Phillip Tapsell, born Hans Homan Jensen Falk (1777/1791? – 6 or 7 August 1873) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

mariner, whaler, and trader who settled in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Tapsell first arrived in New Zealand at the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for it ...

on the ''New Zealander'' on 26 March

1810 Events January–March * January 1 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially becomes Governor of New South Wales. * January 4 – Australian seal hunter Frederick Hasselborough discovers Campbell Island, in the Subantarctic. * Jan ...

. Salmond, Anne. ''Between Worlds''. 1997. Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd. . He was married three times. The first marriage was to Maria Ringa, conducted by the missionary

Thomas Kendall Thomas Kendall (13 December 1778 – 6 August 1832) was a New Zealand missionary, recorder of the Māori language, schoolmaster, arms dealer, and Pākehā Māori. Early life: Lincolnshire and London, 1778–1813 A younger son of farmer Ed ...

in the Bay of Islands on 23 June

1823 Events January–March * January 22 – By secret treaty signed at the Congress of Verona, the Quintuple Alliance gives France a mandate to invade Spain for the purpose of restoring Ferdinand VII (who has been captured by armed revolutio ...

, and claimed (by Tapsell himself) as the first Christian wedding in New Zealand. In

1828 Events January–March * January 4 – Jean Baptiste Gay, vicomte de Martignac succeeds the Comte de Villèle, as Prime Minister of France. * January 8 – The Democratic Party of the United States is organized. * January 22 – Arth ...

'Rotorua', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 23 April 2009
/ref> or November 1830 he settled in

Maketu Maketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand. Maketu is located in the Western Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow. It is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on t ...

and began trading flax. His third wife was Hine-i-turama Ngatiki, who was killed in the

Battle of Orakau The Invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

. At one time Tapsell owned both Whakaari (White) and Moutohora (Whale) islands and he lived for a while on the latter. His great-grandson, Sir Peter Tapsell, was a member of the

New Zealand Parliament The New Zealand Parliament ( mi, Pāremata Aotearoa) is the unicameral legislature of New Zealand, consisting of the King of New Zealand (King-in-Parliament) and the New Zealand House of Representatives. The King is usually represented by hi ...

from 1981 to 1996 and a Speaker of the House.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapsell, Phillip 18th-century births 1873 deaths Danish emigrants to New Zealand New Zealand sailors New Zealand people in whaling New Zealand traders Australian people in whaling People from Maketu