Category The Wakas

Tasman’s position at anchor in Golden Bay and nearby areas of Maori occupation

There is no surviving account of the meeting of Tasman and the Maori from the Ngati Tumatakokiri perspective, and without that we are missing the counterpoint of the Dutch account, which is not without prejudice, most particularly in Tasman’s Journal.

Tasman’s journal is biased towards showing that he has complied with his written instructions. An example of this is that when the company flag was planted in Tasmania he wrote this: “… the natives of this country, who did not show themselves, though we suspect some of them were at no great distance and closely watching our proceedings”.

His instructions required that he plant the company flag in the presence of the natives, which he did not, but he implie...

The Heemskerck and Zeehaen at anchor in Golden Bay

On the morning of December 19^th, 1642, Abel Tasman was sat at anchor in Golden Bay, with his two ships, the Heemskerck and the Zeehaen.

At first light a native boat had come out to them, stayed a while and then gone away. They had showed some of their trading goods to the natives, but the south-landers had shown no interest.

From the land, the Chief had gone out with one of the boats to have a closer look at the enemy. So far, they had only been up close in the dark. Now he had looked in their eyes, he and he had measured their strength. He had demanded that they explain themselves, but had received no satisfaction.

The Maori were extremely wary of visitors.

When they saw strangers, they didn’t know if they were friend or foe, and th...

The Dutch Armoury

Tasman’s written instructions explicitly described the danger involved in engaging with natives.

“In landing with small craft extreme caution will everywhere have to be used, seeing that it is well-known that the southern regions are peopled by fierce savages, for which reason you will always have to be well armed and to use every prudent precaution, since experience has taught in all parts of the world that barbarian men are nowise to be trusted, because they commonly think that the foreigners who so unexpectedly appear before them, have come only to seize their land “

The VOC wanted Tasman to establish amicable relations with anyone they met, so that they could be engaged in trade, but they did not leave Tasman unprepared for trouble.

Cannon on the VOC ...

The Maori were hopelessly out-gunned; literally.

While to the eyes of the Dutchmen the south-landers had only the most primitive of weapons, this did not make them harmless.

The Maori were fearless, ruthless, and magnificent strategists; as the British would repeatedly discover to their cost two hundred years later.

The ‘Duyfken’, a replica of the VOC vessel that first found Australia in 1606

The Duyfken is a ‘Yacht’ of the same prescription as the Heemskerck. It was a standard formula used by the VOC, and designed for use as a light warship. The Heemskerck had the same sail, deck and general layout as the Duyfken, but was 30% larger.

Apart from being slightly smaller, the Dufken is otherwise very similar to the Heemskerck...

Looking towards Taupo Point from near Parapara

Diary: Taupo Pa, Mohua

Yesterday was just a normal summer day. It was beautiful; sunny, warm and calm.

We were busy weeding the kumara fields, the children were playing in the sea, and the men were fishing and making.

But today, everything has changed.

First thing this morning there was shouting. There was smoke coming from above Puponga.

The signal fires were lit!

We could see the smoke across the bay, but had no idea what the danger was, except that it was serious. Smoke from the Puponga hills had to be serious.

We have our own people in both directions from the Bay; to Rangitoto in the East, and to Hokitika down the coast...

“we saw no human beings nor any smoke rising; nor can the people here have any boats, since we did not see any signs of them”

Range of the Ngati Tumatakokiri

Whilst Tasman may have seen no signs of people, they were there. The North and West coasts of the South Island had been occupied for a long time, and in many locations.

The Waitaha people had been there since at least the thirteenth century and were displaced by the Ngati Wairangi and others, who in turn were displaced in the mid sixteenth century by the Ngati Tumatakokiri; descendants of the Kurahaupo voyagers. In time the Ngati Tumatakokiri too fell to other invaders.

Archaeological evidence shows that the whole North facing coast was occupied with settlements in every significant bay and at every major river mouth.

From Tas...

Journey of the Ngati Tumatakokiri to the South Island

Diary. To Arapaoa

We sailed down the coast, always close enough to see it, but well clear of the reefs and breakers. Where we were going we would should never be out of sight of land.

As we went south, we kept the main land on our left and headed to the gap between the land and the big island they call Kapiti. Past kapiti we could see high land to the south west. That was where we were going.

We kept going until this land was to our west and then turned to it. It wasn’t too far across, but we had been warned to be careful. The water between the main land and Te Tau Ihu could be very dangerous. It was called ‘Te Moana-a-Raukawa’.

It would only take a few hours to cross, but the water could get very rough with a strong current,...

The boulder bar at the mouth of the Wairau river.

It’s not much to look at, but Wairau is probably the most important archaeological site in New Zealand.

It is the location of the oldest known settlement, and also the location of the oldest human remains yet discovered.

Interest in the site originated in 1939 when schoolboy Jim Eyles found some old bones. He had come across an ‘Urupa’, or burial ground. He discovered more in 1942, and this attracted academic interest. In 1942, Roger Duff began what would be a prolonged series of investigations on the Wairau Bar. In his excavations, 2000 items were removed to the Canterbury, including more than 40 skeletons.

The Wairau bar occupation site

The site, now a long boulder spit, used to be an island, and was home to a significant vi...