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on his retnrn to give up the boat. Eventually, I believe, the men got a passage to Sydney, and obtained the money due to them from Messrs Long, Wright, and Richards.

“But we must hold on. I am going on a bit too fast. I came down, as I was going to say, under engagement to the Wellers. I and the others were under agreement to the firm for the whaling season, which, for bay whaling, reckoned from the middle of March to the middle of October. They kept me forshore work mostly, giving us all sorts of jobs in summer time, when, as I have said there was no whaling. One of the things we did was to go to Purakanui to blast stones and put up a fishing station there. One of our head men was a Sydney native named Hughes, a real smart fellow either at shore work or in the boats, especially about whales. He had a fancy to leave the Wellers, and did so in the June or July after we arrived. Two American vessels called in, and he went with them. One of these was named the Merrimac, and the other was the Martha. Captain Potter was master of the Martha. They were bound for Banks Peninsula after fish, and a rare good time of it they had. As I was told afterwards, they filled up in Peraki Bay just about as fast as the men could work. Well, when they were full they came our way again, bringing Hughes with them. He was all a-go to have a try on his own hook. He had brought two boats with him and a complete fit out for starting a station, these things having been got from the Yankee ships, and he at once set about getting together a party from those of us who were willing to join. Our time with Mr Weller was up in October as I have told you, and six of us agreed to go in with Hughes. We went round in boats to have a look at the place which he had selected, Moeraki Point, as the site for the station, and everyone could