The Sealers' War (1810–1821) in southern New Zealand (then part of the

Colony of New South Wales The Colony of New South Wales was a colony of the British Empire from 1788 to 1901, when it became a State of the Commonwealth of Australia. At its greatest extent, the colony of New South Wales included the present-day Australian states of New ...

), also known as the "War of the Shirt", was a series of often indiscriminate attacks and reprisals between

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 Co ...

and European

sealers Sealer may refer either to a person or ship engaged in seal hunting, or to a sealant; associated terms include: Seal hunting * Sealer Hill, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica * Sealers' Oven, bread oven of mud and stone built by sealers around 1800 ...

. Initially minor misunderstandings between the two peoples quickly led to armed conflict. This resulted in a period of mistrust and animosity between

and sealers fueling several conflicts, leading to the deaths of about 74 people and the burning of the village of

Ōtākou Otakou ( ) is a settlement within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located 25 kilometres from the city centre at the eastern end of Otago Peninsula, close to the entrance of Otago Harbour. Though a small fishing villag ...

on the

Otago Peninsula The Otago Peninsula () is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Ot ...

. Records exist from both sides of the conflict but not from any impartial observers.Robert McNab, ''Murihiku'', Invercargill, NZ: 1907,p.263 for the suggestion the attacks arose from a supposedly treacherous nature of Māori.The text of the Creed manuscript is reproduced in

Peter Entwisle Peter Malcolm William Entwisle (20 September 1948 – 14 March 2018) was a New Zealand art historian and writer, notably on the history of Dunedin and of New Zealand art. Early life Entwisle's parents both worked within the book industry. ...

's, ''Taka: A Vignette Life of William Tucker 1784–1817'',Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 2005 as appendix vi, pp. 128–131. Charles Creed, MS papers, 1187/201, Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, NZ.

''Sydney Cove'' and the initial incident 1810

Late in 1810, ''

Sydney Cove Sydney Cove (Eora language, Eora: ) is a bay on the southern shore of Sydney Harbour, one of several harbours in Port Jackson, on the coast of Sydney, New South Wales. Sydney Cove is a focal point for community celebrations, due to its central ...

'', an English sealing vessel, was anchored in

Otago Harbour Otago Harbour is the harbor, natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour m ...

while its crew were working at

Cape Saunders Kaimata, or Cape Saunders, is the prominent headland on the Pacific Ocean coast of Muaupoko, the Otago Peninsula, in the far south-east of New Zealand's South Island. It is home to the Cape Saunders Lighthouse. Captain James Cook sighted the la ...

on the

. Māori were in the habit of visiting such vessels to trade for pork and potatoes. During one such visit, a Māori chief, Te Wareripirau, according to one of Creed's informants, or Te Wahia, according to the other, stole a red shirt and a knife amongst other items. Some of the sailors attacked the chief with cutlasses. He "fled from them with his bowels protruding through the wound in the side" and died. They left behind James Caddell who became one of the first Pākehā-Māori. At Waipapa Point one of ''Sydney Cove''s gangs landed and proceeded overland to the

Mataura River The Mataura River is in the Southland Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is long. Description The river's headwaters are located in the Eyre Mountains to the south of Lake Wakatipu. From there it flows southeast towards Gore, New ...

mouth, where they were surprised and killed by Māori under Honekai. The ''Sydney Cove'' paused at

Stewart Island Stewart Island (, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura, formerly New Leinster) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a la ...

before continuing its voyage. In a separate but related incident later that same year men from ''

Brothers A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...

'', who had been in the vicinity of Otago Harbour, proceeded south seeking a passing ship to take them back to Sydney. During this time four of them were surprised and killed by

''Matilda'' 1814

These tensions still existed in 1814 when six

lascar A lascar was a sailor or militiaman from the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Arab world, British Somaliland or other lands east of the Cape of Good Hope who was employed on European ships from the 16th century until the mid-20th centur ...

s (

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n seamen) from ''Matilda'', absconded from her in a long boat near

Fiordland Fiordland (, "The Pit of Tattooing", and also translated as "the Shadowlands"), is a non-administrative geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the western third of Southland. Most of F ...

. Possibly near

Dusky Sound Tamatea / Dusky Sound is a fiord on the southwest corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park. Geography One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wi ...

three of them were killed and the other three were taken prisoner. ''Matilda'' went on to

and from there sent Robert Brown in an open boat to look for the missing men. He came up the east coast and touched at Cape Saunders before going on up the coast to a point some eight miles north of

Moeraki Moeraki is a small fishing village on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was once the location of a whaling station. In the 1870s, local interests believed it could become the main port for the north Otago area and a railwa ...

. There he and his seven companions hauled the boat ashore and went to sleep under it, but were seen by Māori and attacked and all but two were killed. The two survivors fled through the night to what is now known as Bobby's Head near the Pleasant Valley. Māori initially entertained the survivors, but upon discussion with later arriving Māori who had participated in the attack, killed the two survivors as well. Meanwhile, Fowler brought ''Matilda'' into Otago Harbour, the site of the 1810 incident. Here they received a friendly reception from the Māori and Fowler later used this to attempt a correction of the common conception that the Māori were hostile to Europeans.

''Sophia'' and the burning of Ōtākou 1817

In 1815 William Tucker, who had been in the Otago Harbour area as early as 1809, landed again and settled at Whareakeake (later called Murdering Beach). There he kept goats and sheep, had a Māori wife, built a house, and apparently set up an export trade in ornamental – neck pendants made from old adzes. He left but returned on ''Sophia'', a

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

sealer commanded by James Kelly, apparently with other Europeans meaning to settle. ''Sophia'' anchored in Otago Harbour in 1817 and Tucker was well received. Two or three days later Kelly went to visit Whareakeake in an open boat, with Tucker and five others, having been persuaded by Tucker not to take their firearms. At Whareakeake they had a friendly reception and encountered one of the ''Matilda''s lascars who told them of his countrymen's fate. It seems Tucker had gone into his house but Kelly was attacked, at the instigation of the Whareakeake chief Te Matahaere. In the ensuing melee Veto Viole, John Griffiths, and William Tucker were killed (Griffiths was Kelly's brother-in-law). Escaping by longboat, Kelly and the other survivors returned to ''Sophia'' in Otago Harbour. According to their own report, they found her boarded by more Māori; they regained control of the vessel after a bloody fight, during which the Māori chief, Korako, was captured, and later shot when he attempted to escape. Historians caution that Kelly's account of events, made to justify the actions he took, exaggerates the danger he and his men were in. It is certain that they killed many Māori, including Korako, at that time. Kelly then proceeded to destroy multiple canoes and set fire to "the beautiful city of Otago". This probably refers to

, on the other side of the harbour; however, the Whareakeake village does seem to have been burned at around the same time, and abandoned rather than rebuilt. A was placed on the site and lifted in the 1860s. The motive for the attack at Whareakeake is unclear. Kelly believed it was a reprisal for previous shootings of Māori by Europeans. Another account accused Tucker of having stolen a Māori preserved head in 1811 and inaugurated the trade in these items; this is considered to be poorly evidenced. Local Māori tradition has it that the trouble arose over the ''Sophia''s crew's treatment of the women at Ōtākou.

''General Gates'' and peace 1821

These hostilities and the diminution of seal populations, saw a decline in sealing ventures to southern New Zealand. It seems this was unknown to Captain Abimeleck Riggs of the American sealer ''General Gates'', who in late 1819 landed a gang at

. He had a troubled cruise and it wasn't until 1821 that he returned. He then dropped a second gang and then a third at

Taiari / Chalky Inlet Taiari / Chalky Inlet is one of the southernmost fiords in Fiordland, in the southwestern corner of New Zealand's South Island and part of Fiordland National Park. As with the neighbouring fiords of Tamatea / Dusky Sound to the north and Raki ...

. Māori attacked the second gang in October 1821. Six of his men were captured, taken north up the west coast, where eventually four were killed. Meanwhile, the Māori killed a boy that the gang at Chalky left to look after their stores. The Māori pursued the rest of the gang and killed two members before the survivors came across Captain Edwardson of ''Snapper'' in Chalky Inlet. The pursuing Māori were led by 'Te Pehi', 'Topi' and 'Te Whera'. Also with the pursuers was James Caddell, who, was originally captured from ''Sydney Cove'', had acculturated himself to Māori society. Edwardson now took Caddell to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, where his arrival caused a sensation in 1823 and where a peace was brokered. Thereafter, sealing resumed although it soon petered out again because the animal populations had been severely depleted. A.C. Begg & N.C. Begg, ''Port Preservation: the story of Preservation Inlet and the Solander Grounds'', Christchurch, NZ: Whitcombe & Tombs, 1973, pp. 117–121.

Bibliography

*''Behold the Moon: the European Occupation of the Dunedin District 1770–1848'', Peter Entwhistle, Port Daniel Press, Dunedin, 1998. *''Taka, a Vignette Life of William Tucker 1784–1817'', Peter Entwhistle, Port Daniel Press, Dunedin, 2005.

References

{{Sealing Wars involving New Zealand Māori history Race relations in New Zealand Seal hunting History of Otago 1810s conflicts 1810 in Oceania 1814 in Oceania 1817 in Oceania 1821 in Oceania 19th century in Dunedin 1810s in New Zealand 1820s in New Zealand Otago Harbour