/, 22 April 2009.

Naming NZ places has been a bit of a talking point lately, particularly at Wanganui/Whanganui. The trouble mostly I think is in dealing with 18th and19th century transliteration of different Maori accents and their subsequent dying out or changing. The transliteration creates words in modern Maori (a largely European construct, and largely influenced by Northern accents) that don’t actually mean anything. "Whanga Nui" means “Big Harbour” but the local Maori at the time pronounced the initial not as a sort of English “Ph” sound (as in the North), but more like a “W”; hence the European spelling, and its meaninglessness in the common modern Maori idiom. Spelled "Wanga", the word doesn't mean shit, no matter what accent you use. You can again see this problem illustrated in the old spelling of “Hongi” (fish) as “Shunghie”, a reflection of the aspirated Ngapuhi accent of the North. Hongi Hika, for example, is never called Shunghie these days, as in most accents it makes no sense: pretty much like the impenetrable paragraph I've just written! To make it simpler, if you get a Yorkshireman to say "boat" he will say something like "Boort", but he will still spell it "boat". So spell it correctly I say, and pronounce it as your accent and culture dictate.

(Hongi Hika can also translate as “smells like fish”. This isn’t an insult, early Maori used to smear themselves in fish oil, which really put the Europeans off, But Maori liked it and it is good for the skin. War casualties were also known as “The fish of war” (ie the catch). Hongi Hika was a successful general during a very bloodthirsty period in Maori history)

As in all things, these things go both ways. "Punakaike", for example, is a Maori rendering of "Pancake"; as “Poneke” is an attempt on the difficult to pronounce “Port Nicholson”. This goes for personal names also: Piri, Hemi, Henare are attempts at Peter (or Philip), James, Henry.

And, sometimes the wrong place gets the wrong name. Terawhiti in the Cook St should actually be a few capes to the East. Lord and I hope a few old Kaumatua know now what it's real name is: Perhaps "Cook's mistake" would be a good option.

Sometimes these official name changes stick, for example Mt Egmont now is almost universally known as Taranaki. Whatever the board decides, it will be the people who will really name it. “New Zealand” and “Aotearoa” (actually again, a word used by a minority even within the Maori peoples) have been interchangeable for a long time for both Maori and Pakeha.

That, in the end, is what is cool about this country. Politicians, bureaucrats, and militants of all colours can say what they like, but the biggest issue with the Wanga/Whanga debate is the expense no doubt incurred in changing their stationery!

Maui fished up a dilemma

Rebecca PalmerThe Dominion Post. 22 April 2009

You might have always known them as plain North and South, but it turns out our two biggest islands have an identity crisis.
The Geographic Board plans to formalise the names North Island and South Island after discovering they were not official. It is also investigating alternative Maori names for the two land masses.
Chairman Don Grant said yesterday: "Interestingly, while researching this issue, we noted that `North Island' and `South Island' are actually not official names under our legislation, despite their long-term usage."
The board would be writing to iwi representatives over the next few weeks to seek traditional Maori names and associated stories for the islands, he said. It planned to widen the consultation to all New Zealanders next year.
Dr Grant said the English and Maori names would be alternative they could be used individually or with the other.
That was different from dual naming, in which both names were used together on official documents, such as maps.
The board decided that a name change or dual names would "cause too much cost and disruption throughout the whole country and for visitors".
Dr Grant said Te Ika a Maui for the North Island and Te Wai Pounamu for the South were on early official maps and documents, including Captain Cook's.
The board's decision to investigate alternative Maori names was prompted by a 2004 proposal from Christchurch man Keith Darroch to rename the South Island Te Wai Pounamu. In 2007, the board decided it would not consider a Maori name for the South Island in isolation.
Maori names for the North Island:Te Ika a Maui (the fish of Maui), Aotearoa, Aeheinomouwe - Captain Cook's spelling of what might be He Ahi No Maui (a fire of Maui) or He Hi No Maui (a thing of Maui)
Maori names for the South Island: Te Tumuki (the oldest recorded name), Te Arapaoa, Te Wai Pounamu, Tovypoenammu (Captain Cook's spelling of Te Wai Pounamu), Te Wahi Pounamu, Te Waka a Maui, Te Waka o Aoraki, Tau Ihu o te Waka.
Other English names that have been used: Middle Island - for the South Island (where the name 'South Island' was used for Stewart Island/Rakiura) New Ulster - for the North Island New Munster - for the South Island Island of Victoria - for the South Island.

Gizza job!

2008-10-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

Well I'm off back to the South Seas myself for good this time, so it's unlikely I'll be updating this blog again for a while, if at all. I'll keep it live though, as you never know.

On the bright side though, I'll be working on and sailing on my little 23 footer called Shemara. It's the one to the right of the red one in this picture, with the dark wineglass transom. Photo is taken from my shed in Wellington. She needs a spruce up (pun intended!), and once I get access to a computer over there I'll post updates on the work here: http://shemara.blogspot.com/
I'm looking for paying work. Anybody want to employ me?

Prior adventures of the Lady Shore

2008-09-24T11:06:00.000-07:00

Source: William Anderson 1757-1837. An English 3rd-rate ship-of-the line (74 guns) in three positions off Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa, flying the Royal Navy ensign. Painted circa 1795. Oil painting on canvas. You can buy it here

It appears the Lady Shore had rather an interesting life. In 1796, the year before she played host to the mutiny described in this post, she was taken as a prize by the French ship Le Moineau (It is mis-spelt in the journal here) a few day's sail from Cape Town. In a slightly unusual turn of events, especially as the English and French were at war at the time, the French decided not to keep the ship, so after taking all that they could, and destroying a far deal more, they took a few prisoners and gave the ship back to the English, who limped on to Cape Town.

Logs, journals, letters and charts were always taken by the victors, and rarely survive in official collections. So in this case we are left with a rather rare example of an account written during the time the events were taking place - not in the original log book, but on pages Williams probably carried around in his pocket.

Cape Town had only just been occupied by the British in 1795, forcibly taking it from the Dutch, who several years later (in the name of the Batavian Republic under Napoleon) won it back by treaty.

So during this time, there were a lot of British warships in the vicinity, and indeed the journal, part of which is transcribed below, records many ships at anchor in Table and Simon's Bay when she arrived. Within a few days the Lady Shore was re-rigged, with a newish set of spars and rigging, and on her way to London via St Helena as part of a protective convoy which saw its own bit of action against the Dutch.

The reason the French let the Lady Shore go therefore doesn't require much deduction: She had VIPs on board, and had just run the gauntlet from Isle de France (Mauritius). They knew there were plenty of the enemy around, and taking the Lady Shore in the state she was in would undoubtedly slow things up. It appears Williams was able to talk up those ideas, so the French further damaged the Lady Shore enough to delay news of their presence long enough to get a good start home. Perhaps they wanted the British to know their VIPs had escaped and therefore not be quite so zealous when pursuing other French ships.

I don't know who these VIPs may have been, but I suppose it could be found out. I've written to a couple of museums in France hoping to find the log of Le Monieau. It would be good to see the story from the other side.

Below is my transcription of some of the pages from the journal. Each paragraph represents a page. It is handwritten, but Williams used the system printers did at the time for making sure all pages are there and in the correct order by printing the same word twice: last on one page and first on the next. He doesn't appear to have heard of full stops, but put that down to it being written all in a rush.

(the way it reads below you're not immediately sure whether the disorderly state referred to on the first page refers to the ship or his wife)

James Williams
Commander of the
Lady Shore

Ship Lady Shore in possession of the French off the Cape of Good Hope, ------------
Tuesday 19th July 1796.

At 8 PM was captured by a French Man of War, the Cape of Good Hope, bearing then about ESE 16 or 17 Leagues, Myself, Mates, and the greater part of the Crew, also Captain Bris??? of His Majesty’s Navy was immediately sent on board the French Man of War, found her to be the le Monieau of 26 Nine pounders and 190 Men, commanded by Captain Tayeau, from Mauritius bound to Bordeaux and after a great deal of persuasion having represented my wife, and family was on board, and no person left on board to protect them from any insult that might be offer’d knowing well the state the must be in just boarded by an Enemy at 11pm I was permitted to return to the ship and found her in very disorderly state indeed as I expected; they French crew breaking open chest’s trunk’s, locker’s, etc, and Plundering Myself, Mates, and Crew, Brissai (?), of our Wearing Apparel, Books, Papers Etc, and in short every thing
they

they
could lay hands on, I was on going onboard ^immediately^ ordered to my Cabbin, and a Centinal placed over me, At 4AM I was requested to come on deck; where I found they had carried away the Fore topmast, Main Top Gall.t Mast, Jibb Boom, with all the Yardes and Sailes beating under her bows, at day light the ship was a perfect Wreck, all her Sails blown and split to pieces, Owing to the Intoxicated state their Crew was ^then^ in, the Ship lay labouring in the trough of the Sea and shipping a quantity of Water, the Wreck lay ?ealing under her Bows for near four hours before they cut it away, they then seeing the disabled ^state ^ the Ship was then in, it appeared to me their was a probability of recovering the Ship and Cargo again, if I could possibly persuade the Lieutenant she was very leaky, which I thank God, had the desired effect, and was the saving of Ship, and Cargo, without a doubt, knowing she had Ship’t a great deal of Water and that it would find it’s way to the ^Pump^ well, I sounded the Pump, and shewed him by the line, she ^had^ a great quantity of Water in her, as the Ship was tumbling about she had weted the line a great way up, that She was very leakey and it would be impossible to carry her to any distant

Port in that state as I was uncertain that the Ship must have sustain’d material damage, from the wreck beating so long under her Bows which he seemed to be very much Alarm.d ^at^ and replied tht they should be obliged ^them^ to burn her, I had learn’t by this time, the Moniceau had dispatches and also two Commissioners from the Mauritius of great importance, which was much in my favour as they did not wish to be delay’d, I then endeavour’d to dissuade him ^from^ the Idea of burning her, as their would be a number of Prisoners onboard and a long Voyage, must make use of a great deal of Water, therefore should be very unpleasant Passengers, and requested he would represent the state she was in to his Captain and Officers, which he seemed very inclinable so to do, for he appeared to be heartily tire’d of his disorderly Crew; they had almost upset the Ship during the Night in squalles’ before the Mast, and sails, went Notwithstanding the disabled state she was then in, of the Captain, Officers, & Crew, should think proper to give us up the Ship again, I would endeavour to reach some Port with her which I have reason to believe they little expected at.

At
10AM the Second Lieutenant came to take charge of the Ship, /as Prize Master,/ to remain and carry the Ship, wherever they should judge fit to send her, and the former went onboard who was their first Lieutenant; however he had not been lon onboard, before they came to a determination, to take out part of the Cargo such as was most valuable, their Boats was hoisted out immediately, also the Prize Master wa hail’d from the le Monieau, and order’d to hoist all the Boats belonging to the Prize and to clear away immediately to get at the Bale Goodes which was stowed in the Hold, and their Boates came onboard with a number of hands, they first begin clearing away in the tween decks on the Bales of Cotton that was stow’d their getting them on deck and throwing overboard the same, and every thing else that came in their way to get at the hatchways to open the Hold where the bale Goods, Sugar, and Indigo, was stow’d, having broke open the Hatchway and got at the above Goods the Boats was Keep’t continually employ’d carrying to Same onboard the le Monieau, also a
a

a
quantity of Provision Rice, Ghee, and all my Cabbin Stores, and left the Ship almost destitute of every species of Provisions-------------------------------------------------
Wednesday 20th July
Prisoner as before, they French Crew employ’d taking the Cargo out as before,-----
Thursday 21st July
Prisoner as before, the French Crew employ’d as before, At 21(?)PM, the Mates, and Crew, was returnd to the Lady Shore all excep’t Mr. Williams third Mate, and Antoney a Seaconnie, who was keep’t as prisoners, in order to carry them to france, to Condemn the property they had taken out of the Prize, the Lieutenant then inform’d me that the Captain Officers and Crew of the French Ship of war, had come to a Resolution to give up their Prize, and the remaining part of the cargo to the master, Mates & Crew, of the Lady Shore. for their sole use that she would be deliver’d up that night for me to proceed wherever I should think proper, and Crew, of the French republican Ship call’d the le Monieau, at 10 PM came orders
with

with
the before mentioned Certificate from under they Hands, an Seal, of the captain, Lieutenant and Crew, of the Republican Ship of War, call’d the le Monieau, to deliver me up the Ship with the said Certificate to Certify to all whom it may concern, that the Ship Lady Shore and remaining part of her Cargo our lawful Prize, We do voluntary give the said prize, to the Master, mates, and Crew of the English Ship Lady Shore, for their sole use to act and ^do^ with the same as they shall think fit and this our Certificate is ^given^ to serve when need, the Ship was then delivered up accordingly to me, also a Certificate from under the Lieutenant Hand who was prize Master, that he had deliver’d up the English Ship lady Shore, Prize to the le Monieau, agreeable to the captain, Officers, and Crews/orders as their voluntary gift to the Master, mates, & Crew of the Lady Shore, for their sole use; and to proceed wherever they think proper, he then left the ship, with his Crew; the Wind being from the Wrd; got her head to the NE and stood in shore that night with what little sail we could
make.

make
found three feet of water in her; all the Upper Deck Hatche’s off; and the appearance of a great quantity of water having gon down, which has greatly injured the Cargo, and have every reason to suppose from the quantity of water they left in the Hold, and the Ship tumbling about in the trough of the Sea, the ground tier of Sugar, must have received considerable damage, found the after Hatch to be missing, suppose’d to be thrown overboard, secured the same in the best manner we could by nailing plank over it and sailing the same up. At day light she appear’d a perfect Wreck they had wantonly cut an Anchor from her Bows, paid two Cables overboard, cut & destroy’d all the Running Rigging, Sails, from the Yard’s; All the Ammunition, tore to pieces two suits of Colours, and in fact, every thing they could not possibly carry with them, about ½ past 6 AM saw the land bearing NE b E 10 Leagues, and a large fleet in sight to the Wrd, which shew’d English Colours, a fresh gale from the Wrd, with hazey weather at 8 AM made the Cape of Good Hope bearing ENE at 11/ rounded to, and stood up False Bay.

False Bay
with baffling winds and hard rain at 6 PM Anchor’d in the bottom of the Bay
NB, this Log contains 36 hours.
Friday the 22nd July
At day light weighed with a light breeze from the Erd; and stood into Simons bay. At Noon came too with the sheet Anchor in 10fms veered away and moor’d Ship, I went onshore immediately and proceeded to Cape towne, to the Honb’le East India Company Agent their to acquaint him what had happen’d and the state of the Ship, requested their would be survey hel’d thereon to examine into the state of ^the^ Ship, Cargo, which was order’d accordingly by Admiral Sir G: K: Elphinstone Commander in Chief of His Majesty’s Fleet etc, etc, etc.

The journal goes on to describe the refitting of the ship and then is structured in the rather systematic way all logs are once the ship is under way. Unless you're a climatologist, it doesn't exactly make compelling reading. The final entry is interesting though, and if we didn't know the Lady Shore made further voyages, and the fact that the journal itself survives, makes strangely foreboding reading. I'll say why at bottom:

Thursday 17th Nov
Ground 70 fms
Hard squalls with rain
Ground 80 fms in 2 reef Main Top Sl

Squally as at 2am

Hard Squalls hail and Rain
AM Bent the Cables

Squally

Spoken a frigate told us the Lizard bore NW 9 Leg
Latt?. Obsv? 219''.27' N*
*These question marks appear in the original

They're not really sure where they are, They can't see a damned thing, and can't take readings. They're reefed in and have readied the anchors. It's blowing a great Atlantic storm, and they've just heard the Lizard is near.

The Lizard is a peninsula, and the Southernmost part of mainland Britain, and forms part of Cornwall. Both it and the Scilly Isles are responsible for nobody knows how many wrecks, but it's a lot. There are all kinds of stories of wrecking (sometimes deliberate) going on down there over the centuries (and it happens today as well), probably the most famous wreck and wrecking being that of this naval convoy in 1707 when about 1400 men died. Anyway, funny that the log just stops there, and turns up again at the British Library!

Heads Up

2008-09-18T11:47:00.000-07:00

Te Rauparaha's Moko. By his own hand. Source: Te Ara New Zealand. (It would be interesting to know the reason why his tattooing was never completed in life)

In recent years there has been a concerted effort to repatriate the preserved heads of Maori to New Zealand. On top of earlier successes in Australia and Argentina, there has been a rush during 2007 and 2008 (eg see Rouen, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Chicago). Although the issue can at times be beaten up that this brutal trade was all the European's doing, you can see from these articles published in 1820 and 1831 that the trade was deplored by the governments (and at least some citizens), and outlawed when it could no longer be ignored or put down to the occasional aberration.

The first article here is from the Sydney Gazette and New South Wales Advertiser, 08 January 1820. The subject doesn't seem to come up again for ten years.

The NSW governor's order reproduced below (Source: Asiatic Journal. Calcutta. October 1831.) also made room to state that efforts will be taken to confiscate and return the remains to relatives. The guilty parties were individuals of both races.

This particular article and ban is in direct response to glut on the market brought about by events that began off Kapiti Island: A raid by the Ngati Toa, Ngati Raukawa and others led by Te Rauparaha on the Ngai Tahu people. (Te Rauparaha was the composer of the famous Ka Mate haka and reputedly a regular punter at the Thistle Inn, which still stands, though a recent aggressive refurbishment, insisted on by the WCC, has resulted in a loss of atmosphere for me - though I can regretfully understand why it was needed).

Te Rauparaha was a raider during the late 1820s. He and supporters had been forced from their northern homeland in the Western Waikato region, and he became a significant warlord. In 1827-28 he raided Ngai Tahu land around the Banks Peninsula area and Kaiapoi. His forces were soundly defeated, and he pondered revenge from his stronghold at Kapiti. It didn't take long to organise. In 1830 he hired (or commandeered) a brig commanded by trader John Stewart, and took it to raid Ngai Tahu once more. He was more successful this time, and came back with hostages (among them the chief Te Maiharanui (or Tama-i-hara-nui) who was reputedly tortured by Ngati Toa women, killed and eaten back in Otaki). A fair amount of heads were taken to Sydney to trade. (This wasn't the only source of heads though: a good trade had been going on in the Bay of Islands, Hokianga, and the Thames district also before this).

Stewart got in a lot of trouble over this episode, and several Ngai Tahu travelled to Sydney to testify the case. In the end though, the court said it had no jurisdiction over crimes committed in foreign countries, so nothing came of it. Ngai Tahu of the Banks Peninsula regions wanted very little to do with British citizens after that, which is perhaps why there is such a French presence down that way.

A series of further raids conducted by Ngai Tahu and Ngati Toa against each other resulted in more of these nasty goods crowding the market, which, on top of the previous atrocities, led to the proclamation in Sydney banning the trade.

Ngai Tahu in the end got the upper hand in this war, and peace was made between the two tribes in 1839, and marriages arranged. Perhaps the obligations of utu got a bit too hard follow, perhaps the Treaty of Waitangi signings had something to do with it: Te Rauparaha and several Ngai Tahu chiefs ended up signing it in 1840 and the years immediately following. Mostly though, Te Rauparaha and his small confederation had no real hope of occupying lands taken, and Ngai Tahu had so much they didn't really need that little bit around Cook Strait that Ngati Toa held.

The Ngai Tahu accent pronounces "NG" as a "K" sound. The word "Kai" in Maori means "food". I can just imagine the chuckles on board the Ngati Toa waka taua as the warriors made jokes about the "Kai Tahu"!

There is a famous picture, taken in the 1890s (I think) of Horatio Gordon Robley with a collection of heads. Be warned: it's pretty gross, and distressing to relatives.

Continuing the lady convict theme

2008-09-15T09:50:00.000-07:00

Source: Morning Post and Gazetteer. London. 21 December 1799.

If there was any piratical event crying out for dramatisation in fiction or film it's this one, the subject of this post. Accounts are vague and contradictory but the drama is there, and it's because accounts vary so much means that you can do it and the historians can't complain too much.

Anyway, in a nutshell, in August 1797 a mutiny occurs on board a convict ship (called variously The Lady Shore, Jane Shore, or Lady Jane Shore) bound for Port Jackson. The convicts are female. The marines on board (convicts themselves, who had exchanged prison or execution for army service), are Irish republicans and Frenchmen, and all join forces in the fracas.

Those not murdered and who don't want to participate are put into a longboat. The longboat makes it to Brazil. The Lady Shore is captured a few weeks later in port at Montevideo, where, according to John Black, a purser, all were held in the prison, except for the pretty ones among the convicts; they were held in private houses. (It appears that only newspapers and missionaries had anything to say about this appalling behaviour. I've found a rather annoying website providing what appears to be original text, but doesn't reveal sources or proper dates. Worth a look though)

Black's extended account can be found here. It takes a while to download, but definitely worth a read. Later Black, on a return trip to England fell in with a whaler with a letter of Marque and joined the crew. He becomes master of another ship the whaler takes as a prize, and goes catching whales in the South Seas.

William Minchin, another mutinee (if that's a word), ended up In New South Wales and had a successful, if checkered, career there.

Another, Semple Lisle, gave a lot of attention to it in his biography.

The account below comes from "The Annual Register, or a view of the history, politics, and literature for the year 1798". Second edition. London: 1806. p. 60:

The following is the account of the mutiny on board the Lady Jane Shore transport: The Lady Shore had on board, besides convicts, eight soldiers of the New South- Wales corps, amongst whom were German, French, and condemned criminals, reprieved on condition of serving, during life, at Botany-Bay. They arrived at Portsmouth while the mutiny on board the fleet was at its height. They formed a plan to seize the ship when she should get out to sea. Of this captain Wilcox was informed by major Semple. He complained to the transport-board of the danger of proceeding to sea with such men, while they had arms in their hands. The colonel of the regiment was sent to investigate the business; but he, perhaps, hesitating to give credit to Mr Semple, and, from the benevolence of his own heart, entertaining a better opinion of his men than it would seem they deserved, overruled captain Wilcox's desire. In this state they went to sea. — When four days sail from Rio de Janeiro, the mutineers rose, in the night, on the second mate, who was then on watch. He found resistance to so many armed men to be all in vain, and, of course, submitted to save to own life. They then entered the cabbin of the chief mate, and murdered him in the most savage manner, cutting his head off. They then proceeded, past Mr Black’s birth, to the round-house, where captain Wilcox was, and demanded admission, which he refused, and, on their farther persistance, fired a pistol at them through his door. They instantly broke the door in pieces, and murdered poor Wilcox in a manner too shocking to describe. They then returned to Mr Black's hammock, and, without the least warning, thrust their bayonets through it in several places, not the least doubting but he was in it. But, during the disturbance, be had quitted it, and concealed himself; which gave him an opportunity of begging his life, when their rage began to abate. This they granted, put him and ten others into the long boat, gave them a compass, and turned them adrift. They got safely to Rio de Janeiro, from whence Mr. Black took his passage in a foreign ship; but at sea fell in with a South Whaler, the captain of which (captain Wilkinson) received him on board. After this, captain Wilkinson took a Spanish vessel, value about 10,000 L. Mr Black was appointed prize-master, and carried her to the Cape. He has since sailed, with captain Williamson, to the coast of New Holland, to fish for whales.

Lady convicts, and anchovies cut a caper

2008-09-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

Source: Sea Life Sixty Years Ago, by George Bayly. 1885.

Reading George Bayly should be compulsory. He's funny, humane, a great observer of people, and had some pretty amazing adventures. His book is short and easy to read for modern minds. It's not available online yet and seems only to have gone to one or two editions. If ever I make a website I'll scan the whole thing. I think the copy I have is a cheap American reprint from the early 1900s. I got it cheap. The ones on Abebooks are rather on the expensive side.

Over two chapters (this is the second of them) he describes his voyage on board the Almorah transporting female Irish convicts to Port Jackson. He records how they were berthed, how they lived, what they said. Because I can't upload all this to blogger, here is a little snapshot of what occured on the voyage from after they crossed the line until they arrived at Sydney in 1824. I've some other extracts from his book here.

The skipper of the Almorah got in a bit of trouble (Supreme Court Decsion 1 and Decision 2) in Sydney and that's how Bayly started his rather random wanderings over the Pacific.

Transportation

2008-09-13T08:17:00.000-07:00

Source: India Government Gazette. Supplement. 03 January 1828. p4.

This extract gives a good picture of conditions on board a convict ship. The author was responsible for the general health of the prisoners and seems to have taken the responsibility seriously. I suppose some were better than others.

An intersting article, as it goes into some depth as to the living conditions, food, clothing, and general care taken of convicts for the 6-odd month long voyage.

There is also a bit of interesting social information, as to the culture of the convicts and the language they used. This stuff later appeared in "A Residence of Eleven Years in New Holland and the Caroline Islands" by James F. O'Connell, 1835.

George Bayly, whose memoirs I've mentioned in previous posts, worked his first passage to the South Seas in a convict ship in 1824, transporting Irish women convicts to Port Jackson. It's interesting to compare the two sources. Bayly makes mention of most of what is stated here. I'll post that up next.

Good eating in Tasmania

2008-09-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

Source: Edward Markham's Van Diemen's Land Journal. Edited by K. R. Von Stieglitz. 1953.

I was just going to put the bit in about the kangaroo steamer recipe but he's such a funny sort of writer. Have a look at the story about dinner at Government House as well. The original is in the Mitchell Library. Apparently it was thought to be a forgery but the experts of the 1950s seemed to think it passed muster. Markham did a tour of Australia and NZ in 1833-34. There is also a separate publication available of his New Zealand memoirs, edited and published in the 1960s, entitled "New Zealand or recollections of it". The originals of that are held at the Alexander Turnbull Library.

Mostly he goes on about food, how foolish everyone is, and makes special mention of any young females he comes across on his travels, and whether or not he thinks they are worth a visit.

Just who is in charge?

2008-08-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Source: Touchstone. Melbourne: January 22 1870

Interesting image here. It relates to the poem published in the journal "Touchstone" reproduced below. The journal I suppose could be described as conservative in outlook.

For a bit of context: The focus of this, the second of the intercolonial conferences was on intercolonial and trade tariffs, self determination, and federalism (the British army left Australia this year, leaving the colonies responsible for their own defence). The governors of the Australasian states as they existed at the time are all represented here (New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria). The notable exception is of course the New Zealand governor of the time, George Ferguson Bowen. Instead we have a Maori chief holding a bloody great war club.

War between Maori and Pakeha was raging in NZ at the time, though by 1870 the end of outright organised hostilities was near. The "New Zealand Wars" or "Maori Wars" are generally regarded as ending in 1872, though some say it is still not over. Maori by this time had the King movement (Tawhiao was King at this time), and considering previous declarations of independence and treaty with the British crown, it is interesting to think that this cartoon implicitly recognises Maori as the legitimate governors of New Zealand, and also begs the question, the answer to which we all know: Where are the Australian aborigines in this picture?

Taking the mick out of the Irish

2008-08-26T12:11:00.000-07:00

Source: S.T. (Samuel Thomas) Gill (1818-1880) Coffee Tent & Sly Grog Shop, Diggers Breakfast 1852. From Victoria Gold Diggings and Diggers as They Are (Melbourne: James J. Blundell, 1852).

Apologies for the title of this post but I can't resist a bad pun.

A couple of my Cornish grandfathers left South Australia for the Victorian goldrush in around 1851 or 52. The story below about two Irishmen caught up in the gold fever comes from the Illustrated Australian Magazine, published January 1852.

The Irish copped a really bad time of it in early Australia, being the butt of jokes and generally thought of as the dregs of society. In the learned journals up until around the 1850s there was often paternalistic debate about the "Irish/Catholic question" in the colonies. But, in the immortal words of the bag lady who stuck her head into a small pub in Kilburn the other day, wheezing out at the top of her lungs: "The Oirsih built this focken country!" ("Straight home dear, you've had enough" came the general reply from the retired navvies).

They did build the country to a large extent. Though the Chinese helped later along the way too (and took the heat off the Irish). Is it bad form to link to your own stuff?

Wreck Reef

2008-08-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

Left is a drawing of Wreck reef by William Westall. A copy engraving was made and published in Flinders' Magnum Opus (details below)

On the subject of Matthew Flinders (August seems to be SSM's Matthew Flinders Month), I didn't manage to find originals of either Palmer's or William's reports to the authorities in Bombay. Apparently the reports were recorded in a journal called "The Orphan", but the BL doesn't hold it. Yale University, of all places, does though. Sometimes you can get the story from other newspapers, but although the BL holds a lot, the newspapers published in India in 1803/04 are missing across the board. Rather bizarre that, and unfortunate. Still, you never know, there may be something in the Admiralty or Colonial office files at National Archives.

Well, the details are recorded in a long footnote in Flinders' Book (and I'll give you the title in all its full glory):

"A Voyage to Terra Australis; undertaken for the purpose of completing the discovery of that vast country, and prosecuted in the years 1801, 1802, and 1803, in His Majesty's ship the Investigator, and subsequently in the armed vessel Porpoise and Cumberland schooner. With an account of the shipwreck of the Porpoise, arrival of the Cumberland at Mauritius, and imprisonment of the commander during six years and a half in that island." The copy on my desk has a little handwritten note in the flyleaf: "Presented by the author 25th july 1814". I know it's booky-geeky, but I love that stuff.

Researching the Research

2008-08-15T09:24:00.001-07:00

Source: Sydney Morning Herald. 15 August 1931

This is a barque that Brian and Morgan of the previous post sailed on for a time. It says in the article that it is a copy of an original the author found amongst his wife's family's things in the UK. Either this copy or the original may have been donated somewhere, either in Australia or the UK, or it may still be in the family. Unfortunately, the author uses a nom de plume. Was he being tricky in some way by spelling Flinders Bar incorrectly? Perhaps Barr is his surname. The microfilm copy isn't that great, so I'd like to get an image straight from one of these sources. Money paid!

The original was painted by J. G. F. Crawford in around 1825. More detail on him is here on a family history site, so I I'll try them next week.

Here's the article:

Brian and Morgan

2008-08-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

Source: The India Gazette. 14 September 1826

The blog will be a little quiet for a while as I research these two guys for an article I'm trying to write. If I can't get it published I guess I can always inflict it here!

Strange sort of stories these - obviously tongue in cheek, and the real identities of the two men is never given, so it will be a bit of detective work through various memoirs of those who came in contact with them. They got around a bit, NZ, India, Australia and several of the Pacific Islands.

They were on a very serious mission - to get muskets to fight against the Nga Puhi under Hongi Hika who were well armed. The man with whom they travelled had his own glorious goal, and the colourful natures of the three of them were milked in the press and at parties. Brian, Morgan and Peter Dillon got their treasures, but it was all downhill from there.

News on the Macoa Roads

2008-08-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

("Roads" in a nautical sense refers the approaches to a harbour from the sea)

Flinders could have done with this knowledge. Despite being on a scientific expedition and in possession of a passport issued by the French government allowing him free passage (Baudin had one as well issued by the English), he may have thought to change his mind and not gone to Isle de France. He was arrested there and interned for seven years.

Britain and France were at war on and off all the time and it was very difficult for people in the South Seas to keep track of it all.

The log entries for when the Rolla was in the road and in harbour are written on seperate sheets and tipped into the logbook, whence it starts again once having left the port. Not sure of course, but I think this is because the ship's papers - including the log - would have been in the hands of the Harbour authorities to make sure their was no shenanigans.

I've copied out the entry here:

Monday 5 December

Moderate breeze with cloudy weather People variously employ'd

seamen as necessary Passed down the River three Americans

hailed one of them named the New York bound to

New York who informed us it was believed there was

war between Great Brittain and France Wind ESE

Brevity is the virtue of busy people

2008-08-01T10:03:00.000-07:00

This is the rather funny log entry for the Rolla, currently sitting on my desk. (And before anyone panics, I took the photo without the flash)

The space was obviously left blank and then at some time next year the gap filled in. Probably from notes. 1803 is the correct year, but the skipper forgets himself and writes in 1804 by mistake at the 10th and 11th. I've copied it out below as 19th century handwriting can be difficult. Although I've got to say it's better than my 21st Century handwriting.

The log also suffers from its own end of century bug - the printed headings for the dates are all 17_ _. He's had to write over it.

Back Story:

Matthew Flinders had left Port Jackson after a lovely bit of work charting the Southern coast of Australia (in competition with Frenchman Nicolas Baudin, who was doing the same thing at the same time). Much of their work is still to be found on modern charts. Flinders was on his way back to England on board the Porpoise in convoy with two East India merchant ships, the Cato (John Park) and the Bridgewater(E H Palmer), when the Porpoise and the Cato struck a sandbank off the coast of what is now Queensland on 19 August.

The Porpoise crew got off safely, and rescued provisions. They managed to help the crew of the Cato abandon next day. Most men survived. The Bridgewater saw all this happen, and next day captain Palmer made the call to sail blithely on to Bombay, where he reported Cato and Porpoise lost. The 3rd mate of the Bridgewater was scandalised (as were most of the officers and crew but they didn't mutiny) and filed a contradictory report, telling the truth of the matter. I'll see if they still exist in the East India Office files. The 3rd mate (I only know him as Williams - but will check the files) quit the ship in disgust, and the Bridgewater left for England, never to be seen again. Karma for the skipper, but rough to say the least on the rest of the crew.

Meanwhile, Flinders and some others took one of Porpoise's small boats and sailed back to Port Jackson, leaving the other castaways to make a comfortable camp and begin building new boats from the wrecks. The first of these boats was doing its sea trials when help arrived. It came in the form of the East India ship Rolla, and two schooners: the Cumberland (now under Flinders' command for the intended return journey to England) and the Francis. Rolla's log entry takes up the story:

7 October Friday 1803.

Noon fine breeze & clear. Saw a reef to the SW Dist about 4 Leagues.

8 October Saturday 1803.
Fine breeze & clear Wr at 3pm
Came to an anchor at Wreck Reef Bay in 20 Faths The
flag staff bears NE Dist 1 1/2 Miles

9th day Oct Sunday
Fine breezes & clear weather Employed in taking on board
the officers seamen & stores belonging to H M the late ship Porpoise
and Mercht ship Cato Wind ENE

10 Oct 1804 Monday
Moderate & cloudy Wr. Employed taking on board the
remainder of the crew that was wrecked with some??
& provisions wind ?? E

11 Oct 1804 Tuesday
Light airs nearly calm at 6am have ?? after taking on board 57 men belonging to the Porpoise & 15 belonging
to Cato and at 8am weighed & ?? the Cumberland Capt
M Fletcher at noon Wreck Reef Sand bank bore S & W
Dist 10 miles

Historic Australian newspapers online

2008-07-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

Check it out (excuse the library pun). It's only just been made available, and is a test site. So get into it and give them some feedback.

Content loses out to funcionality is my initial opinion. Too slow to download, and the window for viewing the scans is too small and annoyintg to navigate around. Must be a pain for those without broadband at home. I like the cleaner Papers Past interface better. There is an American newspaper database which has the same interface (must be the same software vendor) and I find that after about half an hour I've had enough.

However I've been hanging out for a while for this to be made live and really, it is an awesome resource. It sure as hell beats taking trips to the few libraries that hold this stuff and requesting from the stacks, or getting tunnel vision from microfilm. Can't wait for more content to come up!

Search is always a bit dodgy on these newspaper databases though, as the OCR for the older papers in particular is erratic at best. This is because of bleeding inks and cramped and not very clear typefaces. Hard and time consuming to police Therefore browsing is a must if you want to be sure you've got everything.

Contact them to volunteer to correct the text.

Kororareka Association

2008-07-23T10:28:00.000-07:00

This watercolour, by Theodore Mesnard, is of Kororareka in the latter part of 1838. Mesnard was an artist on board the Venus - this voyage caused a stir in British circles around the world, as it was rumoured that it intended to claim New Zealand as a colony. Image sourced from the Timeframes website.

This group of vigilantes started up on 23 May 1838 and was disbanded in 1840 when New Zealand offically became a colony. The funds still in the Association when it was wound up went toward building a hospital.

The first scan here lays out the the resolutions of the Association (source: The Early History of New Zealand by R. A. A. Sherrin and J. H. Wallace, 1890).

The second reports on an eyewitness account of a tarring and feathering incident carried out by the Association (Source: The story of New Zealand by Arthur S. Thomson, 1859). An original letter to a to the Southern Cross Newspaper in 1855, written by Benjamin Turner - a founder of the Association - can be read here.

A painful want of nerve

2008-07-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

In August 1880 came reports in the British newspapers of the loss of the ship Jeddah en route from Singapore to Jeddah, carrying Muslim pilgrims on their way to Mecca. The boat had foundered on the 8th August, with close to 1000 crew and passengers reported drowned. There was a lot of speculation as to what had happened (see the first article here, from The Birmingham Daily Post 16 August 1880), from the reasonable to the absurd.

Unfortunately for the small amount of "survivors" (all officers), the Jeddah was found floating, complete with its passengers a few days later by the Antenor, another ship working the Eastern pilgrim route. The Jeddah was taken in tow to Aden. Scandal ensued. See the next scan for the story of the Antenor, from Aberdeen Weekly Journal 19 October 1880.

Joseph Conrad, whose first trip as a merchant seaman to the Far East was in 1882-3, would no doubt have followed the story at home in Britain and then heard a few tales about it when he got there. The episode of the Patna in his book Lord Jim is based on this event. The captain of the vessel was suspended for three years - a light sentence by any standard. The report of the inquest, held in Aden, can be read here.

Shootout

2008-07-20T06:56:00.000-07:00

Pascoe and Dalziel... But not as we know it

Yes I know this has nothing to do with the South Seas, but I guess you could argue inclusion for the massive to-ing and fro-ing of miners between South Africa, Australia, New Zealand the US and Canada during the 19th century and allow this rather tenuous link. It's another Pascoe story and I'm burning through them to get them out of the way.

This is one of the crazier stories, and I particularly like the headline: shades of the word play of modern headlines! And how about that cartoon vision of the girl in tights blasting away with two pistols willy nilly?

The two photos here, of the interior and exterior of the original Victor hotel (built 1894 and destroyed by fire 1899), were taken in 1895. They are part of the Denver Public Library collection. I wonder if Tom Pascoe is among the group of reprobates in the photo? He also appears in the Colorado State Penitentiary Index, though it looks like you have to physically be there to get any more information on him. The article is from the Grey River Argus 26 February 1896.

Never on a Sabbath

2008-07-19T02:34:00.000-07:00

I don't think there are many people around these days who would turn down a visit from a member of the royal family just because the date fell on a Sunday. Source: Grey River Argus. 17 May 1873.

OK this one I'm pretty sure is no relation, though it's a nice little vignette nonetheless (and I kept the Saratoga Belle and her old man paragraph because it's weird: that's all there is of that story).

Spelling during the nineteenth century was to a large degree left to the writer. The John Pascoe here is actually John Pasco, famous for his signal during the battle of Trafalgar. He was seriously wounded during the battle and spent most of the time laying next to Nelson as they bled out together. He had many children, and most of them I believe ended up staying in Australia, where descendents still live, spelling their name as he did: "Pasco". I wonder if the telescope is still in their possession?
There's a story that the different spellings in the name are associated with religious and/or political beliefs, but I don't know what they may be: perhaps Catholic/Methodist or Royalist/Parliamentarian. There are plenty of both spellings in the graveyard of the famous Anglican Church in Roseland.

Mr Pasco (that's him at right of the picture with his head in the signals book) was a bit short of readies and had a big family, so when he was made Commodore of the trip to deliver New South Wales' new governor (Lachlan Macquarie - Bligh's replacement) to Port Jackson, he took a lot of privateering detours, chasing strange ships to earn himself some extra cash. This annoyed the governor's wife Elizabeth who wrote about it in her diary at the time. I rather like her diaries, she has no particular axe to grind (as opposed to a politian, trader, or missionary) so her observations seem rather clear and she writes in an entertaining manner. She appears to have a sense of humour too when describing other people, and though her social class does show, she does her best to avoid snobbery.

From Elizabeth Macquarie's journal of the voyage to Australia. 1809:

On John Pasco:
Sunday 4th June, ... We have been much detain'd on our voyage by the desire in the Commodore to make Prizes; we go off our course in pursuit of every Sail we See, by which we have lost many a fair breeze, and encounter'd many a foul one – we have however, once succeeded in taking a Prize – an American Ship which had been taken some days before by a French Privateer, by which I am happy to find that Captn.. Pascoe will derive a considerable sum of money.

Wedy.. 18th.. Octr.. the wind having come round to the northward & westward in the course of yesterday, we were this day at noon in East Longd
.. 17d. 40s_; and going almost due East at 6 miles an hour, we must have doubled the Cape between 8 & 9 o'clock this night. [T]his chase was a trial of patience to us, & Captain Pascoe also, we felt ourselves detain'd at a most critical part of the voyage for the sole purpose of his emolument, and he poor Man, made himself sure that the Strange Sail was French, that she would turn out a Rich Prize, and make his fortune; his disappointment was very great when we lost sight of her; our superior sailing was in many respects a great comfort to us, but if there had been any fighting, we should have had all the blows and none of the profit; this is comparatively.

On Mrs Pasco during the stopover in Cape town:
... to my great joy we had a quiet party at dinner, not so with Mr.. & Mrs.. Pascoe who I fancy must have exchanged the canter of their horse into a gallop to enable them to reach the Town in time to dine with the Governor; Mrs.. P being desirous of enjoying as much of his Lordship[']s company as she could, declined playing cards, but sat down most boldly to attack him at Chess; to his great consternation he soon found that his willing antagonist hardly knew the moves, he did all he could to lose the game, but that he found quite impossible; on which the Lady wish'd to renew the attack, but his Lordship had quite enough of it, & beg'd leave to resign his place to some other person. – Lord Calledon sent home his Carriage with Mrs.. Alexander & the other Ladies; by this time poor Mrs.. Pascoe herself so much gratified what with the morning drive, dining at a Lords house; playing chess with the great Man, & being sent home in his grand Coach with a coronet, that she fairly burst out in an exclamation of joy, clapping her hands & dancing with her feet, I vow! I vow! this has been the happiest – & the best day of my life. –this is all very vulgar no doubt, but who can avoid being pleased at this natural conduct, call'd forth by sensations of gratitude, & satisfaction.

Shades of Austen's Mrs Bennett there!

Yellow Peril

2008-07-18T11:02:00.000-07:00

I think this image is from: W. Fearn-Wannan, Australian Folklore: A Dictionary of Lore, Legends and Popular Allusions. 1970. Please put me right if my attribution is incorrect

Here's another story involving a Pascoe. It appears this one was one of the directors at Lothair mine in Clunes, Victoria, and rather a belligerent one at that, according to how it was reported in the Grey River Argus 20 December 1873* (a proudly left wing paper).

The articles below give a good account of the story, where thousands of mine workers (mostly Cornishmen) and their families violently demonstrated against the introduction of Chinese labour.

Since the strike at the Eureka stockade in 1854 just down the road, miners were a raucous crowd and kick-started the Labour movement in Australia (In Australia, thanks rumouredly to a signwriter making a mistake, the political party is named "Labor"; but it is a "Labour" movement. I'm inclined to think it was merely that Americans were a big part of the movement at the time). These incidents also helped build the Australian culture of hating the police ("traps" in those days), as by keeping the peace, they were seen as always working for the bosses.

*In case you're wondering: I'm getting all these Australian stories from foreign sources because there are no database with good Australian newspaper content as yet. The National Library of Australia is working on one though.

By the skin of his teeth (literally)

2008-07-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

This chromolithograph image shows a small ketch safely inside the Grey River ca. 1869, in the process of either hoisting or dropping the mizzen sail. Source: Cooper, William Marshall 1833-1921 :Greymouth. [Hokitika, Harnett & Co., 1869?]. Taken from the Timeframes website.

The newspaper Grey River Argus was loaded on to Papers Past this month so I did a little search through for anything mentioning Pascoes, as they had rather a presence on the West coast of the South Island of new Zealand. I found some great stories from New Zealand and Australia (as well as a crazy one in a mining camp in Colorado) so will post them up over the next couple of weeks.

I'm no genealogist so have no idea how closely related I may be to any of these people, but I'll be posting these stories occasionally as they give a good cross-section of life in the South Seas during the 19th century. There were sailors (all over), miners (all over), brewers (Wellington), butchers (Greymouth), churchmen (all over), teachers (NZ), oyster bar owners (Nelson), brawlers and killers (all over). Like most early settlers, they were mostly a combination of these things. Few of the stories are happy ones, but that's newspapers for you.

First up is the story of the loss of the small ketch "Constant" on the sand bar at the mouth of the Grey River in 1870. It was a jack of all trades vessel, small at 13 tons; making deliveries, fishing, anything that would earn a few bob for the owner up and down the coast.

Now in all families there are physical and mental traits that keep popping up. A reasonably regular one in ours is a good set of slightly large, even teeth. This article made me laugh as they played an important part in the rescue of "Captain" John Pascoe here. There is mention of a "Schooner W. S. Munday, Pascoe, master" from Wanganui in the arrivals section of this paper dated 25 April 1871. It's likely to be the same man, but doesn't mention if he is the owner or not.

The inquiry was quickly done: the next day in fact. It follows below.

(Added 30 April 2009: I was just asked by a woman at work if I am related to the Pascoes of Nelson, as I look a lot like them)

Inquiry:

Kia Kaha

2008-07-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

This picture comes from "The Story of new Zealand" by Arthur S Thompson. Published London 1859.

Now of course it is impossible to know exactly what was going on in the cultures and individual minds that Europeans came into contact with in the early days - it's hard enough to grapple with what was going on with the Europeans themselves.

However the picture here reveals some elements of how the Maori were so successful in the early days when dealing with Europeans. Before I get into the picture itself, here are a few things to keep in mind:

When Cook on his first Pacific voyage traded and exchanged gifts with Maori, among the things traded were iron nails. Maori at the time had no knowledge of any metals, but when the expedition returned, they traded back some of these nails which had been reworked into such things as fish hooks, chisels etc. Cook noted the contrast with the Australian aborigines, who, when he left cloth, mirrors and pieces of iron for them up in Queensland, he found upon his return that they had been poked at but left alone. All during that journey up the East coast, Aborigines watched their progress, but more often than not made little or no effort to make contact - a stark contrast to Maori.

That pattern more or less continued until about 20-30 years of first contact for each Australian tribal group. Aborigines for the most part seemed happy to let the Europeans come, but didn't really want a bar of them or their goods. There are probably many reasons for this, among them: They were thought to be spirits; They had been living in Australia for thousands of years and were doing fine thanks; The nomadic tribes among them didn't want encumbrances; they were bad for your health. It's after the first few decades when you see the fighting emerge as more Europeans arrived and started encroaching on the aboriginal land and lifestyle. There was rarely any understanding between the two races - even at a personal one-to-one level.

Maori had right from the beginning an interest in Europeans and how they could be used to better their lives and status among other Maori. They integrated European technology into their own culture. They also travelled widely on European ships and visited Europe and her colonies in larger numbers than what people probably realise.

This allowed them to make predictions on European behaviour: For example a Maori visiting Calcutta with Peter Dillon in the 1820s commented on the British colonists and their Indian servants, saying that the Maori fate may well be the same. It didn't quite pan out that way, though obviously he and others were conducting their own politico/cultural/anthropolical studies on Europeans.

Maori also set up timber and flax trading, started ship building along European designs and used these to hunt whales and seals in the European manner, as learned when acting as crew. It also got them retail prices. The impounding of an NZ-built ship (for having no registration) in Sydney in 1829-1830 was one of the catalysts for the creation of the confederated tribes and creation of a national flag in 1834 and the Declaration of independence in 1835. Maori were also land cultivators and had a strong conception of territory and land ownership (albeit at a group, not private level), which was vigourously fought for amongst themselves and often collectively defended from foreigners.

Europeans could work with this - they had much in common. As for the British cultural state of mind, when New South Wales was annexed in the late 1700s, there was internal opposition and an uneasiness of concience about it (as discussed in my previous post). However, needs must - the prisons and hulk on the Thames and around the Southern coasts were full to bursting, there was little money in the coffers due to wars with France, America, Holland, Denmark, Spain (allied with France), etc, etc around the globe. Things weren't going so well either in Scotland and Ireland. Raw materials were at an all-time low, with ship-building materials in Britain all but cut down. So they took Australia before the French did (La Perouse, although not on a mission of colonisation, arrived in Botany Bay days after Britain's first fleet in 1788. They may well have planned to at least raise the flag and claim annexation).

By the 19th century, Britain had no taste for the colonisation of New Zealand, with successive New South Wales governors refusing to countenance the idea of extending their area of authority. The British government only came around to the idea after a multitude of factors decided it in 1840. In the end, it was either them or someone else, and that was what forced their hand (not a moment too soon - the French at that moment had a small fleet on their way to claim the South Island).

Anyway - back to the picture. The war party is performing a haka, though instead of taiaha they're armed with muskets. The great thing about this is that a taiaha is about the same size and weight as a musket, which in battle can be used in exactly the same way in hand to hand combat once the at close quarters. Muskets took an age to load and were not very accurate so were only really any good when firing at a tight group of people, as European armies did when arranged in ranks. The Maori generally when in open battle let off a volley before engaging from several directions to fight at close quarters. This was one of many methods which gave them the advantage in battle over the British during the first decade or so of the Land Wars during the middle of the century (the Americans worked similarly to great advantage during the war of independence).

The Maori were well-practiced at hand to hand combat where the British forces were not. In fact until the second decade of the 19th century there were no real British military manuals on hand to hand fighting. The ones that did appear were ridiculed by experienced campaigners. This, combined with their experience gained in fighting each other during the 1820s and 30s led to strong victories for Maori campaigns against the British. As usual, it took a while before the Brits got their act together. Although Maori won most of the battles and sucessfully defended their pas, in the end it was the attrition of numbers which saw the British win these wars.

However, the Maori Iwi still have a great deal of strength and influence in New Zealand. Far greater than that of the natives of the Americas or Australia. Kia kaha.

The contagion of English vice, and English villainy

2008-07-06T10:24:00.000-07:00

Source: English chronicle or Universal Evening Post. 07 October 1786.

The letter which starts at left and continues in the body of this blog below argues in 1786 against transportation to New Holland, specifically Botany Bay. There was quite a lot of support against the "First Fleet" project, not least due to the fact that the last time this was tried on a large scale it all backfired and the Americans had themselves a revolution.

Also in the mix at this period (known as the Enlightenment) was a general feeling in some circles that foreign peoples should be left to themselves, and that European trade or intervention only ever led to misery for the locals who came in contact with them. You can read the dilemma for early explorers in the diaries and memoirs of the likes of Cook and D'Urville (you can read an example quoted from Cook on the Australian Aborigines here, and a hilarious comment on it from his biographer and editor Beaglehole here). Hard work and bondage was the only state most Europeans themselves knew, and transferred the system overseas. Hence the huge amount of popular revolutions in the ensuing 50 years.

This anonymous writer argues that dumping Britain's detritus (by which he means convicts, soldiers and sailors) on the rest of the world can only be bad for Britain's image, and just plain disastrous for the South Sea populations. So bleeding heart liberals have been around a while! (and always seem to be losing and left to try to pick up the pieces)

The letter continues below. (Italics, etc are as they appear in the original, my comments in square brackets)

...the contagion of such a neighbourhood, is next to impossible. I am afraid it would be altogether superfluous, to take religion into the consideration: for if its interests are to be as little regarded upon this occasion, as I understand it uniformly to have been aboard the ballast-lighters, it is no unreasonable presumption to suppose, that this formidable emigration is to be unattended by any chaplain of any denomination whatsoever.

I am at a loss to conceive the degree of horror, which a plan of this kind must excite in the minds of the foriegn societies, pro propaganda fide; - will they not most naturally, with uplifted hands, exclaim against it, and bestow upon it, the appelation of a plan formed by some English society, pro propagandis vitius Anglicanis? [Not speaking Latin, probably not!] And, however, in excuse, it may be alleged, that the propagation of vice upon the coast of New Holland, or, as it is generally called Botany Bay, is not likely to be very extensive among the New Hollanders, on account of the scantiness of their numbers; yet I am afraid such will be the zeal of these Missionaries, that this excuse will not be of any long duration. Many of the islands in the South Seas, as we are assured by our late circum navigators, are exceedingly populous; - but they are not only populous, they are also extrememly fertile; and they are inhabited by some of the handsomest women in the known world. Can anything therefore be more probable than that the parties of these abandoned wretches, will, after a while, be formed for a fresh transportation to better climates and and more cultivated regions? The inevitable consequence of which will be, that the contagion of English vice, and English villainy, will be disseminated in the space of a very few years, throughout every country, situated within the South Seas.

For the honour of the Christian religion, for the honour of humanity, and for the honour of my country, I very anxiously hope that a scheme so injurious to the interests of mankindin general, will not go forward; or if it does, that all imaginable care will be taken to prevent, as much as possible, the national disgrace, which will follow so probably wide a diffusion of of national iniquity, without some means to counteract its defects to this salutary end; it ought to be held indispensibly necessary, that every gentle method be employed of reclaiming [ie: to the church], at least, in some degree, the intended exiles before they embark for the place of their destination. And to bring them to some sense of moral and religious duties, surely Government will take care that they are attended on their voyage of irreproachable character; for whom should be made a very ample provision, upon express condition, that he make New Holland his residence, as chaplain to this convict colony for the rest of his days.

[signed]

A PLAIN ENGLISHMAN [I wonder if this "Plain Englishman" was this guy angling for a job?]

October 6 1786

The Cornish Diaspora

2008-07-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

Going to California, New Zealand, Australia, Canada...

I came across this today and the juxtaposition set me thinking. According to the family. the Pascoes I am descended from were Cornish tin miners by profession (however all the Pascoes in St Just of the 1850s and 60s were listed in the census returns as agricultural labourers, grocers, masons, fishermen, or boatmen). They left St Just in Roseland (Not the St Just of the article - that's in Penwith) for either NZ or Australia in around the 1860s. I don't know for sure because I keep hearing vaguely different stories. Anyway, apparently there was a bit of to-ing and fro-ing across the ditch in the early days.

There are still a lot of Pascoes on the West coast of the South Island in New Zealand, and at least some of them did very well in the goldfields. Not my mob though, who around the turn of the 20th century left the Victorian goldfields for a selection in Roma, in the Darling Downs of Queensland. Got there by bicycle, would you believe (though they may not have been Pascoes but a different family branch). Whenever I read or listen to and laugh at Dad and Dave, I think about them.

Actually come to think of it, I remember my dad telling me once that they also earned a living digging bore wells. You can take the man out of Cornwall, but it seems you can't stop him from digging holes.

Anyway, during the 1860s, when things were apparently really bad, the life expectancy of a Cornish miner dropped to about 30 years. That's not working life - that's cradle to grave. After hearing about the disaster in Boscawen and about NZ where you could just pick gold up off the ground without having to dig a hole for it, I don't blame them for saying "Pack up the pasties my lover - we're off".

Even though Roseland is very pretty and now and a tourist haven barely populated, in the 19th Century the men spent most of the time underground and the women working the smallholdings. When they weren't doing that they were fishing or ferrying their wares to Falmouth. Not an easy life by a long way. That's why they all lit out I guess. Add to this that the loss of land access due to the enclosures, and the disaster of the last public house on the peninsular closing its doors in the 1860s, and well, it's a bit of a no-brainer!

Mind you, Britanny is real close so maybe the drink came from there on the quiet.

The clipping for this post comes from Leeds, I looked for a Cornish one, but the Cornish papers aren't on the database in numbers yet - it's still a work in progress. One day I'll take all my questions to Colindale and look it all up in hard copy.

Source: the Leeds Mercury. 21 April 1863

The Yanks are comin'!

2008-07-03T12:03:00.001-07:00

Well actually no they're not, not filibustering anyway. Not for a few decades yet.

A great panic though - I wonder how the blazes it got started?

As theorised in this article, the whole thing turned out to be a canard.

The only thing I have to say about canards, is to be very careful about how you pronounce the word in France. I don't know why, but I've seen one or two Parisian waiters blush when the word was attempted by a pretty foreign female, and they won't reveal what they think they heard.

Source: Freeman's Journal and Daily Commercial Advertiser (Dublin, Ireland). 16 May 1871

Deliberate mistake

2008-06-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

In a post in April I said that by 1829 all the mutineers of the Bounty were dead. Not true. The last died in 1830.

Source: Asiatic journal and monthly register for British India and its dependencies. New series. Oct 1830

A Sarawak Sexameron continued

2008-06-29T08:19:00.000-07:00

...and the story continues here.

A Sarawak Sexameron

2008-06-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

The rather interesting pen drawing at left is the fronticepiece for the first issue of a journal named "Waiting for the tide, or, Scraps and scrawls from Sarawak", published in 1875 in Kuching. The image speaks for itself, though exactly what it's trying to say I'll leave to others.

The magazine is a small affair, created by and for Brits on the island of Borneo (more particularly Sarawak). The publishers apologise for the amateurish drawing and the type, which was set by a "Chinese boy in Singapore". Whether or not there were any subsequent issues I don't know, though it was envisaged as an annual. This is the only edition at the British Library.

There are six short stories inside, and I've reproduced the first one below (Fraser's story). There is an introduction which sets up the stories as having been told around a camp while colonial functionaries and their attendants from remote areas are waiting for the tide to turn on the river so they can get to the governor's Christmas and New Year party in Kuching. The stories are told by the companions to help them stay awake so they don't miss it.

Sarawak was an interesting place. Kuching is the capital, and at the time was ruled by a the Brooke family. The dynasty lasted from 1841 until the Japanese took over in 1941. I don't know if the stories here are true or not; perhaps they are a little bit.

First ever Kapa haka tour to England?

2008-06-21T07:54:00.000-07:00

Kapa haka perhaps, but under duress. In the story which follows, it becomes apparent that that the advertisement at left calling for religious people to attend backfired on the promoter.

I've never heard of this story before, and trying to work out the men's real names would take a linguistic expert. How do you get anything sounding remotely Maori from "Feedee/Phede" and "Adic"? "Feedee" might be "Whiti" (the Northern Maori accent pronounces "wh" sort of like an English "ph"), but "Adic" has me beat. "Whiti" means to cross over. So even if not his real name, it may be that the man had taken it on as a traveller.

This story has all the hallmarks of a tragic Opera: People on hard times get treated badly over a long period, they are rescued by good samaritans, and just when all is going well, everyone dies.

Big ups to the people of Derby, in England's heartland. It would not have been cheap to get these men back to New Zealand, and they were keen to keep abreast of Feedee and Adic's fates.

The place referred to Py Lea is Paihia in the Bay of Islands, where a Wesleyan Mission had been set up by Samuel Marsden. On the other side of the bay was the settlement/trading post of Kororareka, which is now known as Russell, and picturesquely known at the time as "Hell". It was famous up to the 1830s as being the most unlawful, drunken, human trafficking, murdering place in the Pacific, and perhaps the world (until San Fransisco got going). It was peopled by beachcombers, runaway convicts and sailors, and Maori traders in kauri, flax, women and preserved heads. Aside from receiving some Maori protection, there was no government or order for Europeans until the late 1830s when the Kororareka Association was set up. This was a loose vigilante type group of grogshop owners, small-time chandlers and traders who meted out their own justice until 1840. Not even missionaries would go there! I'll write more on the Association soon.

I didn't find the log of the ship Lloyds at the British library, though it may exist elsewhere. With such a name, it may even be at Lloyds of London.

Asian Knock-Offs: A grand tradition

2008-06-20T13:08:00.000-07:00

The easy way to become doctor

Anyone who thinks that fake degrees and qualifications are a modern phenomenon can check this out.

If there is a market for something, there will soon be someone selling it. When I was studying in Singapore ten years ago, there were a lot of people in the region selling press cards and student cards complete with the laser hologram stuff - you couldn't tell the difference of course because they were made in the same factories which made the authorised ones.

It was going on in my father's time and I'm sure will continue a while yet. My favourite was "Passport repair". Don't like the photo or have changed your name? No problem! Hilarious.

Source: Asiatic journal and monthly register for British India and its dependencies. New series. Sept 1831

Message stick

2008-05-31T09:26:00.000-07:00

Two posts today!

I've not much to say about this article, it speaks for itself really, and I don't know anything about the people involved. A nice neat story about a resourceful man.

I'm off to the South Seas myself tomorrow, for a fortnight in New Zealand to work on my boat and see some friends, so the blog will be quiet for a little while.

Source: Asiatic journal and monthly register for British India and its dependencies. New series. June 1832. pp 103-4.

A letter to the King

2008-05-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

Finding the texts of the 1835 Declaration of Maori Sovereignty and the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi is a pretty simple thing. The letter here is often cited as a major step toward the annexation of New Zealand, but never reproduced.

It's a funny sort of letter, composed by a rather heavy English hand (Probably William Yate, who also wrote this). I've not seen the original, so can't say whether the men whose names appear at the bottom were actually signed individually, or if they drew their moko (facial tattoo) as was more normal in those days.

The "Tribe of Marian" is named for Marion Du Fresne who visited New Zealand in 1772 and was killed there by Maori who took exception to the Frenchmen fishing in a bay protected by a tapu.

There was a suspicion at this time that France was about to claim sovereignty of New Zealand, or at least parts of it. Akaroa on the Banks Peninsula near Christchurch still has a strong French influence, due to a settlement made there in 1840.

I quite like the final paragraph of this letter, where it is politely requested that the British control their subjects. It warns that should the British subjects continue to misbehave, then Maori are not going to answer for their actions. The last thing you wanted to do in those days was make Maori angry!

Source: Asiatic journal and monthly register for British India and its dependencies. New Series. November 1832. p 133-34

Shipwreck! Addendum

2008-05-26T08:16:00.000-07:00

As an aside to the previous post, it's interesting that someone can sell the rights to film a version of the Grafton and Invercauld story, as the original accounts are well out of copyright and easily available (here and here), and there is so much digitised contemporary info available surrounding the events, that I would have thought you needn’t bother. Good luck to the seller of course (and I haven’t read the book), but it seems a waste of money on the film company's part.

Crikey, a librarian can find all the necessary in a day or two, then give it to the scriptwriter to work up. Hey - I could do with the money!

Shipwreck!

2008-05-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

From the Government Gazette (Calcutta). 03/01/1828. page 4

"Below the 40th parallel south there is no law. Below the 50th there is no God." Sailors' proverb

I tried looking for the logs of the ships mentioned here in the BL collection but came up short (though I hope the explanation for the "Hope" is that the Officers fell overboard along with their gear). It's very frustrating. The East India Company, as most businesses do, destroyed much of its records when it was wound up in two waves: in 1833 when it was discontinued as a trading company, and again in 1858 when it ceased its administrative role when nationalised by the British government to create the British Raj.

When I write about Flinders' wreck adventure, I'll include some of Rolla's log entries from the episode which have luckily survived, if in a rather interesting form. There may be something at the ANMM, Greenwich or Mystic recounting this episode, as perhaps not all involved were company ships.

Sealers and whalers were shipwrecked or stranded on a depressingly regular basis, in very remote areas, as it was the nature of their work to seek hunting grounds not yet cleaned out (check here for a list of wrecks and strandings for one very small area, and here to see actually how small that area is).

You can't get much more remote - even these days - than Amsterdam and St Paul, right smack bang in the middle of the South Indian Ocean. In fact they were really less remote then than they are now - as evidenced by the sightings these men made while on the island and the nature of their rescue. Captains often visited these waters to use the islands to get an accurate fix of their position, so even if they didn't land, there was plenty of traffic and attention paid was to them. These days ships rarely keep a visual watch, so starting a bonfire or waving your arms around won't accomplish squat.

The stories that come out of these adventures scare the hell out of me and fill me with a sense of awe at how tough and resourceful these people were. Imagine yourself dumped on a cold and windy barren island, soaking wet with not so much as a knife, zippo, or a snickers bar; nor even a TV crew or youtube there to witness your solitude.

I daresay I'd be dead in a fortnight, though of course all depends on how much you are able to salvage, and the company you find yourself in.

For a good example of this check out the experiences of the Grafton and the Invercauld, which both wrecked in 1864 on the Auckland Islands. Each party was ignorant of the other, and isolated for almost two years. Much was salvaged from the Grafton, and nothing from the Invercauld. Survivors of the Grafton managed to save themselves, while those of the Invercauld ended up killing and eating each other before the few left were picked up.

I heartily recommend Raynal's and Musgrave's respective books on the wreck of the Grafton. Must write about them also at some point, though a lot already has been written and apparently there's a movie being made so perhaps won't bother. Read the original accounts though.

Modern life being what it is, wealthy tourists may now visit the subantarctic reasonably easily, though if you get stranded on St Paul or the Auckland Isles without an epirb, you'll still have a long wait between hot meals. I wish the tourists (and operators) who visit these places in old Soviet oil guzzlers, oohing and aahing at the pristine wilderness would stop and think about what they're doing for a second. And then I wish they would sink, get magically glazed in a nice big iceberg, and float around Dutchman like, to act as a warning to others. I mean, I'm not a green crusader, but you've got to be reasonable. If you want to go that much, take a sailboat, and learn something about yourself while you're at it.

Actually, last year one of these tour buses did get in a lot of trouble, and sank. God knows (should he exist in those latitudes) what's leaching out of the wreck now. I'm glad no-one was hurt, but the only reason private people should take a ship to the poles is if they are going to ram a "Scientific" whaler with it.

Feedback

2008-05-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

Seems people don't want to go through the rigmarole of leaving a comment here (sorry for putting the barriers up but I don't want people cleverer than me showing me up), so here are a few:

2/4th and the battle of Cairns: I've had from a horse's mouth that some very gruesome things were intentionally left out of the book 'Tidal River to Tarakan'. For example: Timorese children playing football with people's heads. No details though as to whether they were Australian, Japanese, Timorese, Dutch or Portuguese heads.

Bad Luck Brigs 1: The granddaughter of Jack Byron. Mad Jack may not have had much luck (nor indeed his crews), but his progeny were quite something: as well as fathering the poet as mentioned, he was grandfather to the presciently, if rather unfortunately, (taking into consideration the majority of traffic on the internet) titled Ada. She is credited with inventing the concept of the computer. That family seemed to have a habit of dying young didn't they. Lucky for us they were high achievers.

General:

1. I've been told by the second best cataloguer in NZ (and will be the best should Pleasance Purser ever wish to lay down the mantle) that I should watch my spelling.

2. An ex-newspaper journalist/editor (who worked the business back when a high level of literacy was required for the job – no offence intended to the NY Times, London Times, the Guardian, Le Monde, and the German broadsheets) says I should watch my grammar; tells me which rules I've broken, but not where. Reading that last sentence over I'm sure I've broken another one.

It seems I need an editor.

and last but by no means least:

Ouch

2008-05-23T12:00:00.001-07:00

OK - I think I've solved my little problem of getting the images to open up. For giving me such a turn, I sentence my technology to 20 lashes of the cane. Oh, to be kind, make that 100 of the cat.

I remember getting the cuts with a cane at school. It didn't hurt that much! And it was definitely better than the drudgery of detention. Curse those liberals for making kids stay at school an extra hour when it all could be solved with a quick visit to the Principal! It just makes the poor sod who drew the detention shift resent the kids even more. Slippery slope.

Rattan is different stuff though thank goodness. I understand that the rattan cane splits lengthwise after two or three lashes and gives really nasty, multiple, razor like cuts with every whack. Nevertheless, I never thought I'd see someone saying that the cat was the humane option. I mean - why not just leave as is if you are going to multiply the strokes to get the same effect? Someone's gone troppo!

This little notice appears under 'News from Madras' section of the Asiatic journal and monthly register for British India and its dependencies (Calcutta). July 1829.

French Pass 2

2008-05-18T05:31:00.000-07:00

OK - Blogger doesn't seem to want me to show you the text of my scans. You'll just have to get it out from the library!

Must investigate further...

French Pass

2008-05-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

This image comes from the collection of the Alexander Turnbull Library.

Not all Frenchmen are surrender monkeys. Some take it to the other extreme. Witness Dumont D'Urville and his very dangerous and rather pointless conquest of what is now called French Pass, at the Northwest corner of the South island of New Zealand, in 1827.

This account is from his diaries, translated by Olive Wright and published in 1950 by the Wingfield Press.One thing I can think of to match this kind of recklessness is the passage I made of French Pass with my good friend and solid shipmate Sean in his then newly-acquired yacht Rogue, built 1892 by Chas Bailey Jr in Auckland. We were taking her from Nelson to Wellington. As a side coincidence, Sean's Birthday is the same as D'Urville's. But that story might be for another post. Or a yarn at the pub. This is about D'Urville in 1827.

This was D'Urville's second visit to New Zealand. The first he made as second in command of a scientific/ reconnaisance voyage to Australia and New Zealand. During that trip they delivered two Maori passengers from Port Jackson to the Bay of Islands in 1824 (the Nga Puhi at this time were already active traders), and it is likely through them that D'Urville learned the language of New Zealand, and picked up the sensitivity he shows toward the Maori culture in this, his second of three visits.

One of the missions of this voyage, as just about all French voyages of the time, was to try to find out the fate of the La Perouse expedition, which disappeared in 1788 (D'Urville's ship for this journey was named after Perouse's flagship "Astrolabe"). When in Australia, D'Urville heard that evidence had been found only months before by the trader Peter Dillon, in an area which he planned to investigate. D'Entrecasteaux in his 1791-93 voyage had had suspicions about Vanikoro, but poor weather precluded landing at the time. He followed in Dillon's wake and found many artefacts, but I bet he was gutted that a foreigner had solved the mystery.

Reading memoirs of some voyagers and traders of the 1820s and 30s, I sense a certain desperation creeping in, a desperation to shine like their immediate forbears and mirror or surpass their prodigious scientific and navigational discoveries. Arguably, the last great voyages of discovery and chart-making had been those of Baudin and Flinders made in the first years of the 1800s. The rest was just a matter of filling in the gaps; like here, where a great deal of risk was taken to run though a channel when it was easy to prove the existence of the island by simple survey, using the small boats.

D'Urville believed in using the local names in his charts, which I find admirable. He says himself that it seems foolish to name places which have already had names for hundreds of years. He noted that he acquiesced to the naming of D'Urville Island until its "real" name be determined (Rangitoto - the name given to the group of islands of the area). It still bears his name, as the name "French Pass" memorialises this episode, but I don't think he would have approved.

Shortly after this adventure, D'Urville received a visit from a couple of Maori men from the Cape Palliser area. I suppose they were Ngati Kahungunu men. D'Urville names them as Tehi Noui and Koki-Hore (his spelling). They remained on board through a bit of harmless guile, and stayed on until they reached the Hawke's Bay. From these two men D'Urville learned the names of the features of the Cook Strait and East Coast of the North Island, which he entered on his charts. Most of these still bear those names, though he kept the names that Cook gave the larger areas, which have since stuck in officialdom. Interesting that all and sundry at this time charted the major Islands as Ika a Maui (Maui's Fish) and Te Wai Pounamu (The Greenstone Waters) and we've ended up with the evocative names of North and South Island respectively. That must be the Scottish Presbyterian influence kicking in!

D'Urville commanded a third expedition to the Pacific, which visited Antarctic waters, and he claimed to have found the South magnetic pole. This is dubious to say the least.

D'Urville's has other claims to fame: he wrote the first novel with Maori protagonists, He brought the Venus de Milo to France, and he and his entire immediate family died in France's first railcrash disaster in 1842.

Anyway, here is his account of the passage, which shows a bull-headishness usually associated with WWI Brigadier Generals. Well, he liked a bit of Phrenology, did D'Urville...
[Technical hitch with the scans unfortunately - will try to upload them Monday]

John Pearse

2008-05-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

As promised in my last post, here is some detail on the life of John Pearse, RN. This comes from The Naval and Military Press' 2003 reprint of the 1849 publication "A Naval Biographical Dictionary, comprising the life and services of every living officer in her majesty's navy, from the rank of Admiral of the fleet to that of Lieutenant, inclusive" (They liked long and explicit names them days!). The entry includes mention of the article I posted the other day.

Next time, a bit closer to home with the adventures of Dumont D'Urville in one of my favourite places on earth: French Pass.

On the Standing and Setting of Sails

2008-05-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

I’ve been trying to work out some funny entries to the log of the Rolla on Her journey from Sydney to Canton, then to England in 1803-1804. It doesn’t make sense. Anyway, more on that later. It’s getting me behind so here is a very interesting article on the management of ships (and a few interesting remarks on private racing yachts as well – see page 412
. This is from the United Service Journal and Naval and Military Magazine of 1829. I'll post up a little bio of Commander John Pearse tomorrow. An interesting chap

...and of course the later letter to the editor:

Bad Luck Brigs 2

2008-05-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Here is George Bayly's account of the Calder wreck in Valparaiso in 1825. Stranded in Sydney, he needed a job. The skipper of the convict transport he was apprenticed in had been accused of smuggling tea. Bayly took discharge and shipped on the Calder, bound for Chile, as third mate. This account comes from my copy of his memoir published in 1885, "Sea Life Sixty Years Ago".

Bayly was discharged from the Calder in Chile, and was forced to sell his sextant to pay for lodgings. He found a buyer in Peter Dillon, Who later re-employed him for the St Patrick, again as third mate. I wonder if he got the sextant back, and at what price? Dillon didn't have much time for scientific navigation, letting his officers take the Latitude and did the rest by dead reckoning (he was acknowledged a master by those who left records of him).

By the time this voyage was over, Bayly had had a gutsful of Dillon and sailed back to England from Calcutta. Unable to find an officer's berth, he considered sailing before the mast. He was saved from this when he found a post shipping as sailmaker aboard the Hooghly; grateful that his father made him get a trade before he went to sea. He eventually became a trading captain himself.

I like Bayly, he takes things as they come and seems a cheerful soul. His diaries are held in the Hocken Library in NZ, and have been republished under the title "A Life on the Ocean Wave" by the Miegunyah Press. The picture of the Calder above is reproduced from that publication.

Bad Luck Brigs

2008-05-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

Some vessles just can't keep away from disaster, and often get a name for themselves as death ships. The same goes for certain vessel names (variations on "Titan", or "Wahine" for example), and skippers: Foul Weather Jack, also known as the "Jonah of the Wager", was dogged by bad weather through his career. He was father to John "Mad Jack" Byron (who happened to be the famous poet's father) who himself had a reputation for losing an inordinate amount of seamen on his voyages. This would take some doing in the 18th century.

Whether or not the Calder ever got such a reputation, it certainly deserved one. Owned at the time by Peter Dillon (a man of no mean reputation himself), it was run aground during a storm while at anchor at Valparaiso, Chile, in 1825. A great deal of the cargo was luckily able to be brought off and sold. However the Calder was very badly damaged. Dillon sold it off "as is where is" and bought out his partner's share in the St Patrick. During the St Patrick's ensuing voyage Dillon discovered evidence of the fate of the Boussole and Astrolabe of the La Perouse expedition and found his place in history.

The unfortunate new owners of the Calder suffered a mutiny. Here the mutiny is reported in the India Gazette (6 July 1829, supplement page 2), published in Calcutta.

Apologies for the poor quality - this source also acts as an object lesson in how not to microfilm a newspaper. In the next few days I'll publish a post detailing a first hand account of the Calder's accident in Valparaiso.

2/4th and The Battle of Cairns

2008-04-26T06:28:00.000-07:00

Pop

Yesterday was ANZAC Day so forgive me briefly for jumping to the 20th century. I'm posting this a day late as I had no time yesterday, lunch being spent down at the memorial, and I don't have a computer at home. I left a ciggie for Pop, and had one myself. I didn't leave a poppy because he wasn't much of a "joiner" (runs in the family), and not much of one for organised authority. I reckon he'd take a dim view of the lot of it, especially the lauding of the heroism and the concept of the innate "rightness" of the allied soldier during war (see for example this little slice of life on Timor provided by one of the men who served in his company) .

However for me it's a time to put aside a day and remember the bloke who taught me to tie my shoelaces (one of the most enduring and useful life skills I have).

Pop was a signaller with the 4th Australian Independent Company, later renamed 2/4th Commando Squadron, and fought in Timor, New Guinea and Borneo against the Japanese (and maybe in Australia too, against the Americans). Here are a few exerpts from a history of the Company's activities in the war. (Lambert, George Arthur. "Commando: From Tidal River to Tarakan 1941-1945". Australian Military History Publications. 1997).

I love this story about Pop. The stories where he is involved reveal his subversive sense of humour and the importance of looking out for your mates. This took place shortly before the battle of Tarakan.

Battle of Cairns

The Battles of Brisbane in Australia and of Manners Street in New Zealand are well-known. I don't know why, but they tickle me. This is probably because I'm such a useless brawler myself, and am invariably among the first to get knocked out of it on the few occasions I've been in a stoush. I wish I was more like my mate Dave Rees, who just never seems to go down until three or four guys have had a go at him. If I was, maybe he'd still have all his real teeth!

These "battles" are usually put down to GIs taking out all the local women with their better pay, the general overbearing attitudes of the MPs, and that the US staff giving all the credit to the GIs (not that they don't deserve it - but a spare a thought for the Aussies wouldn't go astray). Anyway, here is a description of the lesser-known "Battle of Cairns":

Lae

Of course it wasn't all fun and games, as can be seen in one account of the landing at Lae, in New Guinea. As you can see, when it came down to the real business, Yanks and Aussies could look out for each other:

Beer, Beef and Liberty

2008-04-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

Beef and Liberty

I was once in the Brighton Pavillion museum and saw a lovely old nineteenth century mug with the words, "Beef and Liberty" emblazoned on it. I loved it. I covet it.

I have a good mate back in NZ who works for the Meat Board so I told him about it. "A noble sentiment" was his resonse. And indeed it is.

It turns out this is the motto of the Beefsteak Club, which is alive and well in London, and has a long and proud history of eating beef and getting drunk. Long may they prosper. I wonder if the Calcutta branch is still going?

Source: Asiatic journal and monthly register for British India and its dependencies. Feb 1828. p 260

Instant Beer - Just add water

Witness its birth in this article. After a journey from England, which over six months entailed crossing the equator twice and walloping around the Cape of Good Hope with no refrigeration, the beer ended up pretty rubbish. But that was all that was available in the early days. No wonder the the toffs preferred gin, brandy and madeira, and left the beer to the sailors.

Lord knows what happened to the formula mentioned in this article, though I hope that at the end of the trial it was found guilty, taken from that place to a place of execution, and hanged until dead. dead. dead. I suspect it's still in use in those home brew kits.

Around this time, India Pale Ale (IPA) was developed. It had more hops and a higher alcohol content to help it on it's journey. My suspicion is that this was just so the people who drank it wouldn't mind it tasting like flat piss as it got them soused for cheap. Ships' masters would like it too as it would have extended the volume of small beer rations. During the 1830s I think, someone had the bright idea of brewing beer in India. It probably took an Indian to think of this.

It may well be that the writer of the article got the wrong end of the stick and this product is in fact IPA. Someone can go look it up no doubt.

Source: Asiatic journal and monthly register for British India and its dependencies. May 1828. p 681.

Jenny and the Mutineers

2008-04-18T11:55:00.000-07:00

Not Jenny really, but Teehuteatuaonoa. It's obvious the problems a British tongue is going to have with that name, so "Jenny" it was. Before we get all indignant of the British habit of doing this, the thing went both ways (as pointed out in this narrative - a name as simple to a anglophone as "Cook" was translated by many Islanders as "Tooti"). Names changed and indeed were swapped between friends from island to island. As time passed the various pidgins of the Pacific Islands developed as a boon to Europeans and Pacific Islanders of all cultures and languages. Helped get things done. And the people of the 19th century were very, very good at getting things done.
Peter Dillon, a trader with a keen sense of Pacific history and culture, and a knack for being in the right place at the right time, interviewed Teehuteatuaonoa and returned to Calcutta with this story.

By the time this story appeared in 1829, the mutiny of the Bounty had passed into folklore, and just about everybody involved, including Bligh; who had had a glittering naval career, were dead. It is valuable in that without this account, we wouldn't have all those lovely movies!

Poor old Bligh - Sailed with Cook (3rd voyage), fought with and was a close confidante of Nelson, friends with Joseph Banks, showed real concern for his crews (eg the three watch system and barely ever flogging anyone), an awesome navigator and draftsman, has been really hard done by - the victim of inexperienced sailing officers and monopolists soldiers in Sydney. Still, he lived a long and adventurous life, was recognised by those who mattered and made it to Vice Admiral of the Blue. And he's still famous. That's a lot better than his horny and selfish subordinates ever did (except Christian being famous). So he swore a lot - wouldn't you, having to deal with these dickheads?

Two sets of clippings again today Teehuteatuaonoa' story above, is taken from the United Service Journal and Military Magazine, 1829, part II. (Although I loathe most popular poetry after the romantics up until the modernists kick-started things again, I kind of like the sea bird poem. I once spent 15 days at sea on a 30 foot sailing yacht. Coincidentally we used a three watch system between the three of us crewing, which meant the only company was the birds. And they were there, day after day, every day).

The second clipping below is a reprint of Bligh's descriptions of the mutineers. Looks like in Tahiti they just hung out all day getting tattoos. I love his brevity, which at the same time creates a great picture of each man. The source for the transcription is from Paul Brunton (ed) "Awake bold Bligh! William Bligh's letters describing the mutiny on HMS Bounty". Allen and Unwin in partnership with the State Library of NSW. 1989. He wrote these descriptions as soon as he and his loyal crew made land after their epic journey in an open boat.

Cheese and Icebergs

2008-04-14T12:38:00.000-07:00

These two clippings appear in the Asiatic Journal (December 1828). This journal was published around the first quarter of the 19th Century in Calcutta. It published stock market and exchange reports, news from other colonies and the region, local political debates, proceedings of the Asiatic Society and a selection of military proceedings. Lighter subjects were touched on also: literature, the arts and bits and pieces in a section called "Varieties". These two clippings come from the section on news from Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania). Traders would pick up the local newspapers wherever they went so news could be reprinted by the local press elsewhere, and the knowledge made general. The original publications are cited at the end of the articles.

High Icebergs in low latitudes
An interesting little report here. Obviously a huge shelf had broken off Antactica not long before. A similar event happened in 2006, with one or two large icebergs making it as far as the coast of New Zealand around Dunedin (around 45 degrees South). People paid a lot of money chartering helicopters to land them on the icebergs so they could have champagne lunches on top before it melted. If you believe in global warming, this behaviour is sort of like a cow driving itself to the abbatoir, because it wanted to try driving, if you know what I mean.

Cheese
The second clipping today, which follows on from the above, is just plain weird. It would be interesting to trace this character when I have the time.

Edward Gibbon Wakefield

2008-04-12T08:05:00.000-07:00

Naughty, naughty man

Click on the image at left to read it

I came across this while doing some research at work on another topic. It comes from the Indian Gazette (02 November 1826), a newspaper published in Calcutta. I haven't done a big search for it, but I think it likely it was written by a local resident. From what I can glean, this paper was something of a tabloid, reprinting the harder news of the Government Gazette, Bengal Hurkaru, and "Home news", and adding a bit of local gossip.

The poem refers to his second kidnapping of a teenage girl (Ellen Turner) from England and their marriage in Scotland where the rules on this sort of thing were a bit slacker. His first marriage (also in Scotland) to Eliza Pattle had stuck - probably the girl's family wanted to avoid a scandal - but she had died from complications resulting from the birth of the equally wayward son, Edward Jerningham Wakefield.

This second affair was closely monitored by the press wherever there was an interest in British society, and the family of the poor girl stood by her. The global British press closely reported on the court proceedings. The end result for EGW was a spell in prison and a subsequent career in the furthest colonies. He died in New Zealand.

EGW, as is well known, was a VERY dodgy character who, after some strange doings in Canada, a failed go at creating a colony in South Australia, went on to orchestrate the creation of the New Zealand Company, encouraging colonisation, and eventually became a Member of Parliament there. Go figure.

The poem is not a very good one, but you can't have everything. It follows an article reporting on Wakefield's confession, probably reprinted from a London newspaper.