Te Rauparaha 1843

12/05/2009 Steve Austin

Te Rauparaha's Account of the Wairau Affray: 1 July 1843


Te Rauparaha's account of the Wairau Affray was given on 1 July 1843 before the Commissioner William Spain. The Wairau Affray, as it has become known, resulted in the deaths of twenty-two Europeans, including Arthur Wakefield and Henry Thompson. Four Maori are known to have died,Te Rongo, Te Ahuta, Hopa, and Te Whiunui.

"Mr Spain you have heard the Pakeha's story - not mine. Listen I will tell you how it all began ...

Rangihaeata persisted in going to Wairau, which we did. We told the surveyors not to work any more and go away; that we would not allow them to do anything more till we were paid for our land but they took no notice of us.

We went again to their stations and told them to take their things out of the house. They would not - but we did, and put them in their boat, burnt the house and took the white people to the entrance of the river and left them at the Pa."

Frederick Tuckett, who was later to survive the tragedy, had predicted in 1841 that the Nelson Settlement scheme did not have access to the required 221,100 acres. Te Rauparaha had protested that the New Zealand Company had not purchased the Wairau on 18 November 1839. However the Wairau Plains proved to be the most attractive solution to address the predicament of the New Zealand Company.

In March 1843, Arthur Wakefield wrote to William Wakefield reporting that Te Rauparaha "claimed the Wairau as unsold." In May, Arthur Wakefield wrote to the acting Governor Shortland, accusing Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata of being "disturbers of the peace." He went on to order the survey of the Wairau, despite William Spain's assurance that he would hear the Wairau claims in the immediate future. Te Rauparaha had faith in Spain's impartiality, and petitioned him to hear his claim on 12 May 1843. Spain felt unable to leave the hearing of the Wellington claims to go to the Wairau.

Te Rauparaha went on to explain:

"We went up to the river to a creek Tua Marina and were there clearing the land for potatoes when I saw the Victoria laying off the mouth of the Wairau. Next morning when we had done eating some of my men said there were Pakeha coming towards us. We assembled men, women, and children on the bank of the river to see and hear what the Pakehas wanted. They all got on the brow of a fern hill and stood.

Then part of them came to the bank of the river and called for a canoe which was given them. Mr Thompson, Capt.Wakefield, Capt. England, Mr Cotterill, Mr Tuckett, Brook the interpreter, the Constable and others came over to us.

I told him [Thompson] I burnt nothing of theirs; it was my own; the grass and wood that grew on my land! And I would not go with him. It would be good to talk of the matter there - what odds if it did occupy two or three days - I would let them have the land when they paid me for it.

He [Thompson] would not listen to me he turned away to the constable and got handcuffs, and then came to me taking me by the hand. When I found what he wanted I snatched my hand away from his. He got very angry and said if I did not come he would fire on us. I said don't be foolish we don't want to fight" ...

Puaha (Rawiri) rose with a testament in his hand saying to the Pakehas: "Don't fire on us; we are Christians and do not want to fight".

Te Rongo, Te Rangihaeata's wife was the first to die, according to Maori accounts. Some of the special constables were then killed, and the rest of the Pakeha tried to escape.

Te Rauparaha went on to state:

"When the Pakehas got to the top of the hill they waved a white handkerchief to make peace. I could not get up the hill fast - the young men ran before me, shooting and cutting down Pakehas as they ran away. I called to them to spare the gentlemen, but Rangihaeata coming up behind me at the time said "why save them - they have shot your daughter." When I heard that my voice failed me. Rangihaeata got up the hill and all the Pakehas were killed."

Te Rangihaeata's sense of revenge was fuelled by the lack of justice after the rape and murder, committed by the whaler Dick Cook, of Te Rangihaeata's close relative Rangiawa Kuika, and her child.

For Te Rangihaeata the utu was not just retribution for losing his wife, and others that day, but for accumulated evil they suffered due to the Crown, and the New Zealand Company.

 

 

 

About Steve

Steve joined the Museum in 2006 to lead the Museum into its next phase of development. Steve graduated in Art History, Music and History. He has a first class honors degree in History.

 

After lecturing at Christchurch College of Education for ten years, Steve worked in Wellington at the City Gallery before moving to The Dowse, and later the Nelson Provincial Museum.

 

Steve is currently working on two books. The first is on early Chinese settlers in New Zealand. His other project is on New Zealand photographer Thelma Kent, who was active in the 1930s.