A REMINISCANCE OF MAORIDOM IN THE MIDDLE ISLAND.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1153, 9 April 1872, Page 2

A REMINISCANCE OF MAORIDOM IN THE MIDDLE ISLAND.

In a recent number we quoted atf article •from a Southern paper in /rela^o^j the traditions of the Maoris at Koputai, now known as Port' Chalmersl' Since its appearance Mr Rowland . Davis, one of the oldest' settlers in the Colony, has' contributed to the Hbkitfta calls 'a correct version of the' closing sceties of the horrible massacre and cannibalism, which nearly exierminateel; the •f hole of this natives ' fioin /.Gloudy Bayj tjook's Straits, to Tairoa ; Head, , at, the entrance to (Port Chalmers. The following; is his narrative :— "ln 1826, TePehiKupe, the principal' chief - in ! the ' neighborhood of Cook's Straits, obtained a passage in a 'homeward-bound : vessel ; t6 England, to procure 'fire-arms'. He left ins 'son Te ; Bikb 0 ,Te Rangi (Lightning of tifeaven), then a very young man, to take his'place among his people until his return. Te Pehi returned home without obtaining a large supply of fire-arms; but, from the

kindness he received in England, he dei termined to adopt English customs, protect the pakeha. Soon after his return,; he proceeded in great state to the old Kaiapoi Pah, on the Forty-five-mile Beach, about fifteen miles from Ohrist-j church, in order to procure greenstone from the Ngabitau tribe; and while Te, Pehi and a few other chiefs were in the pah they were treacherously attacked, 1 and, after being killed, they were eateni Te Pehi's people for t the greater part escaped in their canoes. Rauperaha was nearly taken, but saved his life by swimming through the surf. On the return of. the expedition to the islands of Kapiti and Mana, in Cook's Straits, Rauperaha and Hiko made active preparations to avenge the murders of Te Pehi and the other chiefs; ; In 1830, they commenced most fear,ul slaughter of Maoris at Port Underwood, Cloudy Bay, aud Cook's Straits, and finished their horrible work at Tairoa Head. During the slaughter, Mairanui, the head chief at Kaikoura; and Motainui, with his hapu and followers; escaped to the West Coast of thin island. On the return of the avengers to Kapiti and Mana, they made an agreement with Captain Stewart, of the brig EKzabeth, to convey Rauperaha, flikb, and a large number of their fighting men to Kaikoura. The white men landed first to allay suspicion, and enticed Te Mairanui and his daughter on board the brig, where they were at once firmly secured., . Rauperaha and fflSkti accompanied by all their warriors, and also by the captain and officers of the brig, then went ashore, and massacred, or made captives of nearly the whole of.the population, to the number of about two thousand people; and the supercargo . of, the brig, boasted , on the rettirtf 6f the vessel of the number lie had slain. Two white men, who had been befriended , by Mairanui^ went on board the Elisabeth, and Captain Stewart advised Rauperaha and Hiko to kill them, to prevent them from giving information at Sydney ; but the chiefs refused, saying tb&t'they bad tab quarrel 1 with them, (and afterwards landed them safely at Kapiti. During the, time the, prisoners were oh board tne bht 'th'dy were killed, and cooked in the ship's coppers, for food for their Jbrutal; conquerors. Mairanui and his daughter were kept oh board nearly a month, at Kapiti, as. .nostages for the payment to the captain of the price agreed upon for his infamous conduct ; but as no payment^ was forthcoming, -Captain Stewart delivered them up to be torhired and eaten. The brig then sailed for Sydney. The representatives of the Southern tribes, headed by Tauhawaika (Bloody Jack), went to Sydney as a deputation^ to 1 ffie Government, accompanied by the Rev. Mr Marsden (the founder of the' first Dhutdh'Misaibn to the Colony, in 1814), in order to bring the murderer, Captein Stewart,, to ; justice. The affair was noshed up, and witnesses were sent out of tb£ way,and Stewart was acquitted, but was knocked overboard and drowned lcannot close this narrative of events without mentioning my authority for the above statements. Te Rauperaha, Te Hiko, and the principle livinp actors in the massacre, I was acquainted, with for a number of years. Tauhawaika, Tairoa, and Hiko gave me much more information than your space would allow. The evidence of the .Rev Mr W. Yates before » committee of the House of Commons, in 1836, and that of MrJ. B. Montifiore, before a committee of the House of Lords, will prove the, correctness of my statements: 'I may mention that fche mate of

the brig Elizabeth (a man named Taylor) re-visited the scenes rf his former murderous exploits in the yearlßs2. He had then been to the .Chatham Islands in charge of a schooner named the Triumph. He anchored in Pigeon Bay, and went by boat to Lyttelton, and having put tip at the Canterbury Hotel, was recognised by Captain Furgusbn, an old Sydney trader, whaiatonce challenged Taylor in my pre • sence as having, been, the first mate of th j Eb'zabeth. Taylor admitted the charge, bnt said that he had acted, under comjpulsion. , , ...- ,. ..,. ■ ,