THE OPUNAKE GUN.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 178, 1 September 1909, Page 3

THE OPUNAKE GUN.

DEMOLITION OF INTERESTING RELIC. In connection with the hoodlums' act [ in bursting the gun ,at Opunake the i other day, the Ilawera Star's correspon- . dent wrote to his papeT:—The cannon . was a "mate" of "Dicky Barrett," which . I understand is preserved in the New , Plymouth Recreation Grounds. It was presented to t'lile town, of Opunake by Mr. John Ross, who found it many years ago near the scene of the Harriet wreck, ' on what is known, as the Harriet Ireudi. Mr. Ross has acquired quite a large 11 mount of information about his ''find," and states that the gun was used by the sailors of the Harriet, wno were attacked by the natives. He says that the barque Harriet, a whaling vessel of 245 tons, wais wrecked in Apv',l, 1834. The boat was commanded by Captain Guard (Jockey Guard), who had with him his wife and two children. When the vessel wot ashore nil were saved and camped on the beach. • A few days after the wreck a. number of nathes came along from Te Manu pa with the intention of plundering the vessel. At fust, it seems, they oftVed no violence to the crew, but ultimate y a dispute arose, , a jid it was seen tint the natives were becoming more hostile. Accordingly the whites took up a position on the top of a hill, and were fortunate to have the gun, together with a supply of ammunition. The natives attacked hotly, and. although a lar<re number of the attackers were killed, the pakehas suffered severely. Ultimately | tilie Maoris tried to rush the position, and m the melee whiVh followed Mrs. buard and her two children were captured. Captain Guard and eleven of the crew escaped and made their way northward to Moturoa. The captain then made up his m ind to go to Port Jackson, in order that he might get assistance iTi rescuing his wife from the clutcheß of her captors. Having laid his case before the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Richard Hourke, Guard was successful in persuading the authorities to act. Accordingly, H.M.S. Alligator was despatched to these islands, and o n October 31 Mrs. Guard and one of her children were rescued from the Waimate pa, where they had been taken. The other boy was recovered some days later. It was understood that a large Wmouait of gold had been brought ashore by the sailors of the Harriet . and many tales are told as to what ! became of it. One tradition is that the Maori children who were playing '• with the coins became so noisy that ' an old chief, ignorant of its value, determined to remove the cause of the trouble. Accordingly he took the boxes and hid them.

At various times many persons have searched for the treasure, and it was while thus engaged that Mr. Ross found the cannon which was destroyed on Saturday night. When the treasure-hunter noticed a part of the gun protruding from the sand he was not long in uncovering the rest. As the outlines became revealed he naturally thought he had found the ptait.' To use his own words: "I scratched away like mad with a piece of wood, but, although I uncovered a large space, all I found was one copper com." His disappointment may be imagined. Tradition says that when, the Maoris looted the vessel they had some strange experiences. The ship biscuits were looked upo n as useless pieces of wood, and were given to the children to use ns our children now use fiat stones—to skid them over the water. The flour gave trouble, and was the cause of much sneezing and coughing. The natives tried to eat it by the handful, and, inhaling the powdery stuff, were nearly] choked. However, when they tried the soap as un article of food their troubles liegan in earnest. It was evidently not intended to be eaten raw, so they "cooked it, but got no more satisfaction out of the frothy mass than they had out of the raw material.

A strange coincidence of dates in con-it-dtion with this matter is the fact that, on the last Sunday on August, 1834, the Alligator left Sydney with the party that was to rescue Mrs. Guard, while within a few hours of the last Sunday in August, 1909, the gun which played so important a part in the fight where the lady was' captured was blown to pieces by the foolish act of some thoughtless person.