Cassidy et al.: Women and Empire, 1750-1939, Vol. II

Volume II: New Zealand

Caroline Daley

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781000558289
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: World History
• Index: History

Women and Empire, 1750-1939 functions to extend significantly the range of the History of Feminism series (co-published by Routledge and Edition Synapse), bringing together the histories of British and American women's emancipation, represented in earlier sets, into juxtaposition with histories produced by different kinds of imperial and colonial governments. The alignment of writings from a range of Anglo-imperial contexts reveals the overlapping histories and problems, while foregrounding cultural specificities and contextual inflections of imperialism. The volumes focus on countries, regions, or continents formerly colonized (in part) by Britain: Volume I: Australia, Volume II: New Zealand, Volume III: Africa, Volume IV: India, Volume V: Canada. Perhaps the most novel aspect of this collection is its capacity to highlight the common aspects of the functions of empire in their impact on women and their production of gender, and conversely, to demonstrate the actual specificity of particular regional manifestations. Concerning questions of power, gender, class and race, this new Routledge-Edition Synapse Major Work will be of particular interest to scholars and students of imperialism, colonization, women's history, and women's writing

1 EXTRACTS FROM OBSERVATIONS ON NEW ZEALAND.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003101864-1

The government of New Zealand approaches nearest to the feudal system. Landed, and even personal, property is held by hereditary tenure, which it would be imprudent to disturb. Landed property may easily be purchased; the consent of the principal chief being first obtained, the other branches of his tribe are easily won over to relinquish their shares. There are, however, vast tracts of rich country still unoccupied and unowned. With regard to population, New Zealand is but thinly inhabited. The North Island is more densely peopled than Poenammoo; I should say in the ratio of six to one in favour of the former. The land, too, is better cultivated on North Island, and the aborigines are far more civilised. Stewart’s, or South Island, possesses few, if any, inhabitants, hough in itself a [illegible of text in source] valuable island.

The New Zealanders, generally speaking, are a fine athletic race of men, and capable of bearing much fatigue. They are keenly alive to shame, fond of military show; and those who have had intercourse with Europeans are bitterly sensible of their own degraded state. Indeed, I have observed that when any of the New Zealanders returned from visiting Sydney, particularly the chiefs, they were low-spirited, and drew comparisons between their own countrymen and the whites. “What were we before we knew the English? We knew nothing. We and our tribes were no better than our hogs and dogs. Now we are obtaining some knowledge; and our children will reap the benefit from your settling among us.”* A New Zealand chief esteems it an honour for a white man to reside on his lands; and I have frequently been solicited to permit one of my men to “hoist a flag,” and to remain stationary on the property of a chief. The acquiescence secures their friendship, and the contrary does not forfeit it.

*Speech of Motier, and Hokianga chief.

I shall briefly instance a few acts of daring bravery among the New Zealanders. Néneé, one of the Hokianga chiefs, had one of his tribe killed. When he bad ascertained the fact, and by whom, he took his musket, and alone entered the enemy’s camp, where the offender, a young chief of twenty-eight, was sitting among others, and challenged him. On his rising and approaching Néné in a menacing attitude, the latter knocked him down with the but-end of his gun, shot him, and deliberately walked off without molestation.

Another great chief, whose name I do not at this moment recollect, had been surprised and taken prisoner, with his wife and family, and part of his tribe. He begged hard to take leave of his wife and children before he was put to death. After some debate his request was granted. The meeting was tender and affecting in the extreme. He knew that he must die; but the idea that his wife and children would become slaves, appeared to absorb his every faculty and wring his very soul. His fate was sealed, and escape utterly impossible. He embraced his wife and children for the last time, stabbed her and them in almost a moment of time; then smiled in derision on his enemies, as be exultingly told them, “My wife and my children are free!”

In the aggregate, however, I do not consider the New Zealanders as a brave race of men. Stratagem and cunning are the weapons chiefly used in their wars with each other. They are fond [illegible of text in source] heir children; and are kind to their slaves, who, in a short time after capture, are considered as a part of their family. The women—but where do they not?—possess great kindness of heart; and those who are married seldom are guilty of an act of infidelity. Many instances of their devotion and attachment to their husbands are within my own knowledge. They mourn deeply and bitterly for a time; then generally end their griefs and their cares by some violent death.

The New Zealanders possess a very respectable share of intellect—indeed, more so than the aborigines of the other islands, whether in the Southern or the Northern Pacific: they are quick, ingenious, and easily taught. I have seen many beautiful specimens of their workmanship, both in stone and wood, which for execution and finish could scarcely be excelled — certainly not by Europeans having the same rude implements to work with. They are fond of inquiry, and nothing escapes them. A secret is never safe with a New Zealander, though his own life depended on the keeping of it.

With respect to the couduct of the New Zealanders towards Europeans, I do consider that their character has been much traduced,—the white men have in almost every instance been the first aggressors. I have mixed a great deal among them, and at times been in situations where, if so disposed, they might have despatched me with ease—ay, and have eaten me too, without fear of detection. That the New Zealanders have been most cruelly used, abused, and ill-treated by our countrymen, may not be denied: they have been trepanned and murdered—for what?—a few tons of flax! It must indeed he a very great provocation that will compel a New Zealander to wreak his vengeance on a white man—more particularly any Europeans who may be residing among them; and it would really appear that they have an intuitive respect, blended with fear, for an Englishman. Is it not, then, to be deeply lamented that we—I say we, because the English have had more intercourse with them than any other nation — do not adopt a more mild, friendly, and conciliating line of conduct towards them, which would at once secure to us their confidence and affection, instead of alienating both, by robbing, plundering, and deliberately murdering them, as some of our countrymen have done—and that, too, unprovoked, and in the most treacherous and cowardly manner? I solemnly declare, that when I was last at Sydney, I heard a person assert that he had lighted up such a war on the south-east side of New Zealand, as would take a very long period to extinguish. He was the master of a small craft that had just returned from New Zealand, and the namesake of a man,* if he may be called a man, who had previously signalised himself by carrying New Zealanders from port to port, for the “joke” of murdering each other! And yet these wretches are suffered to run their detestable course unpunished and unmolested. But it is to be hoped, when such diabolical practices are known to the English Government, that the strong arm of the law will be stretched forth to arrest a progress in crime, which, if not checked, must lead, at no remote period, to consequences of the most fatal nature, too fearful to contemplate.

*Captain Stewart, of the Elizabeth.

Where the New Zealanders could have justice administered, their rights recognised, and their property secured by good and wholesome laws, they would, I am convinced, prove good subjects, and become a valuable acquisition to the colonist. New Zealanders do not drink. The aborigines are rapidly emerging from their pristine barbarism; and the disgusting crime of cannibalism is now less frequent among them. Were the country colonised, this iniquitous custom would cease altogether; for the detestation which the crime excites in Europeans does not escape the New Zealander’s penetration, and makes him ashamed to acknowledge it in their presence. They are getting more attached to agricultural pursuits; and some of their grounds are very prettily laid out. Implements of husbandry are now more sought after, and woollens are in greater demand. I should fain hope that the time is not far distant when we shall see them clothed in an English garb, for which they are gradually acquiring a liking.

Here is a country, upwards of 900 miles in extent (the three islands), presenting an area of 87,400 square miles, or 55,936,000 acres; a country admirably adapted to take off the surplus population of Great Britain, affording food, and a shelter, and a home, for the poorer classes of society — ay, and the middling classes too; a country wherein all the necessaries of life are amply provided — where Nature is lavish of her bounties — where the richness of the soil can only be exceeded by the beauty of the country — where the very air breathes a freshness and purity that gives elasticity to the spirits, and renders the mind cheerful and happy. I have been in most parts of the globe; but never did I experience a finer or a more equalised climate: the atmosphere is delightfully bland and healthy; the sun may strike warm in summer —and so it does—but I have never found it oppressive for the mild and mellow showers that frequent [illegible of text in source]end to refresh the land, drive away that languor often experienced in the same parallel of latitude elsewhere.

The rivers are well stocked with fine fish, in great variety — the very creeks swarm with them. There are abundance of lobsters, crawfish, oysters, prawns, and shrimps; besides clams, peppies, muscles, limpets, and cockles.

The New Zealand potato (red and white) needs no praise of mine; there are two crops of them annually. There are also two crops of the kumeroe (red and white): it is a species of the sweet potato, smaller, though far superior in every way; it may be eaten either raw or boiled, is very nutritious, and contains a great portion of saccharine matter. Large quantities of Indian corn are now raised; and there is no lack of cabbages, greens, turnips, a particularly fine species of the yam, with other esculent roots. Peaches are plentiful in the season at Hokianga; figs, grapes, oranges, melons, and the Cape gooseberry, thrive uncommonly well. There are several species of the native fruit, very pleasant and grateful to the taste. Strawberries and raspberries grow in abundance. The wheat raised at New Zealand is admitted to be far superior to any produced either in New South Wales or Van Diemen’s Land.

This beautiful country only wants colonising to render it flourishing in every vegetable production of nature; in fact, there is an abundant and a never-failing supply of all the necessaries, and most of the comforts of life, in New Zealand, were her population twenty times more numerous than it now is. Hogs are plentiful, and very cheap: these, with large quantities of potatoes, are frequently shipped off for New South Wales.

There is a great variety of wild fowl in New Zealand; among the number are ducks, geese, woodcocks, curlews, and snipes. The New Zealand pigeon is as splendidly beautiful in plumage as it is exquisitely delicious to the taste. There are other birds on the southern parts of Poenam-moo and South Island unknown to naturalists.

The soil of New Zealand is uncommonly rich, and easy of culture; the country is undulating, and the hills, in many parts, rise with a gradual ascent, until they terminate in lofty mountains, clothed with verdure all the way up. No country in the world is more blessed with fine navigable rivers, streams, and creeks, affording a facility of water-conveyance unknown to the husbandman of New South Wales or Van Diemen’s Land. No blighting winds have dominion here, nor drought to ruin the farmer; neither is the thermometer subject to those sudden changes that characterise it in New South Wales.

2

DOI: 10.4324/9781003101864-2

2. Mr. Savage*—1807.

* “Some Account of New Zealand, by John Savage, Esq., Surgeon, &c.”

“From the preceding pages I imagine it will be seen that New Zealand is a country highly interesting; the part of it which I have attempted to describe is of greater importance to Europeans than any other, on account of the ocean in its vicinity being very much frequented by spermaceti whales, and the ample supply of refreshment it affords. The harbours sue safe and capacious, the country beautiful, the soil favourable to cultivation, and the natives are, in all respects, a superior race.

“These advantages hold out great inducement for colonization, which may hereafter deserve the attention of some European power. The exorbitant price of European labour in new colonies, it is extremely probable, would be obviated by the assistance of the natives; their intelligence is such as to render them capable of instruction, and I have no doubt but they would prove as essentially useful to a colony established in their country, as the natives of India prove to our Asiatic dominions.”

3. Mr. Nicholas*—1817.

* Narrative of a Voyage to New Zealand, performed in the years 1814 and 1815, in company with the Rev. Samuel Marsden, Principal Chaplain of New South Wales. By John. Liddiard Nicholas, Esq.

“Reverting now to the subject of forming an European colony in the fine and fertile country of New Zealand, I shall proceed to submit those additional remarks with respect to it which the restricted order of the narrative precluded me from offering in the first instance. * * * * It cannot be supposed that a colony of Englishmen (for such I should wish them to be,) would proceed to New Zealand without the strongest inducements; yet, from what has been already made known of that country through the medium of the Church Missionary Society, a considerable number of persons† in England are become desirous of going out there as settlers. Without hazarding any opinion inconsiderately, I have no doubt but an English colony in New Zealand might soon become flourishing and happy; the space being so ample for their industry, the soil so fertile, the climate so salubrious, they would hare every natural advantage in their favour. And I shall new state some particulars in detail, which certainly held out a rational encouragement.

† I am authorised by the Rev. Mr. Pratt, Secretary to the Church Missionary Society, to state, that there are at this moment a vast body of persons in one town in England, who are anxious to proceed with their families to New Zeahad.”

“The whole of the northern part of New Zealand, and much of the southern likewise, are admirably adapted for the growth of every kind of grain, as also of various other productions; and the vine, the olive, the orange, the citron, with all the choicest fruits of the countries in the south of Europe, might be produced here in the greatest abundance by proper cultivation. In fact, there is scarcely any production that can stimulate man to exertion by rewarding his industry, which this country, with moderate labour, could not furnish, if we except those plants which require the heat of a tropical sun to bring them to perfection. The immense surplus of the native productions of the country, above what would be required for the use of the colonists, would be extremely valuable in a commercial point of view. The timber of its extensive forests finds at this time a quick sale in the market of Port Jackson, where it is cut up into scantling, and preferred to the timber of that place, which, from its hardness, is difficult to be worked, and, from the quantity of its gum-veins, occasions a considerable waste. When a free communication is opened with the Spanish colonies on the south-west coast of America, which, from the present posture of affairs in that part of the world, may be reasonably anticipated as an event very likely soon to take place, a fine field for speculation would present itself to the colonists of New Zealand, from which country timber has been already carried thither, and I believe with considerable advantage to those commanders of vessels who have taken it. Wood being scarce in these colonies, is always sure to bear a high price; and the settler at New Zealand, receiving his payment in specie would be enabled to purchase those European commodities which are necessary for the comforts of life, as well as for its more refined enjoyments. For the smaller timber which abounds here, a ready market is open at Calcutta, where the heavy native wood is not adapted for the yards and top-masts of vessels; and when I left Port Jackson, Mr. Marsden had it in contemplation to have always a supply of spars for the ships that came from India. Though the timber in the part of the country that we visited is not fit for the purposes of ship-building, which requires wood of considerable firmness and solidity to resist the destructive action of the worm, and the violence of the elements, yet on the Southern Island the timber is much stronger and of a closer grain. A vessel of one hundred and fifty tons burden is said to have been constructed some years back in Dusky Bay, but I have not been able to leant how fax it answered the expectation of the builder. However, from what Captain Cook states respecting the timber in this quarter, I am disposed to believe that ships both durable and substantial might be built from it.

“The fisheries of this country would be an invaluable source of wealth in themselves; and the vast quantities of fish which they would supply exportation might be sure, I should think, of finding a market in the Spanish and Portuguese colonies. The two species of the whale, so very valuable, the one for its sperm or head matter, the other for its oil, are frequently met with in these seas, so much so, that New Zealand has been for many years accounted one of the best stations for procuring those prodigious animals. Should the government at home not deem it expedient to allow the colonists to avail themselves of this lucrative traffic, but confine it exclusively to the vessels fitted out from England, still it would be of advantage to the settlement, as those vessels would put in upon their coast for provisions, in preference to Port Jackson, where, from the heavy charges of the port duties, and the almost general want of principle among the trading part of the inhabitants, the expenses to which commanders of ships are necessarily liable, become a serious drawback upon the profits of the voyage. The ursine seal, or sea-bear, and the sea-lion, are found in congregated herds to the southward; and on Campbell and Macquarie Islands, which are situated at no great distance from the ...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• Part 1 Imperial Views
• Part 2 Missionaries
• Part 3 Migration
• Part 4 Life in the Colony
• Part 5 Suffrage
• Part 6 Social Reform
• Part 7 ‘Converting’ Maori Women into Imperial Sisters
• Part 8 Fighting for Empire