1810 in New Zealand

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1810
in
New Zealand
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There is a drastic decline in the number of ships visiting New Zealand from the previous year. An economic depression starts in New South Wales as a result of the escalation of war in Europe and the consequent reduction in the number of convicts being transported. [1] In March news of the Boyd massacre reaches Port Jackson and a punitive expedition is sent to New Zealand and bombards the village of the incorrectly blamed chief, Te Pahi. After this the few whaling ships (possibly only 5) that later head for New Zealand usually prefer to avoid landing, especially in the Bay of Islands. [1]

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Sealing in Foveaux Strait declines as the rookeries are exhausted. With the discovery of Campbell Island at the beginning of the year, and Macquarie Island in the middle of the year, by the same sealing ship, sealers transfer their attention there. If they stop off in New Zealand it is usually in Foveaux Strait. [1]

Incumbents

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Events

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Births

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Samuel Marsden was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society. He played a leading role in bringing Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden was a prominent figure in early New South Wales and Australian history, partly through his ecclesiastical offices as the colony's senior Church of England cleric and as a pioneer of the Australian wool industry, but also for his employment of convicts for farming and his actions as a magistrate at Parramatta, both of which attracted contemporary criticism.

The first Christian mission is established at Rangihoua. The Hansen family, the first non-missionary family also settles there. Samuel Marsden explores the Hauraki Gulf and travels to within sight of Tauranga Harbour. The first book in Māori is published in Sydney. The first European is born in New Zealand.

With the purchase of a vessel by Samuel Marsden for use by the Church Missionary Society at the beginning of the year the establishment of a mission in New Zealand is at last possible. After a preliminary scouting trip Marsden and the missionaries arrive at the end of the year and the first mission is begun at Rangihoua Bay in the Bay of Islands.

By the end of the year reports from London regarding Napoleon's retreat from Moscow, and from the Bay of Islands regarding the hospitality of the Māori, encourage Samuel Marsden into thinking the time for the establishment of a Christian mission to New Zealand is now imminent.

With the outbreak of the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain American whalers are forced to avoid Port Jackson. However they still operate at various points around New Zealand including the Kermadec Islands as do the colonial vessels. Sealers are still operating mainly at Macquarie and Campbell Islands. Occasionally there are Māori in the crew. Timber ships are also visiting New Zealand.

There are still far fewer ships visiting New Zealand than before 1810. This is due to the economic depression which started in New South Wales in 1810 and continues until 1815. The concern that the Boyd massacre might be repeated abates somewhat as a number of reports that it was provoked reach Port Jackson. As more ships resume visits to the Bay of Islands they consistently report that they are well treated.

Foveaux Strait is the centre of attention for sealing ships. Sealing gangs are dropped along the coast from southern Fiordland to Otago Harbour and on Stewart Island/Rakiura. The Bay of Islands is sometimes on the journey to or from Port Jackson. The Chatham Islands are also visited. A few whalers also operate around New Zealand; some also collect timber from Bay of Islands.

As sealing at Bass Strait and the Antipodes Islands declines, Foveaux Strait becomes the focus for sealers from the middle of the year. The Bounty and Auckland Islands are also visited. Whaling is carried out on the east coast of New Zealand with the Bay of Islands being the usual port of call for provisioning. As many as nine ships whaling together for months at a time can occur. The behaviour of the whalers at the Bay of Islands is again commented on unfavourably, this time by a former missionary on one of the whaling ships. There are also a number of vessels collecting sandalwood from Tonga or Fiji; the majority call at the Bay of Islands en route.

There is a new sealing rush to the Bounty and Auckland Islands. Sealing also continues at Bass Strait and the Antipodes Islands. Foveaux Strait is a frequent stop for these sealing ships. Whaling continues off the east coast of the North Island. Ships are now visiting the Bay of Islands on a reasonably regular basis. The first reports about the poor behaviour of visiting ship's crew are sent to the Church Missionary Society in London.

Sealing continues at Bass Strait and the Antipodes Islands. At the end of the year there is a new sealing rush to the Bounty and Auckland Islands. Few sealers, if any, are known to have visited the Foveaux Strait area at this time, although this may be due in part to the secrecy of the captains and owners in reporting where they operate and/or the existence of the Strait not yet being widely known. Whaling continues off the east coast of the North Island. Ships are now visiting the Bay of Islands on a reasonably regular basis. The first reports about the poor behaviour of ships crews are sent to the Church Missionary Society in London.

Sealing continues at Bass Strait but declines at Dusky Sound which is still used for provisioning. There is a new rush to the Antipodes Islands. The existence of Foveaux Strait is not reported in Port Jackson until early the following year so sealers are still travelling via the south of Stewart Island/Rakiura which some also visit. At Stewart Island/Rakiura, and its smaller surrounding islands, the sealers often encounter Māori which they have not done at all at Dusky Sound. As many as 16 whalers are operating around the north of New Zealand, occasionally visiting the Bay of Islands and taking an increasing number of Māori on board as crew.

As most sealing is taking place in Bass Strait, although the rookeries there are declining, there is little interest in Dusky Sound, the rookeries of which are also declining. It is however still being used as a provisioning stop and rendezvous by sealers looking for new sealing grounds to the south and east of New Zealand. Foveaux Strait is discovered in December but its existence does not become widely known for some time. There is a marked increase in the number of whalers operating in the north of New Zealand, due in part to attacks on British boats in the South Atlantic as a result of the Napoleonic wars. There is also an increase in American ships from New England.

There is a lessening of the sealing rush at Bass Strait as the rookeries become thinner, and as a result sealers return to Dusky Sound and explore the surrounding coast. Little of the movements of these ships is actually recorded as a veil of secrecy still surrounds their activities while the various ships try to make the most of any discoveries before the competition arrives. They occasionally meet local Māori but little information regarding these encounters survives. There are again around half a dozen whalers off the north-east coast of New Zealand, a few of which call into the Bay of Islands. The first Māori to join a whaling ship, and possibly the first to leave New Zealand in 10 years, does so early in the year.

Santa Anna was a Spanish brig that a British privateer captured in 1806. Her new owners then employed Santa Anna as a whaler. She wrecked in the Straits of Timor in 1811.

Ruatara was a chief of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) in New Zealand. He introduced European crops to New Zealand and was host to the first Christian missionary, Samuel Marsden.

The first humans are thought to have arrived in New Zealand from Polynesia some time around 1300 AD. The people, who later became known as Māori, eventually travelled to almost every part of the country. Their arrival had a significant impact on the local fauna, particularly the flightless birds such as moa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Te Pahi</span> New Zealand Māori tribal leader (died 1810)

Te Pahi was a Māori tribal leader and traveller from New Zealand. He was from the Ngāpuhi iwi and lived in the Rangihoua Bay area of the Bay of Islands.

Te Atahoe was a daughter of the Ngāpuhi chief Te Pahi. Te Pahi was one of the senior chiefs of the north-western Bay of Islands. He was the son of Wharerau, a descendant of the ancient ancestral Ngati Awa, Nga Puhi, Ngati Rehia, and Te Hikutu and Ngati Rua. Te Atahoe lived at Te Puna in the Rangihoua Bay area of the Bay of Islands and was also known as Mary Bruce.

References

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  2. The colony of New South Wales encompasses New Zealand from 1788 to 1840. Therefore the head of state is the monarch of the United Kingdom represented by the Governor of New South Wales. However, British sovereignty was not established over New Zealand per se until 1840, at which point the Treaty of Waitangi retroactively recognised that it had been an independent territory until then. Furthermore, the Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand signed by a number of Maori chiefs in 1835 was formally recognised by the British government at the time, indicating that British sovereignty did not yet extend to New Zealand. (New Zealand Ministry of Culture and Heritage)
  3. 1 2 Dictionary of Australian Biography: Lachlan Macquarie
  4. New Zealand Folk Song: The story of David Lowston, a pre-colonial NZ song
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