NEW ZEALAND

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 80, 2 October 1933, Page 4

NEW ZEALAND

(By "Martingale.")

WHAT DARWIN SAW

GLAD TO LEAVE IT

THE BEAGLE VOYAGE

■December SO.—ln the afternoon wo stood out of the Bay of Islands on our course to Sydney. J. believe1 wo wert> all glad to leave Xew Zealand. It is not a pleasant place. . . The> greater part of the English are the very refuse of society^ .Neither is tho country itself attractive. I look back but to one. bright spot, and that is Waimate, with its Christian inhabitants. With these wbeds 'Churles Hubert Darwinj the.eminent scientist, and the propoiinder'. of the theory of natural selection, closed the brief resume of his impressions of New Zealand made nearly-a century-ago when on a voyage round the world in the brig Beagle* The Beaglo left Dcvonport od December 27,1831, and almost five years later, on October 2, 1836 she- returned to Jalmouth. The object of tho expedition, wrote Darwin, was to complete tho survey of Patagonia and Ticrra del Fuego, commenced in 182G, to survey tho shores of Chile,: Peru, and ;some islands in the Pacific, and to" carry a' chain of chronometrical measurements round the wurld. - Darwin's investigations and the story he wrote about them in. '' The Voyage of the Beagle" make brilliant reading, and the volume1 is of particular interest to New Zealanders in view of tho scientist's ' observations on this country and its inhabitants. Not that his remarks in this connection .were by any means enthusiastic, as can bo seen from the paragraph quoted above, but they are certainly deserving of note in view of the historical interest attaching to the'inA.an interest of which many'■■residents.in.',tho Dominion aro not aware. • • TAHITI AND NEW ZEALAND. Unfortunately, perhaps, tho Beaglo had made a visit [to Tahiti prior to calling at the Bay.of Islands, Darwin's enthusiasm for both Tahiti and tho Tahitians was very keen, and his subsequent remarks regarding the Maori are in strong contrast. On November, 26, 1835, the Beagle left Papeete,' or Papieto as Darwin spelt it. ■ "In i the-fevening, with a gentle- land-breeze, a course was steered for New Zealand," he wrote, "and as the sun set we had a farewell view of the mountains* of Tahiti—the island to which every voyager has offered up his tribute of admiration." Twonty-six days later New Zealand was reached. The Beagle anchored in the Bay of lalands, and Darwin announced his first impressions of this country as follows: "The surf ace- appears from a distance as if clothed with coarse pasture, but this in truth,is nothing but fern. An air of extreme quietness reigned over the whole district. . Only a single canoe, came alongside. This, and the aspect of tire whole scene, afforded a remarkable,and not very pleasing contrast with our joyful and boisterous welcome at Tahiti." Darwin" reported that, in 1835 there were between two' and three hundred Englishmen and' their families living in the vicinity .of. tho Bay of Islands. Ono settlement in;the bay was called Pahia> and :here' resided the missionaries. Of Pahia, Darwin wrote, that it hardly deserved the name of a village. There were no Native residents except servants and labourers. "Tho hovels of the Natives/ he continues, "aro so diminutive and paltry! that they can scarcely bo perceived from a distance." He found the country "vory impracticable.?' > ' All. tho' hills were covered thickly with tall fern,'"together with a low bush which grows like a cypress." He was snrprised to find that almost ©very hill which he ascended ;had been, at some former time, moro or less fortified. "These," ho" says, "are the pas, so frequently mentioned by Captain Cook under the name of 'hippah,' the difference of sound being owing to tho prefixed article." A DISAGREEABLE EXPRESSION. The naturalist then points out that the general introduction of firearms had changed tho whole system of Native warfare, and an exposed situation on the top of a hill had become worse than useless, the pas being, in consequence, then built on level ground. They were considered by the New Zealanders, he said, as very perfect means of defence. A- short interlude follows, telling the tale of 'Shongi," better known to history as Hongi who visited England in 1820. On the evening of December 22 Darwin paid a visit to "Kororadiki." "Looking at the New Zealander," he writes, "ono naturally compares him with. the Tahitian^ both belonging to the samd family of mankind, Tho comparison, , -however, tells heavily against' the New Zealander. He may, perhaps, be superior in energy, but in every other respect his. character is of a much lower order. One glance at their respective expressions brings conviction: to/the mind that one is a savage, the other a civilised man. . . . "No doubt, the'extraordinary manner in which tatooirig is here practised gives a disagreeable expression to their countenances.. The complicated, but sym-metrical-figures covering the whole face,; puzzle and mislead an unaccustomed eye: it is, moreover, probable that, the deep incisions, by destroying the play of the superficial muscles, give an air, of rigid inflexibility. But, besides this, there is a twinkling in the eye which cannot indicate anything but • cunning and ferocity. Their figures are tall and bulky; but- not cpmparable in elegance with those of working-classes in Tahiti. "But their, persons and houses are filthily dirty and offensive; the idea of washing either their bodies or their clothes never seems to enter their heads." Darwin then " proceeds to make some caustic remarks concerning the dress of tho Maoris. The practice of -wearing blankets, "generally black with dirt," appeared to him to be very inconvenient and awkward. From ■ Kororareka he proceeded to Waimate. The British resident, "Mr. Bushby," perhaps better recalled by j;he name of James Busby, took him part of the- way in a canoe. Darwin's report of what he saw is well worth reading in the original. It is much in the same strain as those parts already quoted, and there are further comparisons with Tahiti. After passing over "many miles of an uninhabited useless country," they at length reached Waimate. Here the acquaintance of the missionaries, Messrs. Williams, - Davies, and Clarke, was made. Darwin speaks enthusiastically of the houses of these gentlemen, surrounded by gardens "with every fruit and' vegetable which England produces." He saw a party of Natives playing cricket and noted the contrast between the dress of tho Native women at Waimate and those at Kororareka. Writing of a largo party of children at Mr. Williams's houso on Christmas Day, he says, "I never saw a nicer o* more merry group, and to think that this was in the centre of a land of cannibalism, murder, and all atrocious crimes!" The scientist 'notes in the closing portion of his description "the famous kauri pine," the timber of which was the most valuable production of the island. jKauii ;re_.sitt jyas being guld

at a penny a pound-to the Americans, but. its use was then, unknown., 'Few birds were seen by Darwin, mid ho was astonished to : iind that the only indigenous animal in the- country was a small rat. A leek had overrun whole districts, having been imported by a French vessel.

Whilst, in New Zealand he did not huar of any recent acts of cannibalism, and he considered it was probable that the moral state of the people would rapidly improve. The last place lie visited prior to his departure on December. 30,-1835, was Waipmio.

Considering the period he spent ashore —ton. days—and <he part of tho country lit saw, Darwin appears to have made up his mind rather completely about both. New Zealanders and New Zealand..