Alfred Patchett Warbrick (24 February 1860 – 19 May 1940) was a New Zealand boatbuilder, rugby player and tourist guide.

Biography

Warbrick was the first of five children of Abraham Warbrick, an English immigrant, and Nga Karauna Paerau, a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

woman and the daughter of a

Ngāti Rangitihi Ngāti Rangitihi is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, located in the Bay of Plenty. The tribe is part of the greater Te Arawa confederation of tribes. Nga pumanawa e waru o Te Arawa, the 8 beating hearts of Te Arawa derives from the 8 children of the ...

chief. After his mother died, his father remarried and had seven more children. Four of his brothers

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

Fred Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...

Joe Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

and

Billy Billy may refer to: * Billy (name), a name (and list of people with the name) Animals * Billy (dog), a dog breed * Billy (pigeon), awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945 * Billy (pygmy hippo), a pet of U.S. President Calvin Coolidge * Billy, a youn ...

went on to tour Britain, Ireland and Australia with Alfred as part of the

1888–89 New Zealand Native football team The 1888–89 New Zealand Native football team was a New Zealand rugby union team that toured Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand in 1888 and 1889. It mostly comprised players of Māori ancestry, but also included some Pākehā (white N ...

. For his education, Warbrick was sent to the Catholic school at

Takapuna Takapuna is a suburb located on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is situated at the beginning of a south-east-facing peninsula forming the northern side of the Waitematā Harbour. While very small in terms of population, it ...

, near

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

. There, with the help of the minister for native affairs Donald McLean, Warbrick became an apprentice to the boatbuilder Charles Bailey. He was working with Bailey from age 14 to 24, and practiced rowing, yachting, hunting and rugby in his free time. In 1888 he and his four brothers were included into the New Zealand Native Football Team, which was captained by Joe Warbrick. Earlier in 1885 Alfred moved to Te Wairoa, to work as a boatbuilder in the

Lake Rotorua , image = Lake Rotorua.jpg , caption = Lake Rotorua , alt = Lake Rotorua , image_bathymetry = , pushpin_map=New Zealand#North Island , pushpin_map_alt = Location of Lake Rotorua , pushpin_relief=yes , caption_bathymetry = , location = R ...

district and to help Joe in his land business. Besides that, Alfred also built a public hall at Wairoa. After the

1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera In 1886, a violent eruption occurred at Mount Tarawera, near the city of Rotorua on New Zealand's North Island. At an estimated Volcanic Explosivity Index of 5, the eruption is the largest and deadliest in New Zealand during the past 500 years, w ...

, Alfred and his brothers Arthur and Joe joined the rescue operations. Alfred established himself as a local guide, and worked in this capacity for the next few years. He contested the

Eastern Maori Eastern Maori was one of New Zealand's four original parliamentary Māori electorates established in 1868, along with Northern Maori, Western Maori and Southern Maori. In 1996, with the introduction of MMP, the Maori electorates were updated, an ...

electorate in the and came third of four candidates. He never accepted that the

Pink and White Terraces The Pink and White Terraces ( and ), were natural wonders of New Zealand. They were reportedly the largest silica sinter deposits on earth. Until recently, they were lost and thought destroyed in the 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera, while new hy ...

Lake Rotomahana Lake Rotomahana is an lake in northern New Zealand, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Rotorua. It is immediately south-west of the dormant volcano Mount Tarawera, and its geography was substantially altered by a major 1886 eruption of ...

were destroyed, and became involved in the public debates concerning their fate. In 1903 he was appointed as head guide of the trip to

Waimangu Geyser The Waimangu Geyser, located near Rotorua in New Zealand, was for a time the most powerful geyser in the world. The Geyser was seen erupting in late 1900. Its eruptions were observed reaching up to in height, and it excited worldwide interes ...

then the largest geyser in the worldorganised by the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts. On 30 August 1903, the geyser suddenly erupted killing Joe and three other tourists in vicinity. On 30 December 1880 Warbrick married Florence Sarah Mays, the daughter of a storekeeper, at Devonport, Auckland. They had three sons born between 1882 and 1885. Warbrick had a fourth son with Ngapuia Tupara, born in 1893 or 1894, and at least four more children with Georgina Te Rauoriwa Strew, a concert party performer and guide at Whakarewarewa. Warbrick continued working as a guide until retirement, becoming the subject of the James Cowan's 1934 book ''Adventures in Geyserland''. He died on 19 May 1940 and was buried at

Whakarewarewa Whakarewarewa (reduced version of Te Whakarewarewatanga O Te Ope Taua A Wahiao, meaning ''The gathering place for the war parties of Wahiao'', often abbreviated to Whaka by locals) is a Rotorua semi-rural geothermal area in the Taupo Volcanic ...

. Georgina Warbrick died in 1953, and Warbrick's other wife, Iripu Edie Warbrick of Whakarewarewa, died in 1958.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warbrick, Alfred Patchett 1860 births 1940 deaths Ngāti Rangitihi people Te Arawa people New Zealand Māori rugby union players Unsuccessful candidates in the 1887 New Zealand general election 1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera Māori All Blacks players People from the Bay of Plenty Region Colony of New Zealand people Sportspeople from the Colony of New Zealand