 section 26 of history of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Priscilla Shodeke history of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 by Alexander and George Sutherland New Zealand colonized part two 8. Wellington. Meantime the Tory was plowing the deep on her way to New Zealand her passengers first saw the new country on the west coast of the South Island they were then very much disappointed for the shore was high and wild the mountains were close behind it and their lofty sides were gloomy and savage the whole scene was grand but did not promise much land that would be suitable for farming they turned into cook straight and anchored in queen charlotte sound a lovely harbour but surrounded by high hills clothed in dark and heavy forests when they landed they were amazed at the depth and richness of the black soil and the immense size to which the trees grew such a soil could grow all sorts of produce in rich abundance but it would cost 40 pounds an acre to clear it for plowing boats were got out however and parties rode up into all the branches of the beautiful harbour but without seeing any sufficient extent of level or open land then they crossed the straight and sailing in by a narrow entrance viewed all the wide expanse of Port Nicholson it was a great harbour with a little wooded island in its middle it opened out into quiet arms all fringed with shelly beaches and behind these rows range after range of majestic mountains the trouble was that here to the land which was fairly level was too limited in extent to satisfy the colony's needs for already in England the company had sold 100 000 acres of farming land and the purchasers would soon be on their way to occupy it after examining the shores with care they chose the beach of east side as the site for their town behind it stretched the beautiful valley of the hut river enclosed by mountains but with broad grassy meadows lying between here they started to build a town which they called Britannia and they made friends with the Mayores of the district Apakeja Mayori named Barrett acted as interpreter the natives went on board the torii were shown 239 muskets 300 blankets 160 tomahawks and axes 276 shirts together with a quantity of looking glasses scissors razors jackets pots and scores of other things with 81 kegs of gunpowder two casts of cartridges and more than a ton of tobacco they were asked if they would sell all the land that could be seen from the ship and return for these things they agreed signed some papers and took the goods on shore where they at once began to use the muskets in a grand fight among themselves for the division of the property it was soon discovered that the side of the town was too much exposed to westerly gales and the majority of settlers crossed Port Nicholson to a narrow strip of grassy land between a pretty beach and some steep hills here was founded the town called Wellington after the famous Duke by this time the settlers were arriving thick and fast the first came in the Aurora which reached the settlement on 22nd January 1840 other ships came at short intervals till there were 12 at anchor in Port Nicholson the settlers were pleased with the country they landed in good spirits and set to work to make themselves houses all was activity surveyors carpenters bricklayers blacksmiths everyone busy and rapidly a smart little town of some hundred houses rose behind the beach the Maori came and helped in the work getting three or four shillings a day for their services and proving themselves very handy in many ways all were in sanguine spirits when word came from governor Hobson at Auckland that in accordance with his proclamation all purchases of land from the natives were illegal he having come to protect the Maori's from imposition nine the land question now Colonel Wakefield had fancied that he had bought 20 million acres for less than 9 000 pounds worth of goods and he was assigning it as fast as he could to people who had paid one pound an acre to the company in England here was a sad fix the governor sent down his chief officer Mr Shortland who rode across the island with the mounted police and told the settlers not to fancy the land theirs as he would air long have to turn them off disputes arose for it seemed absurd that 58 Maori chiefs should sell the land on which many thousands of people dwelt the majority of these people never having so much as heard of the bargain the settlers talked of starting for South America and forming a colony in Chile but more kept on coming so that they had not ships enough to take them across and besides they had paid a pound an acre to the company and demanded their land Colonel Wakefield went off to Auckland to talk the matter over with governor Hobson who left the difficulty to be settled by his superior governor Gibbs at Sydney Wakefield then went to Sydney to see governor Gibbs who said that the whole thing was irregular but that he would allow the settlers to occupy the land supposing that every Maori who had a proper claim to any part of it got due compensation and if 20 acres of the central part of Wellington were reserved for public buildings these conditions Wakefield agreed to and very glad to have got out of a serious difficulty he returned with the good tidings shortly afterward governor Hobson himself visited Wellington but was very coldly received by the settlers there in the next two years 350 ships arrived at Wellington bringing out over 4000 settlers of these about 1000 went up into the valleys and made farms but 3000 stayed in and around Wellington which then grew to be a substantial little town with four good piers about 200 houses of wood or brick and about 250 houses of more slender construction more than 200 Maori's could be seen in its streets clad in the European clothes given as payment for the land in all there were about 700 Maori's in the district and for their use the company set apart 11 000 acres of farmlands and 110 acres in the town roads were being made into the fertile valleys where eight or ten thousand acres were occupied as farms being rapidly cleared and tilled parties were organized to go exploring across the mountains they brought backward that inland the soil was splendid sometimes covered with forests sometimes with meadows of long grass or new zealand flax but always watered by beautiful rivers and under a lovely climate the Maori's were everywhere friendly throughout their journey 10 Teranaki in the beginning of the year 1840 an immigration society had been formed in the southwest of England to enable the farm laborers and miners of Cornwall Devon and Dorset to settle in less crowded lands the Earl of Devon was its president and Plymouth its headquarters they chose New Zealand for the site of their colony and understanding that New Zealand company had bought half of the North Island they gave that company 10 000 pounds for the right to select 60 000 acres of it it was in March 1841 that the pioneers of this new colony arrived at Wellington under the guidance of Mr Carrington a surveyor in the ship William Bryant the exploring party had just come back and its report of the Teranaki land was very tempting immediately after receiving that report Colonel Wakefield had gone off to purchase it he found a few natives left there the remnant of the tribes whom to where oh where oh had destroyed or carried into slavery these few people had taken refuge up in the awful solitudes of the giant Mount Egmont but had come back to dwell a sorrow-stricken handful in the homes of their fathers Barrett was left to arrange a bargain with them and in return for a quantity of goods they sold all the land along 60 miles of coasts with a depth of 15 miles inland this was the land which Wakefield recommended for the new settlers and he lent them a ship to take them round there they landed and in spite of their disappointment at the want of safe harbour they set to work and built up their little town which they called New Plymouth in September of the same year the main body of settlers arrived for this new colony and were landed at Teranaki when they immediately scattered out over the country as fast as Carrington could survey it for them but there was now a difficulty for to where oh where on his tribe had released many hundreds of the Teranaki natives who had been carried off as slaves whether it was because they can now become Christians or because the slaves were more in number than they could use it was not easy to determine but at any rate in that very month of September when hundreds of white men were arriving to occupy the land hundreds of mayories were coming back to re-occupy it they begged the settlers not to fell their big trees but were very mild in their conduct they chose places not yet claimed by the white men and they're fenced in the land on which to grow their sweet potatoes meanwhile there was another complication by Mary custom a warrior had the ownership of the lands he conquered governor Hobson therefore were guarded to where oh was the owner of the Teranaki land and gave him 400 pounds for his right to it Hobson declared that the Auckland government was the owner of this land and that all settlers must buy it from him eventually the trouble was cleared up for the time being when Hobson allowed the company to keep 10 miles of coast running back five or six miles the rest to belong to the government which would set aside a certain part for the use of the mayories in december 1842 a settler claimed a piece of land which a mayorie had fenced in he pulled down the fence the mayories put it up again the settler assisted by an officer pulled it down once more a young chief who brandished a tomahawk and threatened mischief was arrested and carried into new Plymouth where a magistrate liberated him and declared the action of the settler illegal matters for a time kept in this unfriendly state ominously hinting the desperate war that was to follow 11 wanganui meanwhile the settlers in the wellington district were finding that by crossing difficult mountains they could get sufficient level land for their purpose and at the close of 1840 200 of them sailed 150 miles north to where the river wanganui falls into cook straight the land was rich and the district beautiful colonel wakefield supposed that he had bought the whole of it though the natives afterwards proved that they sold only part on the north side of the river here about four miles from the mouth of the stream the settlers formed a little town which they called petr but which is now known as wanganui the natives were numerous on the river banks their villages were frequent and up on the hills that rose all around like an amphitheater the palisades of their fortified paths were easily visible but the fine black soil of the district in places grassy in places with patches of fine timber proved very attractive to the settlers and soon there came half a dozen ships with more colonists direct from england the natives were friendly to the white men and gave them a cordial welcome down the river came their canoes laden with pigs potatoes melons and gourds for sale in the market of the little town it was all good will until the memories found that the white men had come not merely to settle among them but to appropriate all the best of the land then their tempers grew sour and the prospect steadily grew more unpleasant 12th nelson the emigration spirit was at this time strong in england for it was in the year 1840 to 1841 that free settlers chiefly colonized both victoria and south australia new zealand was as much a favorite as any and when the new zealand company proposed in 1841 to form a new colony somewhere in that country to be called nelson nearly 100 000 acres were sold at 30 shillings an acre to men who did not know even in which island of new zealand the land was to be situated in april of the same year the pioneers of the new settlement started in the ships whitby and will watch with about 80 settlers their wives families and servants captain arthur wakefield was the leader and he took the ships to wellington where they waited while he went out to search for a suitable site he chose a place at the head of tasman bay where in a green hollow fringed by beautiful beach and embosomed deep in majestic hills the settlers soon gathered in the pretty little town of nelson the soil was black earth resting on great boulders out of it grew low bushes easily cleared away and here and there stood a few clumps of trees to give a grateful shade the place was shut in by the hills so as to be completely sheltered from the boisterous scales of cook straight and altogether it was a place of dreamy loveliness its possession was claimed by row para the warrior on the ground of conquest with him and other chiefs the settlers had a conference the result of which was that a certain specified area round the head of the bay was purchased but the white men regarded themselves as having the right of superior beings to go where they wished and to do with the land what they wished finding a seam of good coal at a place outside their purchase they did not in any way scruple to send a vessel to carry it off in spite of the protests of the mirrories 13 death of governor hobson these things hinted at troubles which were to come but in 1842 all things looked promising for the colonies in new zealand there were altogether about 12 000 white persons most of them being men who wore blue shirts and lived on pork and potatoes Auckland the capital had 3000 but Wellington was the largest town with 4000 people next to that came Nelson with 2500 new Plymouth and Wanganui were much smaller but yet thriving places they had no less than nine newspapers most of them little primitive sheets but wonderful and communities so young in october 1841 Dr George Thelwyn was appointed to be bishop of New Zealand and he left England with a number of clergymen who settled in Auckland Wellington Nelson and new Plymouth churches began to spring up and schools not only for white children but also for majories and immense change for the better had appeared among the majories the last case of cannibalism took place about this time and though they still fought among one another it was not with the same awful bloodshed that had characterized the previous 20 years on the 16th november 1840 the queen declared New Zealand an independent colony hobson was then no longer lieutenant governor merely and subject to governor at Sydney he was governor hobson and of equal rank with all the other governors he now had a legislative council to assist him in making for New Zealand such laws as might be needed in her peculiar circumstances in that council the chief justice the colonial secretary the surveyor general the attorney general and the protector of the majories had seats but hobson did not long enjoy his new dignity he had had a difficult task to perform and his duty had led him into conflict with many people who had wished to purchase their land from the natives at ridiculous prices in the midst of his worries he had several strokes of paralysis of which the last killed him in september 1842 and he was buried in the cemetery at Auckland he had lived however to see New Zealand colonized and had died much liked by the majories without seeing any of that bitter struggle between the two races which was soon to shed so much blood and waste so much treasure end of section 26 recording by Priscilla Shodeke section 27 of history of australia and new zealand from 1696 to 1890 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by jennifer painter history of australia and new zealand from 1696 to 1890 by alexander and george southerland section 27 white men and mares one governor fitsroy when governor hobson died his place was taken by his friend lieutenant shortland until a new governor could be sent out the english people were at this time very anxious to see that the natives of new lands which they colonized should be fairly treated and for that purpose they chose captain fitsroy to be the new governor up to this time he had been the captain of a ship and had made himself famous in surveying and mapping little known shores in his ship the beagle in which he had visited new zealand on a trip round the world and he was therefore called to give evidence as to its condition before the committee of the house of lords in 1838 he was well known to have shown much consideration to native tribes and his strong wish to deal justly by them had often been shown this was the main reason for his appointment he landed in november 1843 and found the colony in a state of great depression the public treasury being not only empty but in debt for many officials had been appointed judges magistrates policemen customs receivers and so on and to pay the salaries of these everyone had relied on the continued sale of land but in 1841 there had come out to the first land commissioner william spain who began to inquire into the disputes about land which had arisen between white men and mares out of every 10 acres the white men said they had bought he allowed them to keep only one this was but fair to the mares who had been induced very often to make most foolish bargains but the settlers ceased to buy land when they were not certain of keeping it hence the land sales stopped the governor owed 20 000 pounds more than he could pay and so he was confronted with troubles from his very first arrival to wireau massacre just before he came an incident had happened which deepened the trouble of the colony at the north of the south island not far from nelson there was a fine valley watered by the stream wireau which kernel wakefield claimed alleging that it was part of the land he had bought with the nelson district rapua raha and his son-in-law rangier hater claimed it by right of conquest and they had a couple of hundred stout warriors at their back all well armed with muskets mr spain sent word that he was coming to settle the dispute but in spite of that captain wakefield sent surveyors to measure out the land for occupation by the settlers the surveyors were turned off by rapa raha who carried their instruments and other property carefully off the land and then burned the huts they had put up the mares did no violence and were courteous though determined the surveyors returned to nelson and captain wakefield induced the local magistrates to issue a warrant for the arrest of rapa raha and rangier hater to execute this warrant mr thompson the police magistrate himself went in a small vessel and with him went captain wakefield seven other gentlemen and 40 laborers in all a party of 49 of whom 35 were armed with guns when they landed at the mouth of the wireau river peraha a christian native met them and begged them not to go on as rapa raha was ready to fight but they paid no attention and after marching eight miles up the pretty valley they saw the mares about 100 in number standing behind the stream which though only waist deep had a rushing current of chili water rapa raha said here i am what do you want with me mr thompson said he must go to nelson and an irritating conversation ensued rangier hater drew up his tall form his curly black hair setting off a face of eagle sharpness and from his eye they gleamed an angry light behind him stood his wife the daughter of rapa raha and near them this latter chief himself short and broad but strong and wiry looking a man with a cunning face yet much dignity of manner when the handcuffs were produced by mr thompson rapa raha warned him not to be so foolish the magistrates gave the order to fix bayonets and advance as the white men were crossing the stream a shock was fired by one of them it struck dead the wife of rangier hater there upon the mares fired a volley and the white men hesitated on the brink of the water a second volley and a third told upon them with deadly effect and the laborers who carried arms but had neither martial spirit nor experience turned and fled five of the gentlemen with four of the laborers stood their ground and when the mares crossed they surrendered rapa raha called out to spare them but rangier hater mad at the loss of a wife he loved brained them with his tomahawk one after another while the young men hunted the laborers through the trees and slew such as they overtook 27 white men reached the shore and were carried quickly in the boats to the brig five of them badly wounded 22 lay dead alongside of five natives whom the white men had slain rapa raha feared the vengeance of the white man he had few resources in the south island while the nelson settlers could send 500 armed men against him he crossed in his own war canoes over a stormy strait in wild weather weary and wet with spray he landed in the south of the north island roused his countrymen by his fervid oratory to which he gave a fine effect by jingling before them the handcuffs with which he was to have been led a prisoner to nelson a day or two after the massacre a wesley and clergyman went out from nelson to wyrow and reverently buried those ghastly bodies with the cloven skulls not one had been mangled far less had there been any cannibalism three effects of wyrow massacre the mares were clearly less ferocious than they had been and more than half of them had become fervid christians after a fashion but in some respects they were getting their eyes opened the missionaries had told them that the white men were coming for their benefit yet now they began to see that the white men were soon to be the lords of the soil and that the natives must sink back into the position of servants if a white man visited a marie village he was received as a man of distinction and entertained if a marie chief went to a white man's town he was allowed to wander in the street or if at all accosted it was with the condescension of a superior race to a race of servants the marie blood was firing up the story of wyrow made them change their mind about the white man's courage the wailers had been hearts of daring these newcomers had run and bored for their lives the natives were anxious also as to the result which would happen when all the lands near the shore should have been occupied by white men and they themselves hemmed up in the interior a special interest was given to these feelings when in 1844 te weru weru gave a great feast only two miles out of Auckland partly as a welcome to governor Fitzroy and partly as a demonstration in regard to the land question he displayed a lavish bounty 11 000 baskets of potatoes and 9 000 sharks with great stores of other provisions were distributed but when the settlers saw a war dance of 1600 men all well armed with muskets and drilled with wonderful precision they felt that their lives were at the mercy of the native tribes not one fourth of that number of armed men with any training for battle could have been sent forth from the settlement for its own defense this gave a significance to the wire-o massacre that created quite a panic fresh settlers ceased to come many that were there already now left those who had taken up farms far out in the country abandoned them and withdrew to the towns four Hone Hake and yet the great majority of the marries seem to have had no unfriendly purpose when governor Fitzroy went down to see Rapa Raha he had no more than 12 white men with him when he entered an assemblage of 500 marries he said he had come to inquire about the sad quarrel at Wairau and Rapa Raha told him his story while others supported it by their evidence Fitzroy stated that the marries had been very wrong to kill those who had surrendered but as the white men had fired first he would take no vengeance for their death indeed at Wellington and Nelson Fitzroy openly said that the magistrates were wholly misguided in trying to arrest the native chief and at Nelson he rebuked all those who had been concerned in the affair this gave great offense to the white men they asked if the blood of their friends and relatives was thus to be shed and no sort of penalty to be exacted for the slaughter many of the magistrates resigned and a deep feeling of irritation was shown towards the governor some of the settlers petitioning the English government to recall him in the August of 1844 a young chief named Hone Hake who dwelt at the Bay of Islands on account of a private quarrel with a rough whaler entered the town of Kororarika with a band of armed followers he plundered a few shops and cut down a flagstaff on which the Union Jack floated from a steep hill behind the town there were then not more than 90 soldiers in New Zealand and when Hake threatened to burn Kororarika and do the same to Auckland there was two good reason to fear that he might be as good as his word for he had 200 well armed men at his back and a comrade of his named Kawiti had nearly as many a chief named Wakaneine with his men kept Hake in check while Fitzroy sent to Sydney and received 160 soldiers with two cannon these landed at the Bay of Islands but Wakaneine begged the governor not to hurry into hostilities he arranged for a friendly meeting Fitzroy met nine principal chiefs who apologized and made Hake send also a written apology Fitzroy said he would redress some wrongs the natives said they had suffered and having obtained from Hake 10 muskets by way of fine and having again set up the flagstaff he returned to Auckland but before the year was ended Hake approached the town once more with a hundred armed men he insulted it from the hills cut down the flagstaff again and then withdrew to the forests Fitzroy published a proclamation offering 100 pounds for his capture and Hake replied by offering 100 pounds for the head of Fitzroy the governor now caused a new flagstaff to be set up all sheathed with iron at the bottom and with a strong wooden house attached to it in which a score of soldiers were always to keep guard a blockhouse or small wooden fortress was set up at a little distance down the hill towards Kororarika nevertheless Hake said he would come and cut down the flagstaff again then the inhabitants of Kororarika began to drill in order to give him a warm reception if he came Lieutenant Philpott the commander of the hazard ship of war came ashore to drill them and to mount one or two cannon yet Hake lurking among the hills contrived by a sudden dash to capture Lieutenant Philpott however after dealing courteously with him he released him five Kororarika burnt on the 11th of March 1845 at daylight Hake with 200 men crept up to the flagstaff surprised the men in the house attached and when 20 men came out of the lower blockhouse to help their friends on the top of the hill he attacked them and drove them down into the town in the hollow beside the shore close to the beach was a little hill and on the top of this hill stood a house with a garden surrounded by a high fence behind this the soldiers and all the people of Kororarika took refuge from the rocky high ground round about the mares fired down upon them while the white men fired back and the guns of the hazard which had come close into the shore kept up a constant roar for three hours this lasted 10 white men being killed as well as a poor little child while 34 of the natives were shot dead the mares were preparing to retreat when by some accident the whole of the powder that the white men possessed was exploded then they had to save themselves the women and children were carried out boat after boat to the three ships in the harbor then the men went off and the mares greatly surprised crept cautiously down into the deserted town they danced their war dance sent off to their parents in the ships some white children who had been left behind and then set fire to the town destroying property to the value of 50 000 pounds Heke's fame now spread among the mares when the settlers from Kororarika were landed at Auckland homeless desperate and haggard a panic set in and some settlers sold their houses and lands for a trifle and departed others with more spirit enrolled themselves as volunteers 300 men were armed and drilled fortifications were thrown up round the town and centuries posted on all the roads leading to it at Wellington and Nelson also men were drilled and stockades were built for defence six first Maori war but Honee Heke was afraid of the soldiers and when Colonel Hume arrived from Sydney with several companies he withdrew to a strong power of his 18 miles inland Hume landed at the nearest point of the coast with a force of 400 men these were joined by 400 friendly allies under Waka Nene whose wife led the tribe in a diabolic war dance not a little startling to the British soldiers the road that was to lead them to Honee Heke was only a track through a dense forest carts could not be taken but each man carried biscuits for five days and 30 rounds of ammunition under four days of heavy rain they trudged along in the dripping pathway all their biscuits wet and much of their powder ruined at last on a little plane between a lake and a wooded hill they saw before them the power of Honee Heke two great rows of tree trunks stuck upright formed a palisade around it they were more than a foot thick and 12 feet high and they were so close that only a gun could be thrust between them behind these there was a ditch in which stood 250 marries who could shoot through the palisades in security the British slept that night without tents round fires of kauri gum but next morning all was a stir for the attack a rocket was sent whizzing over the palisades it fell and burst among the marries frightening them greatly but succeeding discharges were failures and the marries gathered courage to such an extent that a number under Kawiti came out to fight the soldiers lowered their bayonets and charged driving them back into the power during the night while the white men were smoking around their fires the sound of the plaintive evening hymn rising in the still air from the power suggested how strong was the hold that the new faith now had on the Maori mind next day Colonel Hume seeing that a place defended on all sides by such a strong palisade could not be captured without artillery dug the graves of the 14 soldiers killed and marched back carrying with him 39 wounded men there was dismay in Auckland when this news arrived what could be said when 400 English soldiers retreated from 250 savages but on the other hand the marries had learned a lesson they could not fight against English bayonets in the open but while taking aim from behind palisades they were safe therefore they began in different places to strengthen their fortresses and Hone Heike added new defences to his power of Ohiawai which stood in the forest 19 miles from the coast seven Ohiawai more soldiers were sent from Sydney and with them to take the chief command Colonel Despar who had seen much fighting against hill tribes in India he landed 630 men and six cannons but these latter being ships cannons on wooden carriages with small wheels stuck in the boggy forest roads the men had to pull the guns and they were assisted by 250 friendly marries on the evening of the 22nd of June 1845 they spread out before the plough during the gathering dusk it was a strong place in the midst of a deep and gloomy forest the square had been cleared about a third of a mile in length and in breadth great trunks of trees had been set up in the earth and they stood 15 feet high between their great stems a foot or 18 inches thick there was just room enough left for firing a musket three rows of these giant palings with a ditch five feet deep between the inner ones made the fortress most dangerous to assault and in the ground within hollows had been dug where men could sleep secure from shells and rockets 250 warriors were there with plenty of muskets and powder on the second morning the British had got their guns planted within 100 yards of the palisade but the small balls they threw did little harm to such huge timber the whole expedition would have had to retire had not a heavier gun come up this threw shot 32 pounds in weight and after 26 of these had struck the same place a breach was seen of a yard or two in width Colonel Despac ordered 200 men with ropes and hatchets and ladders to be ready for an assault at daybreak in the still dawn of a wintery morning the bugles rang out and the brave fellows gathered for the deadly duty they rushed at the breach and for 10 minutes a wild scene ensued the place was very narrow and it was blocked by resolute mares who shot down exactly half of the attacking party many of the soldiers forced their way through but only to find a second and then a third palisade in front of them then they returned losing men as they fled and the whole British force fell back a little way into the forest that night the groans and cries of the wounded lying just outside the power were mingled with the wild shouts of the war dance within two days later the mares hoisted a flag of truce and offered to let the white men carry off the dead and wounded 34 bodies lay at the fatal breach and 66 men were found to have been wounded a week later another load of cannonballs for the heavy gun was brought up and the palisades were further broken down a second assault would have been made but during the night the mares tied up their dogs and quietly dropping over the palisades at the rear of the power got far away into the forest before their retreat was known for the howling of the dogs all night within the power kept the officers from suspecting that the mares were escaping the british destroyed the palisades and carried off the stores of potatoes and other provisions which they found inside eight governor gray fitzroy was preparing to chase hecke and kawiti into their fastnesses when he was recalled the english government thought he had not acted wisely in some ways and they blamed him for disobeying their instructions they had more faith in that young officer george gray who after exploring in western australia was now the governor of south australia he arrived in november 1845 to take charge of new zealand and at once went to kororarica where he found 700 soldiers waiting for orders but he did not wish for fighting if it could be avoided he sent out a proclamation that mares who wished peace were to send in their submission by a certain day if they did he would see that the treaty of waitangi was kept and that justice was done to them hone hecke sent two letters but neither of them were satisfactory and as more than a year passed without any signs of his submitting colonel despas was directed to go after him hecke was at a park or ikorangi but kawiti had 500 mares at a nearer park called rua pe capica nine rua pe capica despas took his men 16 miles in boats up a river then nine miles through the forest and on the 31st of december he had 1173 soldiers with 450 friendly natives in a camp 800 yards from the park it was like the other parks but bigger and stronger for behind the palisades there were earthen walls into which cannon balls would only plunge without doing any harm three heavy guns however were mounted and when the mares sent up their flag the first shot was so well aimed as to bring its flag staff down amid the ringing cheers of the white men all new year's day was spent in pouring in cannon balls by the hundred but they did little harm next day the mares made a sally but were driven back with the bayonet meantime hecke came in one night with men to help his friend and heavy firing on both sides was kept up for a week after which two small breaches appeared near one of the corners of the palisades the next day was sunday which the mares thought would be observed as a day of rest but the soldiers creeping cautiously up pushed their way through the breaches a number of the mares ran to arms and fired a volley or two but before the main body could do anything several hundred soldiers were in the place a stout fight took place during which 13 white men were killed the mares now no longer undercover were no match for the soldiers and they fled leaving behind them all the provisions that were to have kept them for a whole season this discouraged them and hecke and kawiti saw their men scatter out and join themselves to the quieter tribes for the sake of food they therefore wrote to gray asking peace and promising to give no further trouble gray agreed but left 200 soldiers at cora rarica in order to keep the mares of the district in check 10 raparaja during the 18 months while hecke's war was going on troubles had been brewing at wellington where raparaja and rangaheta kept up an agitation the latter declared his enmity he plundered and sometimes killed the settlers and when soldiers were sent round to keep him in order he surprised and killed some of them but raparaja pretended to be friendly though the governor well knew he was the ringleader in the mistyou gray quietly sent a ship which by night landed 130 soldiers just in front of raparaja's house on the shore they seized him sleeping in bed and he was carried round to Auckland where for some months he was kept to prisoner though allowed to go about rangaheta fled into the wildly wooded mountain ranges of the interior once or twice he made a stand but was driven from his rocky positions with the slaughter of men on both sides at last he and his followers scattered out as fugitives into into lonely and savage regions into which they could not be followed thinking that good roads would do much to keep the country quiet gray offered half a crown a day to mares who would work at making roads quite a crowd gathered to the task and for a while white men and mares toiled happily together making good carriage roads into the heart of the country but at wanganui in may 1847 land disputes roused a tribe to bloodshed they killed a white woman and her four little children they attacked the town and when the inhabitants withdrew to a stockade they had made a fight took place which lasted for five hours after which the mares burnt the town and retreated carrying off all the cattle two months later governor gray reached wanganui with 500 men he chased the mares up the valley and fought them gaining a decisive victory over them with the loss of two white men killed he gave them no rest till the chief supplied for peace and early in the next year a meeting was held and the principal chiefs of the district promised to obey the queen's laws the war had lasted five years had cost a million pounds and the lives of 85 white men beside those of perhaps a hundred mares the english government withdrew the larger part of the soldiers from new zealand but the colonists to make themselves safe enrolled a body they called the new zealand fensibles they were all old soldiers who had retired from the british army and who were offered little farms and a small payment 500 came out from england on these terms and were placed in four settlements around Auckland for the protection of that town they were really farmers who were paid to be ready to fight if needs should arise with their wives and children they made a population of 2000 souls in this same year Rapparaha was allowed to go home he was surprised at the permission and grateful for it but he was an old man and died in the following year in 1850 Hone Heike died but ranger Hater lingered on till 1856 giving no further trouble governor gray dealt fairly with the mares he paid them for their lands he hung such white men as murdered them he set up schools to educate their children and distributed plows and carts harrows and horses and even mills so that they might grow and prepare for themselves better and more abundant food than they had ever known before end of section 27 section 28 of history of australia and new zealand from 1696 to 1890 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by jennifer painter history of australia and new zealand from 1696 to 1890 by alexander and george southerland section 28 new zealand 1843 to 1890 one a targo meantime the new zealand company had not been idle and e.g wakefields busy brain was filled with fresh schemes in 1849 an association had been formed at glasgo in connection with the free church of scotland to send scottish families out to new zealand not knowing anything of the country the new association asked the help of the new zealand company which was readily given as the new settlers proposed to buy land from the company in 1844 an exploring party was sent out and after some inquiry chose a place on the east coast of the south island called a targo with the consent of the governor 400 000 acres where they are bought from the natives and it seemed as if a new colony would soon be formed but the news of the wire aisle massacre and the unsettled state of the natives frightened intending settlers for a time it was not till november 1847 that the john wickliffe and the philip lang sailed from grenwick with the first company of settlers they reached their new home in march 1848 under the guidance of captain carville an old soldier who had been chosen as leader of the new settlement at the head of a fine harbor which they called port charmers they laid the foundations of a town to which they gave the patriotic name of dunedin gaelic for edinburgh it was in a fine district troubled by few natives and it steadily grew less than a year later it had 745 inhabitants who could boast of a good jetty and a newspaper the life of pioneers cannot be very easy but these were of the right sort and prospered and more would have joined them but for two circumstances first came the news of the rich gold discoveries in california and the most adventurous spirits hurried with them not only did this keep settlers from coming to new zealand but indeed a thousand of those she possessed left her shores for the gold fields then in this same year 1848 a violent earthquake took place which knocked down 15 000 pounds worth of buildings in wellington and killed a man with his two children two canterbury yet these unlucky accidents only delayed the progress of the colony by a year or two and in the year 1850 a new settlement was formed seven years before this wakefield had conceived the idea of a settlement in connection with the church of england a number of leading men took up the notion and among them was the famous archbishop watley an association was formed which bought 20 000 acres of the new zealand company's land to be selected later on the settlers paid a high price for this land but the greater part of the money so received was to be used for their own benefit either in bringing out fresh settlers or in building churches and schools a bishop and school masters were to go out a nobleman and other men of wealth bought land and prepared to take stock and servants out to the fine free lands of the south wakefield had enlisted in the new scheme a gentleman named john robert godley who became very ardent and under his direction three ships were filled with 600 settlers and their property and left england on their long voyage to the antipodes they reached their destination the east coast of the south island on the 16th of december 1850 and gladly felt the soil of a lovely land under their feet in their enthusiasm they sang the national anthem and scattered out to view their new homes a higher and rugged hill prevented their seeing inland till they climbed to its brow and then they perceived long plains of fertile soil watered by numerous streams of bright and rapid water they resolved to found their city on the plains making only a port upon the seashore governor gray and his wife came over from wellington to welcome them and they found that much had been done to make them comfortable large sheds had been put up in which they could find shelter till they should build their own homes a pretty spot by a river named the avon was chosen for the town which was laid out in a square and a church and schoolroom were built among the first directions in keeping with the religious fervour that lay at the basis of the whole undertaking the town was called crust church while the name of littleton was given to the seaport a road being made between the two and over the hill during the next year 2600 settlers arrived some of these were young men of birth and fortune who brought with them everything needed to transplant new zealand the luxuries of england a large proportion of the settlers were laboring men of a superior class who were brought out as servants at the expense of the wealthy settlers there was a good deal of disappointment many of the laborers crossed over to australia where the gold discoveries offered every man a chance of fortune and where wages were very high the wealthiest people therefore had to do their own work and few of them liked it the result was that many left the settlement and never came back to it but from australia came relief for some of the squatters who had been dislodged by the inroad of diggers to victoria hearing of the great grassy plains of canterbury with never a tree to be cleared from the natural pastureage crossed with flocks of sheep and bought land in the new settlement in 1853 canterbury had 5000 people it produced 40 000 pounds worth of wool a year and 70 vessels reached its seaport for a place in its third year such progress was wonderful three new zealand prosperous the natives being at peace and the price of land being reduced settlers streamed steadily into new zealand in 1853 there were 31 000 white people in the colony and they had bought from the natives 24 million acres of land they had a million of sheep and their exports were over 300 000 pounds in value the government was quite solvent again having a revenue of 140 000 pounds a year a very large number of farms were by this time in full work those in the north island being chiefly used for crops those in the south island cheaply per sheep but the new zealand company had disappeared in 1850 it was a quarter of a million pounds in debt and it was wound up leaving its shareholders with heavy losses an important event in the history of new zealand occurred on the 30th of june 1852 when the english parliament gave the colony power to make its own laws and manage its own affairs practically without interference from london a bill was passed providing that there should be six provinces each with its own provincial council consisting of not less than nine persons to be chosen to manage local affairs there was also to be the general assembly consisting of a legislative council appointed by the governor and a house of representatives consisting of 40 members to be chosen by the colonists the governor who is now of sir george gray did much to bring these new arrangements into force and to adapt them to the needs of the settlers having ruled well for eight years and brought the colony into a prosperous condition and being required to set in order the affairs of cape colony he left new zealand on the last day of 1853 much regretted by the mares and also by the majority of the colonists colonel winard acted as governor for the time being and summoned the first parliament of new zealand to meet in may 1854 he had much difficulty in getting the system of cabinets of responsible ministers to work smoothly the colonists from different provinces had interests which lay in opposite directions and political matters did not move easily he was glad when the new governor colonel gore brown arrived in september 1855 at that time new zealand had 45 000 white settlers in it and the discovery next year of rich gold fields in otago attracted many more and gave a great impetus to dunedin everything promised a splendid future when again the mares became troublesome for the king movement the wikato tribe had always been averse to the selling of their land they said truly enough that the money the white men gave for it was soon spent but the land was gone forever and the settlers were fencing in 40 000 additional acres every year they called a meeting on the banks of lake taupo to discuss the question a large number of chiefs were present and they agreed to form a land league all members of which undertook to sell no more land to white men at this time also a new project was formed the mares felt their weakness while divided up into so many tribes union would make them strong they resolved to select one chief to be king of all the mares and for that purpose they chose the redoubted teguero werro who hoisted the maori flag but he was old and inclined to die in peace and dying soon afterwards was succeeded by his son a young man of no ability many of the mares held a loop from these leaves they were of tribes hostile to the wikatos or else they were glad to get the white man's money and felt that they had still plenty of land for their own use but in the heart of the north island some 4000 or 5000 maori warriors nursed a wild project of driving the english out of the country they gathered muskets and powder they strengthened their powers and filled them with potatoes and yams governor brown took no steps to check them and suffered several thousand muskets to be bought from english ships along the coasts five taranaki war meantime a quarrel had been going forward which gave the mares a protest for fighting in 1859 governor brown had visited taranaki and announced that if any of the natives had land to sell he was ready to buy it a maori offered him 600 acres proving he that he was the owner of the land the governor gave him 200 plans for it but the chief of the tribe to which this maori belonged was one of the land league and refused to let the land be sold the governor after inquiry came to the conclusion that as the rightful owner of the land was willing to sell it no one else had a claim to interfere he sent surveyors up to measure the land they were stopped by the chief the governor sent some soldiers to protect the surveyors the whole of the taranaki mares rose in arms and swept the few soldiers down to the coast then they ravaged the whole district burning houses crops and fences and all the settlers of taranaki crowded for defense into the town of new pymuth most of them were ruined and many of them left for other colonies governor brown now sent round from Auckland all the soldiers he had but in accordance with their agreement the wikato tribes sent warriors to assist the taranaki tribe their maori king having no great influence these were placed under the command of te waha rar a maori chief of much skill and popularity many skirmishes took place in which the natives through their quickness and subtle plans inflicted more injury than they received but general pratt having arrived from sydney with fresh soldiers and prepared to sap the parts and blow them up the maoris became afraid and te waha rar proposed that peace should be made which was done in may 1861 six second maori war governor brown then called upon the wikato tribes who were then in arms to make submission and take the oath of obedience to the queen's laws very few did so and when seduncan cameron arrived to take the chief command with more troops and big guns he stated that he would invade the wikato territory and punish those tribes for their disobedience but then came news that the english government being dissatisfied with the way in which matters were drifting into war was going to send back sir george gray he arrived in september 1861 to take the place of colonel brown and after a month or two summoned a great meeting of the wikatos to hear him speak they gathered and discussed the land question gray said that those who did not wish to sell their land could keep it by the treaty of waitangi but that no one must hinder another man from selling what was his own the land for which governor brown had given 200 pounds at taranaki was still in the occupation of armed maoris and it must be given up gray reasoned with them but they were obstinate bishop selwyn went among them and exhorted them to peace but made no impression meanwhile general cameron set his men at work to make roads and during the year and a half while the governor was trying to bring the maoris to reason he was making good military highways throughout the north island in october 1862 the maoris held another great meeting among themselves to discuss their position they had grown confident and thought that the governor's mildness arose from weakness they resolved to fight the governor sent soldiers to take possession of the land of taranaki te waha roa sent word to the taranaki maoris to begin shooting and he would soon be with them he was as good as his word and laid a trap for a body of english soldiers and killed ten of them the waikato sent an embassy to all the other tribes urging them to join and drive the white men out of the country te waha roa was chosen to command in a grand attack at Auckland and for that purpose the maoris in two columns moved stealthily through the forest down the waikato valley towards the town threatening to massacre every white man in it but general cameron was there in time to meet them they fell back to a line of rifle pits they had formed and from that shelter did much damage to the british troops but at last the maoris were dislodged and chased with bayonets up the waikato losing 50 of their men they had stronger entrenchments farther up where a thousand men were encamped with women to cook for them and to make cartridges so strongly where they posted that cameron waited for four months whilst guns and supplies were being brought up along the roads which were now good and well made by getting round to the side of their camp and behind it he made it necessary for them to fall back again which they did seven rangariri they now made themselves very secure at a place called rangariri where a narrow road was left between the waikato river and a boggy lake this space they had blocked with a fence of thick trees 20 feet high and with two ditches running across the whole length in the midst of this strong line they had set up a readout a sort of square fortress from the walls of which they could fire down upon the attackers in any direction about 500 maoris well armed took up their position in this stronghold cameron advanced against them with 770 men and two guns each throwing shot of 40 pounds weight at the same time four gunboats with 500 soldiers were sent up the river to take the Maori position in flank at half past four on a july morning the british bugles sounded the attack and the fight lasted until the darkness of night put an end to it during that fierce day the british charged again and again to be met by a murderous fire from behind the palisades and from the walls of the readout 41 soldiers had been killed and 91 wounded the line of palisades had been captured but the maoris had all gathered safely within the readout during the night the troops were quartered all round so as to prevent them from escaping and a trench was cut to lead to a mine under the readout so that it could be blown up with gunpowder in the morning the maoris saw this project and could not prevent it in the early dawn after a night spent in war dances and hideous yelling some of them burst out by the side towards the lake and rushed past or jumped over the soldiers who were resting there a heavy fire poured into them from their rear killed a great many of them seeing this a large party of the maoris and among them tewa haroa and the maori king stayed in the readout but they knew that they were trapped and next day they surrendered in all 183 men with a few women 60 or 70 of the maoris had been killed but several hundreds escaped eight or a cow meantime general carry who was next in command to general Cameron had been chasing another large body of the Waikato tribe far up the river more than halfway to its source in Lake Taoko it was a wild and mountainous district and the maoris were sheltered at or a cow a par in a very strong position carry spent three days in running a mine under the walls while his guns and mortars kept up a perfect storm of shot and shell then he offered to accept their surrender they refused to give in he begged them at least to let the women and children go and they would be allowed to pass out unhurt they said that men and women would fight forever and ever yet when the mines began to burst and the guns poured in redoubled showers of death they found that they could hold the place no longer they formed a column and made a sudden rush to escape so quick were they and so favorable the ground that they would have escaped if the british had not had a body of 300 or 400 cavalry who rode after them and sabered all who would not surrender about 200 were killed and although several hundreds escaped yet they were so dispersed that they made no further stand they left their paths and though a series of skirmishes took place yet the Waikato rebellion was ended and Cameron had only to leave a sufficient number of military settlers along the Waikato Valley to make certain that peace and order would be maintained end of section 28 section 29 of history of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Jennifer Painter history of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 by Alexander and George Sutherland section 29 nine the gate par there was a tribe at Taranga on the Bay of Plenty with whom Governor Gray was displeased for they had sent men guns and food to help the Waikatos and they showed a warlike disposition he demanded their submission and they refused it he then sent General Cameron with 1,500 soldiers to deal with them this force found the Taranga tribe prepared to fight in a strong place called the gate par built on a ridge with a swamp of each side they had 500 men in it all well armed Cameron had three heavy guns placed in position and during the night 700 soldiers passed round one of the swamps to get at the rear of the mares in the morning a terrific fire was opened and for two hours the place was swept with shot and shell but the mares had dug underground shelters for themselves and were little injured after that the guns were used to break a hole in the palisades and at four o'clock there was a sufficient breach to admit an attacking party 300 men were chosen and put in front of the place a rocket was sent up as a signal and the attacking party dashed at the breach as they entered it not a Maori could be seen but puffs of smoke all along the earthen bank showed where they were concealed the assailants were a dense crowd on whom every shot told all the officers were killed more men kept crowding in only to drop before the murderous fire suddenly a panic sees the men a rush was made to get out of the breach again and while the soldiers were running away volley after volley was fired into the crowd general Cameron did not renew the attack for evening was falling the came on a dark wet night and although surrounded on all hands the mares contrived to slip gently past the centuries leaving some wounded men behind them 10 Te Ranga the mares fell back a few miles and chose a strong position at Te Ranga for a new power they had only dug the ditches and made some rifle pits when the British were upon them the troops carried the position with a rush the mares standing up against the bayonets with the coolest courage a hand to hand fight forced the natives out of the ditches and then they turned and fled the horse soldiers pursued and killed many altogether 123 of the mares were killed and a large number captured while the English lost 10 men killed 11 wear a rower after this action though skirmishes were frequent the mares made no determined stand and on the English side affairs were carried on in a slow fashion general Cameron had under him 10,000 regular soldiers and nearly 10,000 colonial volunteers he had nearly a dozen vessels of different sorts either on the coasts or up the river and he had an abundance of heavy guns there arose quarrels between him and the governor who thought that with less than 1000 mares under arms more progress ought to have been made general Cameron resigned and departed in the middle of 1865 the governor wished him before he went to attack a park called where a rower but the general said he required 2000 more men to do it and refused yet Sir George Gray taking himself the commander of the colonial forces captured the fort without losing a man the bulk of the mares escaped and kept up for a time a guerrilla warfare in forests and on mountain sides but at last the Taranga tribes or the miserable remnant that was left surrendered to the governor Gray in admiration of their generous and often noble conduct and their straightforward mode of fighting allowed all the prisoners to go free and though he punished them by confiscating a quarter of their land he did his best to settle them on the other three fourths in peace and with such advantages as British help could secure them so there came quietness around the Bay of Plenty 12 the Howe Howe religion meantime new trouble was brewing in the Taranaki district there the soldiers were skirmishing with the mares but had them well in control when a pair of mad or crafty native priests set the tribes in wild commotion by declaring that the angel Gabriel had told them in a vision that at the end of the year 1864 all white men would be driven out of New Zealand that he himself would defend the mares and that the Virgin Mary would always be with them that the religion of the white men was false and that legions of angels would come and teach the mares a better religion in the meantime all good mares who shouted the word Howe Howe as they went into battle would be victorious and angels would protect their lives a body of these fanatics deeply impressed with the belief in these and many other follies tried their fortunes against the soldiers at Taranaki but with small success 40 of them in spite of shouting their Howe Howe fell before the muskets and guns of the white men then 300 of them made an effort in another direction and moving down the river Wanganui threatened the little town at its mouth Wanganui was defended by 300 soldiers but all the out settlers up the valley were leaving their farms and hurrying in for shelter when 300 men of the Wanganui tribe who liked the white men and were friendly with them offered to fight the Howe House the challenge was accepted and about 200 of the fanatics landed on a little island called Muchoa in the middle of the river though surrounded by a pretty margin of white pebbles it was covered with ferns and thick scrub through this at daybreak the combatants crept towards each other the Howe House gesticulating and making queer sounds at last they fell to work and volley after volley was discharged at only 10 yards distance the friendly natives having seen three of their chiefs call turned and fled many had plunged into the river when one of their chiefs made a stand at the end of the island and gathering 20 men around him poured in a volley and killed the Howe Howe leader this surprised the fanatics and they hesitated then a second volley and a charge routed them back came the friendly Māris who had fled and chased their enemies into the stream wherein a heavy slaughter took place about 70 of the Howe House was slain the 12 who fell on the friendly side were buried in Wanganui with military honors and a handsome monument now marks the place where their bones rest 13 conclusion of Māori wars in 1866 general chute came to take command of the troops in place of general Cameron a vigorous campaign crushed the Howe House after much skirmishing in different parts of the Wellington district but the chief trouble arose from another source the 183 prisoners taken at Rangareeri together with some others taken afterwards were detained on board a halt near Auckland so George Gray wished to deal in a kindly fashion with them and proposed to release them if they gave their word not to give further trouble the ministers of his cabinet were against this proposal but agreed that he should send them to an island near Auckland to live there without any guards they gave their promise but broke it and all but four escaped Tewa Haroa being among them they chose the top of a circular hill 35 miles from Auckland and there fortified themselves in a par called Ōmaha but they did no harm to anyone and as they soon quietly dispersed they were not meddled with a wild outburst of howe howe fanaticism on the east coast of the Bay of Plenty stirred up the fires of discord again when a worthy old church of England missionary named Mr. Volkner was seized and after some savage rites had been performed was hanged on a willow tree as a victim more fighting followed in which a large share was taken by a Maori chief named Ropata who clad in European uniform and with the title of major of Ropata fought stoutly against the Howe House and captured several cars 14 Te Kuti when the last of these cars was captured an English officer declared that one of the friendly chiefs named Te Kuti was playing false and acting as a spy thinking to do as Governor Gray had done with Ropata this officer seized the chief who without trial of any sort was sent off to the Chatham Islands a lonely group 300 miles away which New Zealand was now using as a penal establishment for prisoners this conduct was quite unfair as Te Kuti so far as can now be known was not a spy and was friendly to the English nearly 300 Marys were on the Chatham Islands most of them Howe Howe prisoners they were told that if they behaved well they would be allowed to return in two years when two years were past and no signs of their liberation appeared Te Kuti planned a bold escape an armed schooner the rifleman having come in with provisions the Marys suddenly overpowered the 12 soldiers who formed their guard and seized the vessel one soldier was killed whilst fighting but all the rest were treated gently the whole of the Marys went on board and then the crew were told that unless they agreed to sail the vessel back to New Zealand they would all be killed day and night Marys guards patrolled the deck during the voyage and one of them with loaded gun and drawn sword always stood over the helmsman and compelled him to steer them home they reached the shores of New Zealand a little north of Hawke Bay and landed taking with them all the provisions out of the vessel but treating the crew in a kindly way a ship was sent round with soldiers who attacked the runaways but they were too few and too hastily prepared so that Te Kuti easily defeated them three times was he attacked by different bodies of troops and three times did he drive off his assailants cutting a path for himself through the forests he forced his way a hundred miles inland to a place of security but his people had no farms and no means of raising food in these wild mountain regions and the provisions they had taken from the rifleman were used in a few months 15 poverty bay massacre then roused to madness by hunger of which some of them had died they crept cautiously back to the poverty bay district falling at night upon the little village they slaughtered men women and children as well as all the quiet marys they could catch the dawn woke coldly on a silent village wherein 50 or 60 bodies lay gashed and mangled in their beds or at their doors or upon their garden paths an old man and a boy escaped by hiding after taking all the provisions out of the place Te Kuti set fire to the houses and retreated to the hills where on the top of a peak 2,000 feet high he had made a power called Ngata Pa which was defended on every side by precipices and deep gorges there was only one narrow approach and that had been fortified with immense care the colonial troops under Colonel Whitmore and bodies of friendly marys under Ropata attacked him here the work was very difficult for after climbing those precipitous hills there were two palisades to be carried one seven feet high and the other 12 but science prevailed after great exertions and appalling dangers the place was captured by Ropata who climbed the cliffs and gained a corner of the palisades killing a great number of Te Kuti's men in the action during the night the rest escaped from the power sliding from the cliffs by means of ropes but in the morning they were chased and for two days the fugitives were brought back to the power in twos and threes Ropata took it for granted that they were all concerned in the massacre at poverty bay each of the captives as he arrived was stripped taken to the edge of the cliff shot dead and his body thrown over about 120 with us slaughtered but Te Kuti himself escaped and for the next two years he lived the life of a hunted animal chased through the gloomy forests by the relentless Ropata he fought many fights his 20 how-how followers were often near to death from starvation but at length wearied out he threw himself on the mercy of the white men was pardoned sunk into obscurity and died in peace war was not really at an end till 1871 as up to that date occasional skirmishes took place but there would never was any fear of a general rising of the marries after 1866 16 progress of New Zealand these wars were confined to the North Island Otago Canterbury and Nelson felt them only by way of increased taxes otherwise they were left in peace to pursue their quiet progress they multiplied their population sixfold they opened up the country with good roads a railway was cut through the mountain to join Christchurch with its seaport Littleton by a tunnel half a mile long a similar but easier railway was made to join Dunleaden to porch armours gold was found in various parts especially in Otago and on the west coast around Hokitika for a time New Zealand sent out gold every year to the value of two and a half million pounds and this lucrative pursuit brought thousands of stout settlers to her shores in 1864 the New Zealand parliament chose Wellington to be the capital of the colony as being more central than Auckland in 1868 an act was passed to abolish the provinces and to make New Zealand more completely a united colony a great change began in this same year when the first Maori chief was elected to be a member of the New Zealand parliament before long there were six marries seated there two of them being in the upper house these honorable concessions together with a fairer treatment in regard to their land did much to show the marries that their lives and liberties were respected by the white men they had lost much land but what was left was now of more use to them than the whole had formerly been their lives and their property were now safer than ever and they learned that to live as peaceful subjects of Queen Victoria was the happiest course they could follow the government built schools for them and sent teachers it built churches for them and cared for them in many ways thus they became well satisfied even if they sometimes remembered with regret the freer life of the olden times but Sir George Gray who was the warm friend of the Maori was no longer governor he had finished his work and his term of office had expired Sir George Bowen came out to take his place Gray after a trip to England returned to take up his residence in New Zealand and a few years later allowed himself to be elected a member of its parliament subsequently he became its prime minister sinking his own personal pride in his desire to do good to the country from 1870 to 1877 the affairs of the country were chiefly directed by ministries in which Sir Julius Vogel was the principal figure he started and carried out a bold policy of borrowing and spending the money so obtained in bringing out fresh settlers and in opening up the land by railways this plan plunged the colony deeply into debt but it changed the look of the place and although it had its dangers and its drawbacks it has done a great deal for the colony at first the natives refused to let the railways pass through their districts but in 1872 a great meeting of chiefs agreed that it would be good for all to have the country opened up some maintained a dull hostility till 1881 but all the same the railways were made until at length 2000 miles were open for traffic between 1856 and 1880 19 different ministries managed the affairs of New Zealand one after the other the same prime minister however presiding over different ministries the most notable of these have been Sir William Fox Edward W Stafford Major Atkinson and Sir Julius Vogel in 1880 the colony had increased to 500 000 white people owning 12 million sheep and exporting nearly six million pounds worth of goods the mares were 44 000 but while the whites were rapidly increasing the mares were somewhat decreasing they had 112 000 sheep and nearly 50 000 cattle with about 100 000 pigs the heavy expenditure of the borrowing years from 1870 to 1881 was followed by a time of depression from 1880 to 1890 during which Sir Robert Stout and Major Atkinson were prime ministers but at the end of that period the colony began rapidly to recover its population approached 750 000 with 42 000 mares its sheep were nearly 20 million in number and its farms produced 20 million bushels of wheat and oats it sent four million pounds worth of wool to England and about one million pounds worth of frozen meat the general history of the last 20 years may be summed up as consisting of immense progress in all material and social interests End of section 29 End of history of Australia and New Zealand from 1696 to 1890 by Alexander and George Sutherland