CHAPTER IV
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CHAPTER IV.
Return to Russell--The Force increased by a few Artificers-- Anxiety of the Lieutenant-Governor to show his authority in detailing the Troops, and its bad effects--Removal of the principal part of the Force to Auckland on the Thames--The Troops employed as Builders under the Ordnance Barrack Department--High Wages obtained by the Men when they could escape from the Military Service--Report made to the Major-General--Land Sale--Purchase of Farms--Traits of Native Character--New Zealand made Independent of the Government of New South Wales--Military Officers excluded from succeeding to the Administration of the New Charter-- Death of Captain Hobson--Correspondence with Mr. Shortland on Military Force required at Tauranga, and measures taken--Nothing effected--Disputes with the Officer administering the Government--Native Pas or Forts--Native Tribes --Return to Auckland--Capture of a Piratical Vessel--Officers of the French Navy.
ON my return to the encampment where I left my detachment at Russell, I found that it had been increased by the addition of two subalterns and fifteen men from the regiment at Sydney. They were principally artificers, with an assistant-surgeon, an officer of Engineers, and a master of the works. They had brought with them a wooden barrack, but it was never entirely put up. Before this could be done the station was re-
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RELATIONS WITH THE FRENCH.
moved to Auckland, as a fitter place for the capital.
I found Captain Hobson greatly improved in health. He was now engaged in diplomatic disputes with the Captain of one of the French frigates, and who called himself Commander of the French Fleet employed in the South Seas. Not one of the officers employed about Government House, or the Governor himself, could understand French.
Bishop Pompelier, from the Propaganda Fede at Rome, a Frenchman by birth, generally accompanied the French captain in his visits to the Lieut.-Governor, where he officiated as a sort of interpreter, although I shrewdly suspect that the French captain understood English, if he did not speak it perfectly well. A large proportion of the French naval officers employed in the South Seas spoke English.
In our encampment, things did not advance exactly according to my wishes. I found the Commissariat officer too fond of pleasure to attend to his duty; and what was still worse he had taken it into his head that the boat I had ordered him to purchase for the public service was to be considered as his yacht. He was always away, and I never could get the boat for other purposes when it was wanted.
Finding that arguments were of no avail, I
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THE COMMISSARY.
ordered the soldiers who I had permitted to pull the boat, to rejoin their company, and intimated to the Commissary that he must provide himself with a native crew. I added that I would authorise the payment of a salary to these men, but not until the boat was put entirely under my control.
We now got on a little better, but the giddy-brained commissary shortly afterwards swallowed some oxalic acid, used for boot tops, instead of some medicine which had been sent to him, and for several days the mistake caused his life to be despaired of. He was a long time recovering, so much so that when the detachment was removed to Auckland, we were obliged to leave him behind.
The Lieut.-Governor would never allow the military authorities to select a site for future barracks. Notwithstanding printed instructions to the contrary, he assumed the initiative himself, or deputed it to his Surgeon-General, and persisted in the choice in spite of every remonstrance; consequently neither myself, or the officer of engineers is answerable for the position selected originally for military occupation. I say originally selected, for Governor Fitzroy was ultimately more reasonable, and adopted the sites we had recommended. At the time, we had only to make the best of the sites chosen for us, and accordingly commenced
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PROBABILITY OF WAR.
our structure. In the first instance I authorized the purchase of another and a larger boat to convey the necessary materials for the projected building. This was constructed of what is termed rustic work, or pieces of wood with the bark on, about six inches in diameter, and cut into lengths as required for the intervals between the doors, windows, &c. Between each layer it was proposed to stuff moss and mud to keep out the wind; and inside, the whole was to be lined with planking. It was in fact made up of the materials nearest at hand; but even in this undertaking we were not allowed to proceed without official obstacles
I had written to the Major-General to call his attention to the very superior naval force of France off the coast of New Zealand. In case of war between the two countries, which at that period was expected, I wished to ascertain what I was to do with the small force placed under my command, unprovided as we were with artillery. I was ordered, in the event of such a contingency, to retire into the interior, but not to abandon the country.
At this time I had no person to advise with excepting the officer of Engineers, Lieutenant Lugard, who had before served with me at Norfolk Island. From him I derived every assistance in our endeavours to combat the wayward proposals of the Local Government. The Major-General,
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NOTE FROM CAPTAIN HOBSON.
hitherto highly approved of everything I had done cautioning me not to separate my small force into detachments, which might subject them to be cut up in detail. Yet these were the very measures the Local Government were urging upon me. I could not help expressing to Captain Hobson the annoyance I felt at the position I was placed in.
This brought from him a note which I here transcribe, as illustrative of his sense of the great obligation he felt under towards me.
Russell, September 19.
My dear Major,
Allow me to vindicate myself from the suspicion of courting discussion on my authority for the disposition of the military. I would not have alluded to the subject had I not considered that a question was raised on it, in the extracts you enclosed to me on the 17th, which I could not even tacitly admit. It is, however, an authority that I never will exercise, but with due deliberation, aided by your opinion and advice.
With respect to yourself personally, I hope I have not, even by implication, insinuated that you have failed in good will to my Government or to myself, the very reverse of such an opinion being uppermost in my mind. On other subjects contained in your letter, I should like half an hour's
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ERECT BARRACKS
conversation with you before I reply to them; if it suits your convenience to call here on Monday, at eight o'clock, I shall be glad to see you.
I remain my dear Major,
Very faithfully yours,
(Signed) W. HOBSON.
On the Monday following, finding him in a favourable mood, I urged the necessity of his allowing me to proceed with the detachment to the new seat of government at the Thames, in order to prepare a barrack for the accommodation of the men, as I dreaded in the dilapidated condition our tents were, that the men should have to remain in that boisterous climate, another winter without cover. I had some difficulty in getting him to agree to my proposal, which he finally did on my telling him that the seat of government would still retain a garrison of one officer and twenty men, in the newly constructed barrack for his protection, until his removal to the new seat of government. Before leaving Russell we made some excursions up the two estuaries that branch off above the encampment at Pomares Pa or fort. That to the right led us a distance of about seven miles to a native village on the bank of a shallow rapid stream where we landed, and, about two miles further inland, we visited a rock of very fine white marble, returning the same evening to our
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WHITE MARBLE.
encampment. I am not aware of any use hitherto made of this marble, or that it has ever been quarried. The texture is very fine, and as all the lime used in New Zealand in my time was made from shells by burning them, this lime-stone would supply a preferable material. From the general lay of the country, I should imagine it to be about equi-distant from Russell, the missionary station at Waimata, and the western coast.
We saw immense flocks of wild ducks, but they were so very shy that we got very few of them.
Notwithstanding the injunctions of the commissary-general at Sydney, I ordered the brig "Diana" to be chartered, to convey the detachment to the new capital, Auckland. I afterwards found that what may be considered an injustice done to myself, by sending me without the appointment of commandant, or any pecuniary allowances beyond my regimental pay, was at least, although not contemplated, a benefit to the public. It enabled me to decline incurring the responsibility of requiring any extraordinary expenditure I did not approve, on the plea that I was only senior military officer, referring therefore the Local Government to the real commandant, the Major-General at Sydney, for the necessary authority. This was found too tedious a process, and was therefore never attempted; whilst on urgent occasions I did not hesitate to take the measures I
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NEW BARRACKS.
thought necessary, being sure that the Major-General would approve of them. Having taken down that portion of the wooden house brought from Sydney which we had commenced erecting, it was brought with us to the Thames, and again put up as a hospital and temporary store for the commissariat.
The detachment was then broken up into parties for the erection of the new barracks, under the direction of the Ordnance, soldiers also being employed on the building.
The barrack formed two sides of a square, one side, containing two stories, was loop-holed, and was capable of containing two hundred men. The building was of stone, built on a tongue of land separated from the main-land by a broad, deep ditch and parapet. It had evidently at some time or other been a fort of the natives. The entrance was across the ditch, a part of the parapet having been thrown down to fill it up for that purpose. On one side of the interior was built an octagonal loop-holed guard-room, and on the other it was proposed to build a similar one for cells, also loop-holed. The area in which the buildings and the hospital stood was not large, and in a few hours, had we deemed it necessary, it might have been made inaccessible, excepting at the usual place of entrance. The finishing of the building, doors, windows, &c, really did great credit to the
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PRICE OF LABOUR.
soldiers who executed them, and the officers got the natives to build them huts round the enclosure.
Handy men, employed as artificers, received from one shilling and eight pence per diem, labourers ten pence; but it was with the greatest difficulty we could keep the former, particularly the carpenters, to their work. They were constantly enticed away and secreted by the inhabitants to assist in putting up their wooden houses, labour being at this time so scarce that even the Governor's architects were tempted, in spite of my contrary orders, to employ them. One of these carpenters who was afterwards discharged, declared to me that at the period I am alluding to when he could escape from the Government work, he was paid two and sixpence per hour. It benefited them, however, very little, for it was all spent in drink. Strange to say, during the most inclement season of the year, though the men slept on the ground with their wet and ragged tents frequently blown down, we had the hospital for three months without a patient.
We had been joined by the detachment of thirty men from Port Nicholson, who were relieved by a detachment of the 96th Regiment from Van Diemen's Land, and the whole were kept in constant readiness to throw down the implements of their craft, and resume the musket and the bayo-
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NATIVE QUARREL.
net, as will be seen by the following report, which I at this time addressed to the Commander-in-Chief in New South Wales. I ought first to mention that the Lieut.-Governor when he arrived at Auckland from Russell, did not bring with him the detachment as I expected he would. This was the more provoking, as Russell was only a city in name, not one settler having yet established himself in the neighbourhood.
Auckland, August 2, 1841.
Sir,
I have the honour to report for the information of his Excellency, the Lieut.-General commanding, that a tribe of natives in this neighbourhood, under a chief named Taria, on a recent occasion attacked a neighbouring tribe, with whom they had some previous quarrels, killing eight men and making seventeen prisoners. This affair, I am sorry to say, has shown that the practice of cannibalism still exists amongst the New Zealanders, two of the principal men slain having been subsequently eaten by Taria's tribe.
To punish this outrage and secure the ringleaders, at the desire of Governor Hobson in Council, I was prepared to embark in the colonial brig with the available force here, amounting, after leaving a small force for the protection of the barracks, to fifty-three rank and file; but some
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AN EXPEDITION.
delay took place before the brig could be brought round from the harbour of Manukau, on the western coast, and in consequence the plan was changed, and the Hon. the Colonial Secretary undertook a journey to the disturbed districts; and Captain Best having applied to me for permission to accompany him, I deemed it proper to grant it, pointing out to Captain Best at the same time that I expected that he would not lose so favourable an opportunity of making himself acquainted with the nature of the defences in general used by the natives, and that I should expect a written report from him on this subject on his return.
The report from this officer is herewith annexed, as also a note from his Excellency Governor Hobson; and I trust the Lieut.-General will not disapprove of my having, on this occasion, taken upon myself to permit Captain Best's absence for so short a period.
In the year 1840, I visited Tauranga, and the Pas, or forts of Otumviti and Mangatawna, on which last Captain Best has not reported. Little reliance I find is to be placed on the descriptions of the native Pas, as related by the missionaries, or other Europeans, whose profession does not lead them to attend to these particulars, which a military man requires to know.
The natives throughout the country have an almost superstitious dread of the danger they
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CONSTRUCTION OF THE PAS.
would have to encounter by coming in collision with the military. This I consider a very material point, which ought never to be lost sight of, and is a principal reason why I am opposed to the small force employed in this country being so divided. The reputation of the troops, firmly established by one or two salutary but severe examples, would I have no doubt go far to secure the supremacy of the law. Nor should it be forgotten that the least check the troops might experience, would as instantly dissolve the charm; and that true philosophy demands that leniency shown in the field to those found in arms, opposing the execution of the laws, should not be of that kind which would protect the culprits at the expense of the soldiers, and at the risk of encouraging future disturbances.
The natives throughout the country are well provided with muskets and ammunition, the site of their forts, when local circumstances allow it, are skilfully chosen and well adapted for purposes of defence; but the broad deep ditches by which they are generally surrounded are seldom flanked, and consequently they would afford shelter to the assailing party when once entered, and thus render the escalade comparatively easy; the great slope of the parapet allowing, with the aid of the tomahawk, a secure footing to be made without further assistance. The stockade work
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CONSTRUCTION OF THE PAS.
although strong is sometimes so open that it may be doubted whether it could be forced by the usual method, from its not affording sufficient resistance for an explosion to take effect. The interiors of these forts contain a complete labyrinth of minor stockades and enclosures with huts, the whole being composed of the most inflammable materials. One tribe may have many of these Pas, which they occupy in succession as their agricultural or fishing pursuits require them to remain at stated periods.
Although I see no occasion at present to apprehend any serious outbreak, and the jealousy and rivalry of tribes amongst themselves would, if attempted, prevent their acting against the European population, yet inasmuch as it is to be hoped that the united efforts of the Government and the clergy may tend to allay these feelings and make them agree better amongst themselves, so also this unity of sentiment if exercised for a bad purpose will expose the European population to greater danger.
The position of the troops in this colony, and the nature of the duties they are called upon to perform, seem to point out that an equipment somewhat different from that required for a mere detachment of infantry is necessary. With a small force, every kind of aid should be made
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IMPORTANCE OF NAVAL FORCE.
available, in addition to the firestick and tomahawk at present at our disposal.
In a country with such an extensive coast and without roads to the interior, some permanent naval armament and that always at hand and available would be desirable, and for the detachment of infantry some hand-grenades and rockets made as portable as possible.
The detachment of the 80th regiment in this colony has proved effective as a body of artificers, when employed under officers of the Ordnance in erecting the barracks at Auckland, and I am of opinion that it would not be found difficult to teach any detachment of troops which may hereafter follow them, under similar instruction, the use of the rocket, or any other missile with which it may be deemed advisable to supply them to aid their efficiency.
I have the honour to be, &c.
T. BUNBURY, Major, 80th Regiment.
Major of Brigade, Sydney.
The first land sale by auction at Auckland took place sometime previously; I happened to be ill at the time and confined to my bed, and felt no inclination to enter into these speculations. I had, however, in an exploring
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LAND SALE.
expedition with the Colonial Secretary in the neighbourhood, been very much struck with the beautiful scenery in the neighbourhood of some of those allotments which were first to be brought to the hammer, and from a small map of the district this gentleman had with him, I marked down in a corner of my sketch book the numbers of two farms that I thought most beautiful, adjoining each other and overlooking the entrance to the harbour.
The assistant-surgeon of the detachment, on leaving my hut, told me that he was going to the Government auction, and asked me if he should bid for a farm for me. I declined at first; but recollecting that I had the numbers written down, I told him that he might bid for me, but that I would not give more than the upset price, one pound per acre, which he laughed at, supposing they would sell at a much higher rate. He shortly afterwards returned to tell me that I was a landed proprietor to the extent of two hundred and twenty acres; he had paid one guinea per acre. I afterwards purchased two other farms adjoining, making the total four hundred and fifty acres; and having built a hut on the premises and bought a boat it became my favourite residence during the remainder of my stay in New Zealand. It was, however, rather an expensive hobby, as I was obliged to keep two houses, one at the farm and the other
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AGRICULTURAL PURSUITS.
at Auckland; and as the distance was only five miles either by land or water, I used to take up my residence in either place as circumstances required. On the subject of these farms, I am sorry to have to say that Captain Hobson behaved towards me with much ill-will; but his mind was already giving way with his health, therefore let it be forgotton "requiescat in pace." He died shortly afterwards.
What with making a road from the beach, clearing land and fencing, and planting a garden with one hundred and fifty chosen fruit trees of different descriptions, I occupied my time very pleasantly, but at a total expense of twelve hundred pounds. A neighbour and myself grew carrots two feet in length and about the thickness of a man's leg, and turnips of the average size of a man's head. This, however, I should not venture to narrate, had not in the adjoining beds, turnips and carrots and other European vegetables been grown of the ordinary size. It was the peculiar seed or kind that made this difference. We had also the skinless oat, and the choicest and rarest seeds that could be procured in Europe. The families at Auckland used frequently to make parties and come down to dine or lunch. It was in fact a sort of model farm for emigrants to look at on their arrival in the country and it was from these we generally got the rarest seeds. I had a
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BUILD A CHAPEL.
field of Indian corn just above my hut, which was the astonishment of everybody. The corn was planted four feet asunder and reached a height exceeding the stature of a man. In the intervals between the rows, I had every variety of rock-melons and water-melons, pumpkins, vegetable marrows, cucumbers, and in the greatest profusion. Pumpkins were of an enormous size but they were not grown too near the melons. It was supposed they would injure the quality of the latter.
In the Tamaki district, in which my farms were situated, we all joined in building a small chapel and school room. Each resident farmer had the option of paying the amount of his subscription either by his own labour or that of his team, if it was not paid in money. I subscribed twenty-five pounds in cash, but knowing in new settlements how often these undertakings are commenced and not carried out, I reserved to myself the right of making my payments by instalments; ten pounds to commence with, five pounds more when the walls were at the height of the window-cills, and the remainder prior to putting on the roof. Bishop Selwyn doubled the amount of the whole sum subscribed, and I heard was much pleased with the cautious way I had chosen to pay my subscriptions.
I may here mention an extraordinary species of wheat I obtained from a French priest at Hokianga;
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ENORMOUS CROP.
he called it Egyptian wheat. The ear produced ninety-two grains of wheat double the size and weight of the grain of Europe, the largest samples of which never produce more than fifty grains. I planted this corn in a corner of my garden, but when it was well up, the whole was washed away by a fall of rain. I carefully collected the plants wherever I could find them, and dividing the roots that were most healthy, I succeeded in obtaining about ninety plants. The crop was enormous. The average number of grains of this bearded wheat was about ninety-four, and the straw was about six feet in height, coarse and more like reeds than straw. It gained the first prize for me at the agricultural society at Auckland, and a Scotch seedsman I left in charge of the farm, afterwards took care to post himself, so that when the scramble took place for the sample, he succeeded in securing the greatest part of it. It was sown the following year, but as I had left the colony, I never heard the results.
Native tribes proceeding to Auckland, frequently stopped at my farm with their canoes for the turn of the tide, and I sometimes engaged them to clear a portion of the land for a fixed sum, but I found they required a deal of looking after. What appeared beautifully broken up and pulverised, was so only superficially, and on putting in a spade or three pronged fork, the fern roots were
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NATIVE SERVANTS.
found to be as abundant as ever. They were bound to collect and burn the roots. Some natives I had on permanent employ, I found to make excellent servants, and I never could discover the advantage the chiefs had over their slaves, for they all worked alike and were paid the same, but they had great aversion to do any work they had seen done by a bullock or horse. A very ludicrous affair took place with an inferior chief and his slave who had been working for me for some months. They worked well and seemed well pleased with the payment they received, when in an evil hour I took it into my head to make a harrow to use in the field where they were at work. An English labourer whom I also employed and who had been some time in the country, told me to be careful how I employed the natives to drag it, as they would leave me. Accordingly this man with two soldier servants and myself commenced dragging cheerily the harrow, and after one or two turns I invited the two natives to lend me a hand. They came and worked with us, but were evidently much disgusted--the next morning they quitted my service. I was very anxious to retain the slave, for he was an amusing fellow and first rate labourer, but he could not leave his master. About a week or two afterwards, I met in the streets of Auckland the principal chief of the tribe to which these men belonged. He had
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CURIOSITY OF NATIVES.
always been a friend of mine, but on this occasion he called out to me and shaking his finger said, "Oh, Major you're a bad man, you make cows of my men."
My cottage, as I have said, at Auckland, was on the beach. From the little difference in the native dress, it was difficult to distinguish the men from the women, yet the chiefs used frequently to come with their wives and daughters to see me, and when I had a particularly fine melon, I sometimes, after my dinner, went out and divided it amongst them. The natives at this time had only water-melons, and they were greatly pleased with the smell and flavour of the rock-melon, which was before unknown to them; the next morning I generally received a formal visit, which terminated in a request that I would give them some of the seed.
A young person and her husband, a carpenter, had charge of my cottage. They lived on the premises. The wife purchased and cooked for me such articles as I might require to be sent out to the farm; she kept the house clean, and had everything ready for me whenever I came to Auckland to inspect the troops. The young woman's dress excited the surprise and curiosity of the natives; the female part of them, after examining her very minutely from head to foot, would then try and get off her dress, I suppose in order to
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THE CHARTER.
ascertain if she was white all over, at which the poor creature used to get very irate, and they thought her cross and ill-natured; for my part I enjoyed the fun of her embarrassment greatly, and when there were native women in the room, I sometimes called her into the house. She came of a very respectable family from Van Diemen's Land, and both herself and husband had, I believe, seen better days.
The new charter for the settlement of New Zealand, appointing Captain Hobson Governor, independent of New South Wales, also excluded military officers from succeeding. Should the office of Governor become vacant, the officer to succeed was the Colonial Secretary, and after him the senior clerk of that office. Consequently on the demise of Captain Hobson, the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Shortland, took upon himself the duties of Acting-Governor, which office he held nearly a year and a half. On my informing Sir Maurice O'Connell of this event, I received from him the following letter in reply.
Sydney, Nov. 7, 1843.
My dear Major,
I had the pleasure of your letter of the 26th of September, with the document which accompanied it, for which I beg you to accept my thanks. The information of the death of poor Governor Hobson was a source of infinite regret to me, although
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LETTER FROM SIR M. O'CONNELL.
from the very delicate state of his health ever since the first attack of apoplexy he had, his life was not much to be reckoned upon.
I was much disappointed that the object I had principally in view in sending you in command of the small force detached to New Zealand, viz., that of succeeding to the government pro-tempore, (on such a casualty occurring) had been defeated by the arrangement made by the Ministry. Sir George Gipps had also the same object in view in asking me to send a field-officer to New Zealand; and I had hoped that when Lord Stanley was made acquainted with a field-officer being on the spot, he would alter the arrangement made for the Colonial Secretary's succeeding; but I have been disappointed, and so has Sir George Gipps, who thought with me, that you ought to have succeeded to the interim charge of the government on a casualty occurring. I do not think that your stay at New Zealand can be of very long duration. I have intimation from the Horse Guards that the regiments for service in the Australian colonies are to be augmented to one thousand rank and file, and that henceforth two regiments of that strength, are to be stationed in Van Diemen's Land, furnishing the necessary detachments to Western and South Australia, and to New Zealand.
* * * * *
I was very sorry indeed for the fate of poor
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LETTER FROM SIR M. O'CONNELL.
Governor Hobson, and lament the case of his widow and family. Pray is Godfrey at Auckland, if he is, tell him I am surprised at not hearing from him.
As soon as the augmentation of the regiments in the command takes place, the additional force desired by the Acting-Governor of New Zealand may be ordered; but without an order from home I cannot augment it, as I was strictly limited by Lord Hill to the number now under your command. I am glad you have concentrated it at Auckland, as under the circumstances of the colony, it would be imprudent to fritter away so small a force in small detachments. To make an impression on the natives, an imposing force should always be concentrated ready to move where circumstances require the presence of a military force.
I think you may be preparing yourself very soon for returning to Sydney; many detachments of the 99th are said to be under orders for coming out, and the head-quarters are expected to set sail in August,
I remain, dear Major, &c.
M. C. O'CONNELL.
With reference to the General's remarks on the prisoners at Norfolk Island, I received about this time also a letter from a friend stationed there,
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MISCHIEVOUS SCHEME.
but of much older date than that of the General, and which gave a very unfavourable idea of the system pursued by my successor.
Although the gullability of John Bull is known to be extreme, it is scarcely conceivable that the Ministry should have adopted a scheme so wild, mischievous, and expensive, as that of the social system, as introduced into the penal settlement of Norfolk Island. The agricultural capabilities of the island for yielding a handsome return for the manual labour of the convict, were, moreover, ruined by the convicts being permitted to cut down timber wherever they liked to build their huts. This exposed the island to winds, which would soon have the effect of rendering it a barren waste.
On Mr. Shortland assuming the charge of the Government of New Zealand, the following correspondence took place between us. As all the official correspondence I had with the different authorities during the period of my command was considered public property, and left with my successor for his guidance in the event of his wanting official instructions, I have taken these letters from the Parliamentary reports before alluded to.
Government House, September 23, 1842.
Sir,
With reference to a request from the late Go-
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CORRESPONDENCE.
vernor, that you would hold yourself in readiness to aid the civil power in apprehending the chief Taria, should such a step be determined upon, in consequence of an outrage committed by him on the natives of Tauranga, I have the honour to submit two cases for your deliberate consideration, and to request you will favour me with your opinion thereon. Namely: had you found Tarai fortified in his Pa, and determined to offer any resistance in his power, could you have effected your mission in such a manner, as to have impressed the natives generally with a sense of the superiority of the British arms; and secondly, should this affair lead to a general native war, would the detachment under your command be adequate from its numbers and equipment to suppress it.
I have the honour, &c, &c.
(Signed). W. SHORTLAND.
Major Bunbury, 80th Regiment.
Sir,
With reference to the occurrence to which your Excellency alludes in your letter to me of this date, and to the probable consequences which might ensue if an attempt were made with so small a force as that under my command to put down any extended disturbance amongst the natives, I conceive that I cannot more fully express my sen-
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CORRESPONDENCE.
timents and opinions on this subject, than by forwarding a copy of the report made by me for the information of his Excellency the Lieutenant-general, Commanding at Sydney, and which is herewith enclosed.
The military force under my command, as senior military officer in this colony, consists of two captains, one subaltern, one assistant-surgeon, five sergeants, two drummers, and ninety-six rank and file. This number includes sick in hospital and all the casualties; a proportion of the men are also employed by the Ordnance department as labourers and artificers in erecting and strengthening the barracks, and others in furnishing the guards and other duties of the garrison and capital, so that few men, strictly speaking, are available for other purposes.
The general staff consists of a lieutenant of Royal Engineers (commanding), an Ordnance clerk of the works, an Ordnance store-keeper, a superior barrack sergeant, and an officer of the commissariat department, but without an established military chest, this not being a separate command as at Van Diemen's Land and Swan River.
I beg leave to submit for your consideration the circumstance, that should Her Majesty's Government conceive it expedient to increase the force on this station, the site assigned by the late Governor, Captain Hobson, will be found insufficient
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ARMED FORCE NECESSARY
in extent to erect the necessary buildings upon, unless the officers provide themselves with lodgings in the town away from the men. Of this circumstance the Lieutenant-general is aware, as it was reported by me on the first arrival of the troops, at this place, in consequence of my anticipating such a contingency.
I have, &c, &c.
Thomas Bunbury.
To His Exe. W. Shortland, Colonial Secretary.
Government House, Sept. 23, 1842.
Sir,
As I propose to transmit to the Right Honorable the Secretary of State for the Colonies, a copy of your letter of yesterday's date, in order to bring under his lordship's consideration the propriety of augmenting the force at present stationed at New Zealand, I would request you to furnish me, in addition with the statement of the number and equipment of the force, which in your opinion would be calculated to ensure peaceable submission to British law, or if required be best adapted to act with effect.
I have &c, &c.
(Signed) W. SHORTLAND.
Major Bunbury, 80th Regiment.
Auckland, Sept. 23, 1842.
Sir,
To afford your Excellency a statement of the
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FOR NEW ZEALAND.
number and equipment of the force which, in my opinion, would be calculated to ensure peace and submission to British law, or if required be best adapted to act with effect in the colony of New Zealand, embraces so many circumstances that I confess I give it with great deference.
In the first place, it will depend upon the manner in which the force is wielded. The facility afforded by the locale of the head-quarters at this capital, to transport troops to any given point on either the eastern or western coast with other considerations, render permanent detachments unnecessary, and in my opinion injudicious; but by keeping the whole military force to be employed in this colony concentrated at the seat of government, fewer troops will be required, and they will be always available. Ten or twelve soldiers may trust themselves any where in the interior of New South Wales, where they would have to contend only against herds of unarmed savages, unacquainted with the use of fire arms; but in this colony, the case is widely different, the aboriginal natives being a robust, intelligent race, accustomed to European manners, yet capable of subsisting anywhere on roots indigenous to the soil, where an Englishman would probably starve; moreover requiring no commissariat, excepting their women and slaves to carry their ammunition. The nature of their feudal institutions under a popular chief
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ARMED FORCE NECESSARY
away from the coast, would render them much more formidable enemies.
With the co-operation of an armed vessel drawing little water, I would not hesitate to make a descent on any part of the coast with a force of a hundred to hundred and fifty effective bayonets; but to ensure this number being available, free from every contingency, I would recommend the total force to be augmented to two hundred men to be stationed at Auckland.
With reference to its equipment, I have entered more into the details of the habits of the natives, to shew that every factitious aid which modern warfare affords might be placed at the disposal of the officer in command of the troops on the station for the time being. These I consider to be rockets, mountain guns, particularly cohorns (a species of small mortar) and hand-grenades; but whether these should be in charge of the officers of the naval armament on the station, or be placed in charge of a few artillerymen, or whether the infantry may be sufficiently trained to their use, are questions for the more immediate consideration of Her Majesty's Government at home.
The organization of the general staff on this station is not at present on a footing calculated to give due vigour, or to strengthen the means of the senior military officer in command. The whole
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FOR NEW ZEALAND.
of the branches of the Ordnance department, mentioned in my letter of yesterday, report direct to the heads of their respective departments in England, and are independent of those of New South Wales; whilst the commissariat (a most important branch of the staff) receives orders and reports to the head of that department in Sydney; and therefore my authority and responsibility cannot be entertained as a voucher for the accounts of that department without a reference to a distant colony such as New South Wales. Much discussion will therefore take place on any emergency, before it can be ascertained to what extent the officer in charge of that department here is disposed to disobey the positive instructions of the head of his department in Sydney, in order to comply with the wishes of the officers in command of the troops, by anticipating their final approval. This, I conceive, might be remedied without making the field-officer in command of the detachment less responsible to the general-officers commanding the troops in New South Wales, or the General Commander-in-chief of Her Majesty's forces.
In the foregoing statement of the force required, I have of course calculated that the Government of the colony possess the means of obtaining intelligence of any hostile combination amongst the native chiefs, sufficiently early to obtain a temporary reinforcement from Sydney, should it be of
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AN OUTBREAK.
such an extent as to render an application to that effect necessary.
I have, &c. &c,
T. BUNBURY.
Major, 80th Regiment.
His Exc. W. Shortland, Colonial Secretary.
Our time passed away very quietly until I received a communication from the officer administering the Government, then at Tauranga, announcing that a serious outbreak had occurred amongst the natives, when I found it necessary to stop the works going forward and embark the men.
In a few days we were embarked, taking with us a sufficiency of commissariat stores and planking for the erection of a barrack, our tents being nearly unserviceable. As the expense attending this armament would be very considerable, I stipulated that the Local Government were to provision the troops, should the expedition be detained, and seek repayment from the commissariat department at Sydney; and I suggested that the aid of Her Majesty's ship "Tortoise" should be demanded from her commander. She was then at anchor at the Great Barrier Island.
Her Majesty's ship "Buffalo" had been wrecked in Mercury Bay a few months after bringing the detachment of the 80th regiment to New Zealand,
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PREPARATIONS FOR ATTACK.
when her commander had distinguished himself as much by his nautical skill and cool courage in saving the lives of the crew with his guns, stores, &c, as he had proved wayward in his previous treatment of the troops. He had been to England, and had now returned in command of another vessel of larger size, to be employed on the coast of New Zealand in collecting spars and timbers for Her Majesty's dockyards; and as it was necessary to secure his co-operation, I determined to proceed in the first instance with the troops to the Barrier Island, in order to confer with him; particularly as I had discovered that the round shot belonging to the two cannonades in the Government brig were too large for those pieces of ordnance, and they were consequently useless.
On this occasion we received from the master-commander most cordial assistance, and were supplied with ammunition, seamen and guns; an armed pinnace and marines were to follow. The commander's son, who volunteered to accompany the troops, was placed under my charge. We assembled at Tauranga in order to concert the plan of attack, and I had great difficulty in dissuading Mr. Shortland from leading in person the naval portion of the attacking force, as it was not fair to the young men of the armament, and rather lowering to his own dignity. When all was prepared, and we were expecting orders to
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THE ATTACK ABANDONED.
weigh anchor, to my great surprise I was requested to disembark the troops and stores, as the Acting-Governor had determined upon trying the effects of negociation with the tribe of Taria, whose Pa was distant from us about forty or fifty miles. The arrival of the Attorney-General and the Bishop at the Missionary station where Mr. Shortland was, put an end to any further idea of attacking the contumacious tribe. They then discovered at the ninth hour, that to employ the troops without the consent of the whole council of the Government would be illegal. The troops had been brought from Auckland without any such consent having been obtained
The expedition therefore separated, and the sailors returned to Barrier Island. Our provisions were now beginning to fail in consequence of the salted pork becoming damaged by the heat of the weather, and on my reminding the officer administering the Government of his engagement to supply the troops with provisions, I was told that if any branch of the military department was found deficient, it was my affair not his.
I was determined to shew them that it was not vigour that was wanting. We had not entirely completed the landing of our stores from the government brig, which was immediately required to convey Mr. Shortland to Port Nicholson; but I instantly ordered a portion of the men on board
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A DISPUTE.
again, with orders not to allow even the ship's stores to be removed, excepting for the use of the crew. On this, I was assailed with I don't know how many official communications cautioning me that it was an act of piracy; that the seamen would be withdrawn; and if I attempted to get under weigh without them and beat out of the harbour, should the vessel be lost, which it probably would, the responsibility would be mine. But to none of these communications did I pay the slightest attention, or return an answer. I purchased provisions for the detachment from some Europeans on the opposite side of the harbour for two or three days, while the dispute lasted.
At length I received another official, inquiring the reasons why I would not reply to his Excellency's letter, forwarding me at the same time an extract from the instructions for officers administering the government of colonies, regarding the relative duties and authority of those, and the officers in command of Her Majesty's forces. To this I replied, that any correspondence between us in existing circumstances would only tend to mutual recrimination and to the injury of the public service, and until he chose to fulfil his engagement, discussion would be worse than useless. I thanked him for the extract of the instructions issued by the Government for our mutual guidance,
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AN ARRANGEMENT.
although they were in the possession of every officer of the command; but I begged to point out to him that he had stopped short at the only part of them which had reference to my present position. That "I alone was responsible to Her Majesty for the prompt and efficient performance of any such service, in all its details." The measures I had taken to ensure the safety of the troops were forced upon me, and their propriety I had little doubt I should be able to make apparent without further correspondence with his Excellency.
It was a bold step against the acting government and its legal and other advisers, but it brought them to their senses. Mr. Shortland was projecting a voyage to the southward, but which he could not undertake until I chose to liberate the brig; and as one of the land commissioners had just arrived, who was also a lawyer, he was sent to me to propose a meeting between us on board the brig the following day, in order that some arrangement might be made to satisfy my complaints. To this I readily agreed, and it was speedily arranged that I should release the brig, which was urgently required to convey the officers administering the government to Port Nicholson, and that on their return she should be employed to convey the detachment back to Auckland. In the meantime, Mr. Shortland was to sign and make himself responsible for any contract I could make
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INSOLENCE OF NATIVES.
for the due supply of provisions for the troops; and the missionary clergyman of the station, Mr. Brown guaranteed its fulfilment.
A pinnace and a small boat were also placed at the disposal of the officers commanding the troops. These arrangements made, the Acting-Governor left the station to proceed on his voyage the following day. The result of this negociation with Taria's people, was as might have been expected; instead of being more submissive they became more insolent, and actually sent a letter to Mr. Shortland to say that they had heard he was a fat man, and they hoped he would come to their Pa, as when cooked they thought he would make an excellent addition to their meal of potatoes. Neither did the tribe, our immediate neighbours, appear to entertain much dread or respect for an armed British force so near them; for one night they made an excursion in their war canoes to an island the property of Taria, where they slew and brought away with them a number of pigs the property of his tribe.
The neck of land where the troops disembarked, consisted of a low ridge of sand hills terminating in a high mountain, which formed the entrance to the harbour of Tauranga, and on the opposite side of the harbour was the Pa of Mughatapo. This tribe consisted of Roman Catholics, under the influence of Bishop Pompelier of the Propaganda,
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VISIT A CHIEF.
and were consequently not very friendly with us.
A few miles inland, in continuation of the sandy isthmus, there was another powerful native tribe under the influence of the Protestant mission; both of these tribes I had visited on a former occasion on my voyage to the south. By the tribe last mentioned I had been very well received, and I had bestowed a few blankets amongst them. I was again recognised by their chief, and I went in consequence to visit him at his Pa. He announced his intention of returning my call on any particular day I might name, for the purpose of bringing me presents of pigs, potatoes, wood, &c. These I told him, I regretted to say I could not accept, as I was no longer in the same capacity as a representative of the Queen, who never allowed her soldier chiefs to take presents; and that she would be very angry if she heard I had done so. I had, however, so much trouble in persuading him that this would not be right down rudeness, that I was obliged to have recourse to the Mission for them to try and convince him to the contrary. He was eventually satisfied, but evidently not well pleased, telling them that the chief of the soldiers ought not to have made presents himself, if he did not intend to receive others in return. The fact was, as regards myself, I could not afford to make for the public service so large
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ABANDONED FORTS.
a present as they would have expected, and I had no allowance or other means to recover the amount of any outlay I might think it necessary to make in order to remain on friendly terms with them.
We also made an excursion to obtain firewood up another estuary which ran to the westward, and having obtained a native guide, landed at several places, and finally passed over to the western coast to a harbour there, which some of the officers of the "Tortoise" who accompanied us were very anxious to see. The bay was very spacious but shallow, excepting where a large volcanic hill clothed with wood shot up in bold relief, at the foot of which we were told the water was deep. This harbour was not however calculated for vessels of large size. The surrounding country was exceedingly picturesque.
In whatever direction we went, we met with abandoned forts or Pas, and no European engineer could have selected more favourable sites for their construction. One of the Pas our guide shewed us had been recently surprised and the tribe put to death, very few of them having escaped. The place was considered very strong, but their enemies having arrived in canoes during the night, and entered a narrow creek which formed one of the sides of the fort, unperceived, a short time before daylight they forced the innermost palisade, and carried the fort, before the occupants could arm to
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ABANDONED PAS.
defend themselves. Our guide shewed us the place where the chief men fell in its defence. The palisading was still complete, and in the middle of the Pa was a very large heap of purple coloured potatoes. The heap had been thatched, but a part was removed. They were in an excellent state of preservation, but he begged of us not to take any of them away, as they were tabooed, or made sacred, and must remain to rot there. Our guide had been taken prisoner on the occasion, and was now a slave. After an absence of two or three days we returned with a cargo of firewood to the encampment.
A description of some of these Pas was sent to the Commander-in-Chief at Sydney, but beyond the entry made in the letter book left with my successor, I kept no other copy. This however, ought to have been of service to those that followed, to warn them what they were about to enter upon, and shew the nature of the defences in use by the New Zealanders.
The officer of Engineers, Lieutenant Lugard, I believe, also took some sections of the ditches, parapets, &c, but what became of them I know not.
We were greatly astonished at the number of these abandoned forts, which could never have borne any proportion to the population; but it was explained to us that whenever any signal disaster or misfortune occurred to a tribe, the Pa inhabited
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ERECTION OF BARRACKS.
was immediately abandoned, never to be again occupied, and a new one was erected in its stead.
The high isolated mountain I have already described, as forming the extreme point of the isthmus of the sand ridge where our men were to be stationed, had often been a place of refuge for a beaten tribe, but there were no inhabitants on it on our arrival there. It had, however, in former days I am told, been the scene of many shocking acts of cruelty and barbarity in the wars between native tribes.
Our ground was chosen at the foot of another conical hill, rather difficult to ascend, but without wood. It was distant more than a mile from the other, and at its top were the remains of a fort in which I intended to have placed our two cannonades had we remained, as it commanded the sand ridge, and protected our barrack at its foot in front, and also the beach on either side or edge of the peninsula.
We were not long in erecting a barrack with the planking brought with us from Auckland; and we sent out for long grass and rushes, with which to thatch the building.
A small wooden house was also put up for the officers to mess in. I, having no tent, took up my abode in a cave, of which there were several, natural formations of the rock at the foot of the
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RETURN TO AUCKLAND.
conical hill. One was used as a commissariat store, and another as a bakery; but the gunpowder which at first had been stored away in the officers' wooden house, was deemed too much exposed to accidents. I was therefore reluctantly obliged to give up my cave to be used for a powder magazine, and to occupy the place where it had been before stowed away, as a sleeping room. Mr. Brown of the church mission attended regularly every Sunday, and performed divine service in the men's barracks.
We supplied ourselves with water (not of the very best quality) by digging holes in the sand, but our wells frequently fell in and gave us a deal of trouble, the loose sand not sustaining itself without a great slope aided by some timbers.
Lieutenant Lugard, our engineer, having got the detachment under cover, returned to Auckland, and he was followed by the Commissary, Mr. Lardner. Some time afterwards, leaving written instructions to my successor, Captain Lockhart, I also returned to Auckland to be at hand to see that the troops were brought back according to promise, and to send to the detachment certain supplies of which they stood in need.
I had great difficulty in getting out of the harbour, nor do I think that I should have succeeded that day, but for the assistance given me by the
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THE "ILANNA."
commander of a whaling vessel laying at anchor in the harbour.
It is a melancholy reflection that this same person, (the son of a captain of the Royal Navy it is said) was some months after tried for piracy and murder, and that a portion of the troops of my detachment were employed in his capture. The following were the circumstances.
Two seamen had been sent by the commander of the schooner "Ilanna" to Auckland, for provisions and supplies. These men reported to the Governor that the vessel was laying at Mercury Bay, arming for a piratical expedition. This information had been already received, but the position of the vessel was not known until now. The Government had no armed vessel to cope with her, yet it was thought by a little stratagem, and by keeping the troops below until the moment they were required, she might be surprised, although the "Ilanna" had sentries on shore constantly on the alert. The Government brig was not sent on this occasion, but a hired schooner in order not to create suspicion, and as she was well known to the pirates and sailed past the place where the "Ilanna" lay at anchor, they deemed themselves quite safe.
Suddenly, however, the schooner put about, and under cover of some high land, approached close to the vessel unperceived, and drew up along side.
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CAPTURE OF THE SCHOONER.
It was then easily captured, as most of the crew were on shore, and these being unarmed were soon made prisoners. The manner in which the vessel was captured was most favourably reported to the Secretary of State to the Colonies, (Lord Stanley) by the officer administering the government; upon whose representation of the affair to the Commander-in-Chief, his Grace the Duke of Wellington was pleased to direct the officer commanding in New South Wales, to convey to Ensign Welman and the men of the detachment his Grace's approbation of their conduct.
On my arrival at Auckland, I found the grenadier company of the 96th regiment, under the command of Captain Eyton, had been sent to occupy the barracks at Auckland during our absence, and that the officer of Engineers, Lieutenant Lugard, had been relieved by Lieutenant B----- of the same corps. I was sorry to lose Lugard, as I was always cordially supported and assisted by him. His successor at first seemed disposed to follow a different course.
The Commissary I found was not disposed to make any further expenditure, by sending to Tauranga the stores the detachment required, after the great outlay already made, without the sanction of the Commissary-General at Sydney. This, however, was soon arranged. I sent Captain Eyton, of the 96th regiment to him with an official letter,
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REFUSAL OF STORES.
stating that I could not suffer the service, in which the detachment was employed upon my responsibility, to be impeded by any instructions from the commissary-general in Sydney, without the sanction of the General-officer commanding; and I accordingly desired Captain Eyton to put him under arrest and take the charge of his department, if my orders were not immediately obeyed; but these harsh measures were not required. Mr. Lardner wanted it seems to justify himself with his chief.
The Colonial brig "Victoria" afterwards brought back the detachment to Auckland as I had been promised. Thus ended one of the demonstrations which all successive governors were so fond of making; fruitful in expense, and lowering the armed force in the eyes of the natives, who attributed our forbearance to fear, and thus retarding greatly the works then in progress. The wooden houses were sold for the benefit of the ordnance department and left standing.
We had now quartered in the barracks the grenadier company of the 96th, with two companies of the 80th regiment. Shortly after our return a French frigate arrived; we were sumptuously entertained by them, dining at an early hour. In the evening we gave them a ball in one of the men's barrack room, they having to turn out for the occasion.
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A DINNER-PARTY.
I was greatly amused at the singular effects of champagne at the Frenchmen's dinner party. None of the officers of my detachment spoke French, and very few of them understood it; a few of the French spoke English, the Captain and one or two others. The consequence was that the party was rather formal and heavy, and on my expressing my regret to him that none of our officers, or those of the 96th could speak the French language, he said, wait a little, you will see how soon they will pick it up and understand one another--all they want is a few bottles more of champagne. I have always found it an excellent teacher of languages. He spoke truth, for almost immediately afterwards the prescription took effect, and the whole seemed to understand one another, and were as garrulous as a flock of geese. Even the reserve of the captain of grenadiers of the 96th regiment, who hated Frenchmen and all that was French, forsook him, and he too seemed as much excited and as noisy as the rest of the party.
We had afterwards another French sloop of war at Auckland. The officers were a particularly nice set of fellows, and became great favourites with us. I had them to a party down at my farm. We went and returned in boats, and many having fine voices and being good musicians, they burlesqued several of our favourite operas admirably. I don't think I ever laughed so much in my
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LIEUTENANT B-----.
life as at the effect it produced, and at their good humour and jollity. These officers used to be frequently at parties on shore, but they always made a finish at our mess before going on board, and they used at times to keep us up until very late; but they never drank anything, excepting perhaps a little wine and water. The high flow of spirits and fun they brought with them was always acceptable; our heavy Saxon blood to keep in equilibrium with our French guests and to feel equally excited, required the stimulant of the bottle, and they therefore caused us to drink deeper, although they did not do so themselves.
The company of the 96th regiment had been sent back to Port Nicholson, and nothing particular then occured at Auckland (if we except some vagaries of Lieutenant B-----, the new engineer) until the arrival of Governor Fitzroy, who assumed the government in the last week of 1843.
Lieutenant B-----, the new commanding engineer, made again an effort to emancipate himself from military control but with little success. He came over one day to where I was standing in my garden, and asked me if I had any commands for Port Nicholson, as he had been just ordered down there by the Governor. "You will wait then until I order you," was my reply. "You, as a military officer are under my command, and shall not leave Auckland without it." "Shall I tell the governor then
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LIEUTENANT B-----.
what you say?" was his answer; to which I replied, "That he might do as he liked in that respect. I was then addressing myself to Lieutenant B-----, and when I wanted to make any communication to the Governor, I should not select him to convey it." He went away greatly discomforted, and shortly afterwards I received a letter from the Governor apologizing. It had been a mistake, none saw the necessity of maintaining subordination more than he did; but if I had no serious objection, he would feel obliged if I would permit Lieutenant B----- to proceed to Port Nicholson in order to select a site for a military barrack, now that troops were to be stationed there permanently. I then of course acquiesced, and B----- and myself were afterwards the greatest friends imaginable.
