Tales of Banks Peninsula/Chapter 6

In this and following numbers an account is given of the foundation of the French Colony in Akaroa, and the causes that led to it. The subject is a most interesting one, and so it has been endeavored to procure information from every available source. This number is taken from “Odd Chapters from New Zealand History,” originally published in the New Zealander, and there entitled

“Though, perchance, somewhat out of chronological order, the attempt to form a French settlement in the Middle Island may follow, pertinently, in these papers, the narration of the intention to found a semi-French kingdom in these Islands. That the French Government had serious intentions of establishing colonies in the South Pacific, and a penal colony in New Zealand, is apparent from the angry debates in the French Chamber of Deputies on the 27th, 28th, and 29th of May, 1844, when M. Guizot, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared that after ‘repeatedly repudiating the sovereignty of New Zealand, the British Government was induced, by the proceedings of a rich and powerful company (the New Zealand Company), to adopt measures by which the acquisition of that sovereignty had been completed, at a time when vessels from France were on their voyage to New Zealand for the like purpose.’ M. Guizot was, however, misinformed, as the sovereignty was proclaimed prior to the despatch of the vessels mentioned.

“In August, 1838, a Captain L’Anglois, the master of a French whaler, purchased, he asserted, from the Natives on Banks Peninsula, a block of land defined in the claim as follows:—‘All Banks ​Peninsula, with the exception of the Bay of Hikuraki and Oihoa on the south, and Sandy Beach north of Port Cooper; the supposed contents 30,000 acres.’ The block included the whole of the head of the Akaroa Harbor and the site of the present town. Two deeds exist, in the French language, purporting to convey this cession of land, but they were probably not executed—but of this there is no certainty—until the return of Captain L’Anglois and M. de Belligny in 1840, after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi; neither was there any evidence, either Native or European, that such a purchase had been completed in 1838, save that of one George Fleuret, who deposed to the belief ‘that an agreement was then made by Captain L’Anglois for the purchase of some quantity of land.’ Fleuret was desirous of remaining on the Peninsula when the Cachelot (the vessel in which he was serving) went away; but on the captain’s remonstrance with him, that he could not stay there alone, and that he (the captain) intended to return, he continued the voyage, and returned with the other immigrants in the Comte de Paris in August, 1840. On his consenting to return, on his first voyage, the captain showed him ‘a paper,’ which he said was a contract or agreement, signed by a native named Chigarry, (?) for the disposal of, or promise to dispose of, land to him (Captain L’Anglois) upon his return to New Zealand.’ He also added in his evidence that he saw the captain ‘give some pantaloons and cloaks to the Native Chigarry, and others, which he understood was on account of the payment he had promised the Natives for land.’ The full amount of the purchase money, in kind, was to have been £240, of which amount only £6 was paid by the captain, in 1838. Upon the captain’s return to France; he ceded his right and title to his reputed purchase to a company, consisting ‘of two mercantile houses at Nantz, two ​at Bordeaux, and three gentlemen of Paris, who formed a company called the Nanto-Bordelaise Compagnie, reserving to himself an interest to the amount of one-fifth in the said company, and giving up the deed of sale from the Natives, as his subscription of 6000 francs to become a partner to the amount of one-fifth in the company.’ There is a certified copy of this deed, which is of some length, to be found in the proceedings of the New Zealand Company, but it carries no native signature or mark, as would have been the case had it been completed. We are told by M. S. de Belligny, who styled himself the company’s agent, that the object of the expedition was ‘the colonisation of the Middle Island of New Zealand, and for fishing upon its coasts, and that the company was formed before it possessed the slightest knowledge of the intention of the English Government to take possession of the said island.’ A similar amount of ignorance, however, was not manifested on the English side of the Channel, as the New Zealand Journal in February of the same year, prior to the departure of Captain L’Anglois on his second voyage, remarks: ‘If the French Government should send her political prisoners to British New Zealand, let it be clearly understood that they are free the instant they set foot on British land. France can exercise no jurisdiction over them there, and supposing the projet should ever ripen into action, which is very improbable—should the sons of France accept the hand of friendship, which we are quite sure will be held out to them, the New Zealand community will be the better of their peculiar intelligence and skill.” This, it should be remembered, was a comment on en article in the Journal du Harve on the question whether the Middle Island was a suitable place for the deportation of criminals, the company having agreed to cede to the Government a portion of their ​acquired territory for this purpose—it being in ‘an excellent position for defence as well as climate.’ The company had a capital of one million francs (£42,000), a sixth of which was only paid up, but the Company had agreed to cede to the French Government one-fifth of its territory ‘to establish a penal settlement.’ Accordingly the ship Comte de Paris sailed from Rochefort, commanded by Captain L’Anglois. Louis Philippe was an interested party in the company, and gave ‘a grant of money and picked men from the Royal Navy as a subsidy to the expedition. The emigrants, who were 63 in number, although stated in the Journal des Debats to number 100, comprising 30 men, 11 women, and 22 children, complained while on board, and after arrival, of the treatment they received on their passage—as other immigrants have since that early date so frequently done. But those French pioneers had certainly a considerable reason for thus murmuring, for although the good ship Comte de Paris had a complete whaling crew—men enough to man four six-oared boats and work the ship at the same time,—the captain made the emigrants work in the same manner as the crew, with the exception of their not being compelled to go aloft and furl or make sail. The immigrants on landing were to have been ‘furnished with the necessaries required by the climate, and the implements necessary for the carrying out the mission they were commissioned to fulfil, and to have provisions to serve for twelve months, counting from the time of landing, and five acres of land per adult.’ Those conditions, it appears, were not carried out in their integrity.

“Five days previous to the arrival of the Comte de Paris, H.M.S. Britomart arrived at the Peninsula, and took possession of the island in the name of the Crown: whether legally or otherwise is a moot point, as the French flag had been planted on the Penin​sula in 1838 by Commodore Cuille, of the Heroine. Three days later the French frigate L’ Aube, commanded by Commodore Lavaud, arrived, and on August the 13th, two days later, the immigrants also, having been on board from the latter end of February. Among the stores brought were six long 24-pounders, which, upon Captain Stanley’s remonstrating with Commodore Lavaud, were not allowed to be landed. Mr. Robinson, who came from the Bay of Islands in another vessel, was left there as magistrate, and from the Gazette we learn that the Commodore was particularly hospitable, and offered to send his carpenter on shore to build a house for Mr. Robinson, and insisted upon that gentleman’s living on board the L’Aube during her stay in the waters of the Peninsula, which offer, of course, was gratefully accepted until the completion of the magisterial residence. On the 19th the immigrants landed in ‘a sheltered, well-chosen part of the bay, where they could not interfere with any one,’ and commenced, with the characteristic industry of the French workman, to erect houses and cultivate land; and so successful was one of the cultivators, that the Constitutionnel of the following year, commenting on the progress of the Colony, stated that one of the colonists, who had planted himself a league from Akaroa, had, with the aid of his wife, from two acres and a half of land, cleared, in five months, 1500f. by the sale of vegetables. The English inhabitants of the Peninsula, at the time of the landing of the French immigrants, amounted to 84 adults, and their children, so from this source the 1500f. would probably partially come. At the end of the year the immigrants had not procured any stock, but were living on preserved and salt meats, with what vegetables they could get from their ‘small gardens,’ while the commodore of the L’Aube had commenced building a store for them, to protect their property ​from the weather. It must be remembered that the frigate stayed at Akaroa for a lengthened period, and the Commodore thereby arrogated to himself the domination of the settlement, but avowed most distinctly to Captain Hobson that he ‘disclaimed any national intrusion on the part of his Government, but he supported the claims of the company as private individuals, asserting this to be the only bonâ fide purchase of that district which had been made from the Natives.’ It was at this time (November, 1841) that the Governor made the proposal that the company should be given similar terms to the New Zealand Company, and put in possession of a block of land, in proportion to their outlay of capital, in the extreme northern district of the North Island, ‘in the district of Kataia, where there is a good harbor, with an abundance of fine land with an undulating surface, well adapted for vineyards.’ This proposal was not adopted, and early in the following year (1842) Monsieur Maillères arrived in England to make arrangements with the Government, with a view to the settlement of the claim and the company’s title; when the ‘Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners’ found that an expenditure by the company of £11,685 had been incurred, including, of course, the subsidy obtained from Louis Philippe. In 1845 Lord Stanley authorised an award should be given to the company of 30,000 acres, their claim not having been brought before the Commissioners appointed to inquire into land claims.

“This paper and narrative cannot be better concluded than by quoting a paragraph from Mr. Mackay, in his second volume on Southern Native affairs:—‘The New Zealand Company purchased the claims of the Nanto-Bordelaise Company, and, in virtue of other subsequent arrangements, whatever lands the New Zealand Company possessed have reverted to the Crown; but through all these pro​ceedings the original question as to what extent the Native title has been extinguished by the French Company has never been decided.’

“After the cession of the territory to the New Zealand Company, the French Government offered to take the emigrants free of charge to Tahiti, and give them the same amount of property as they possessed in New Zealand, but they all declined the offer.”

As a fitting narrative to follow the last, the compiler has selected the following account of the French settlement, principally written from information furnished by Mr. Waeckerlie, one of the original settlers, who came in the Comte de Paris.

About the year 1820, the adventurous seamen who had hitherto captured the whale in the Northern Ocean, found that the fish were fast decreasing in number, and turned longing eyes to the vast waters of the South Pacific, which voyagers had told them swarmed not only with many varieties of the whale tribe found in the north, but also with the huge sperm, whose oil was of great value, as well as the spermaceti found in its head. A few soon ventured, and their good reports and great success induced many to follow their example. At first the Cape of Good Hope was chosen as the centre of the operations of those daring men, whose lives were in continual peril, but whose profits were enormous; but year by year they fished further and further, and the coasts of Australia and New Zealand were soon made the scene of their dangerous avocation.

About 1835, before the first representative of England (Captain Hobson) had taken up his residence in Auckland, an adventurous French mariner, named Captain L’Anglois, came on a whaling cruise ​to these seas. Amongst the many harbors that he visited was the beautiful Bay of Akaroa, the perfect safety of whose sheltered waters went straight to the heart of the rough seaman, after the fierce gales he had encountered in the stormy southern seas. The luxuriant vegetation that everywhere fringed the inlets, showed that the soil was of exceeding fruitfulness; the mighty pines that towered above their meaner fellows gave promise of a vast supply of timber; whilst the innumerable kakas, pigeons, and other native birds, that woke the echoes of the bush with their harmonies and discords, and the fish that swarmed in the waters of the bay, showed that an abundant supply of nutritious food would always be obtainable. So charmed was Captain L’Anglois with the tranquillity of the spot, that, with a true Frenchman’s love of France, he coveted it for his country, and determined to found a colony on this scene of primeval loveliness. It was in the year 1837 that he first had an opportunity of taking the premier steps in this direction, by purchasing all that part of the Peninsula from the Maoris which lies between Peraki and the Akaroa Heads. Mr Waeckerlie did not know the name of the chief from whom Captain L’Anglois purchased the land, and the price paid for it, but doubtless the amount was a comparatively small one,

In 1838 Captain L’Anglois returned to France, and on his arrival he told some of his countrymen of the purchase he had made, and the result was the formation of a company to colonise his estate. The company appears to have been encouraged by the French Government, for an old ship of war called the Comte de Paris was lent to Captain L’Anglois to take out any persons who might be desirous of settling on his land, and another armed ship, called the L’Aube, was sent out to New Zealand beforehand, under the charge of Commodore Lavaud, to ​protect the colonists on their arrival. All this, however, was done quietly, for the English had already settled in parts of the islands, though New Zealand was not proclaimed a British Colony till 1841. It was not till the middle of the year 1839 that the company was formed, under the name of the Nantes Bordelaise Company. The principal people taking an active part were Captain L’Anglois, and his brother, M. Jacques L’Anglois, and M.M. St. Croix and Eugene de Belligny. In August, 1839, the company advertised for emigrants in Havre de Gras, offering a free passage and the occupation of five acres of land on arrival, which would become the freehold of the occupier in five years, if cultivated within that time, but if not cultivated it would revert to the company. Each emigrant was also promised provisions sufficient to last eighteen months after landing in the settlement. There does not seem to have been much enthusiasm shown, for it was the 1st of January, 1840, before some thirty persons left Havre in a steamer bound to Rochefort, whence the Comte de Paris was to sail for the new colony. After an eight days’ passage, they arrived at Rochefort only to find that the Comte de Paris was not nearly ready for sea. On the 8th of March, 1840, everything was ready for a start. A good many more emigrants had joined at Rochefort, so that at that time there were 65 on board, which, with the officers and crew, made the total number of souls on board the Comte de Paris 105. There were six Germans amongst the emigrants. M. St. Croix de Belligny, who is, it is said, living in Auckland, acted as agent for the company, and by his great affability and skill he appears to have won universal goodwill. There were no stock on board the vessel, not even so much as a cat or dog, but there were choice collections of all sorts of seeds, and a number of carefully selected grape vines.

​The start was a most unfortunate one, for the steamer that towed the vessel out missed the channel, and the Comte de Paris stuck in the mud, and had to be lightened of part of her cargo before she could be got off. However, on the 19th of March these difficulties were surmounted, and a fair wind soon took the vessel out of sight of France. The first part of the passage was not eventful, but was very uncomfortable, for the Comte de Paris not only sailed very slowly, but steered very badly. The weather, too, was very rough, and all on board were glad when a short stay was made at an island in the tropics (probably one of the Cape de Verdes), where fresh provisions, including a bountiful supply of bananas, were procured. Four months after starting, when off the coast of Tasmania, a terrific storm of thunder and lightning was experienced. The lightning first struck the main topgallant and topmasts, and they both carried away. The seamen were terrified at the catastrophe, and great confusion ensued. Immediate orders were given to take all sail off the mizen mast, but fortunately they were not immediately obeyed, or there would have been great loss of life, for a second flash struck the mizzen mast, and it carried away about eight feet from the deck, and the vessel broaching to in the trough of the sea, nearly capsized. Captain L’Anglois and his crew were, however, equal to the emergency. They cut away the wreck and rigged jury masts, and a month later they were off the Peninsula. Here two of the emigrants died, and, as their friends were desirous that they should be buried on land, the vessel anchored in Pigeon Bay, where the remains of the unfortunate colonists were interred on the beach. It was a primitive burial, and all trace of the graves has long since been swept away. Captain L’Anglois was anxious, before entering Akaroa Harbor, to ascertain if Commodore Lavaud had arrived there, ​and taken possession of the place, as previously arranged; so he despatched a whaleboat from Pigeon Bay for that purpose. Four days later the boat returned with the distressing intelligence that there was no sign of the frigate. On the 14th of August the Comte de Paris sailed from Pigeon Bay, and anchored at Akaroa Heads on the 15th, and dispatched another boat up the harbor in search of the lagging Commodore. This time the search was successful, for they found the vessel had arrived, and the frigate’s launch was sent to tow the Comte de Paris up the harbor. Very lucky it was for those on board that such was the case, for there was a heavy sea running at the Heads, and one of the flukes of the anchor had broken, and the vessel had drifted close to the rocks. However, the frigate’s boat soon had her in tow, and once inside the Heads all difficulties were passed, and the following morning found her safe anchored off the future town of Akaroa. All on board were delighted and astonished at the delightful prospect, and the colonists were determined not to spend another night on board the ship, so all the spare sails and canvas were taken ashore, tents were hastily rigged, and the wearied voyagers reposed that night where the Akaroa Mail office at present stands. The morning of the 17th was calm and beautiful, and the colonists were pleasantly awakened at the first dawn of day by the notes of innumerable birds.

A strange circumstance had been noticed by the new arrivals in coming up the harbor When the Comte de Paris was towed past Green’s Point, near where Mr W. B. Tosswill’s residence now stands, all on board saw a small group of men surrounding a flagstaff, from which flew gaily in the morning breeze “the Union Jack of Old England.” Such a sight naturally surprised and disturbed the new comers, but they were told it meant nothing, but was merely a ​piece of vain glory on the part of two or three Englishmen who happened to be whaling in the vicinity. The real facts of the case, however, were by no means so unimportant as was represented. It appears that Commodore Lavaud, on his way from England, touched at Auckland, and that whilst his vessel was lying in the calm waters of the Waitemata, Captain Hobson, who then represented British interests in the north, though New Zealand had not yet been made an English Colony, entertained him right royally. It appears that in an unguarded moment the Commodore let out the secret of the French expedition to Akaroa, and what was more injudicious, spoke with rapture of the beauty of the Akaroa Harbor, the fertility of the soil, and other natural advantages. Now Captain Hobson was a man of action and of foresight. He saw that New Zealand had a great future before it, and was anxious that when it was made a jewel of the British Crown, it should be without a flaw. He then called in stratagem to his aid, and whilst the gay Frenchmen were enjoying themselves ashore after their weary voyage, a small brig of war, named the Britomart, was secretly despatched, under the charge of Mr Robinson, who was instructed to make the best of his way to Akaroa, and if possible hoist the English flag there before the French arrived Meanwhile, Commodore Lavaud appears to have been in no hurry to reach his destination, for he knew the sailing qualities of the Comte de Paris, and did not think she could arrive here till the end of August. Besides, the company was good, and he knew Akaroa was only a beautiful wilderness at the best, so it was early in August before the L’Aube sailed down the east coast and passed through Cook’s Strait on her way to the Peninsula. Meanwhile, Mr Robinson and his expedition had not had a very good time of it, and it was with very desponding hearts that on ​the 14th of August they reached Akaroa, for they feared the French must have been before them and taken possession of the place. What was their delight, then, to find that no foreign keel had ploughed the waters of the bay. No time was lost, the English flag was at once hoisted, and the country claimed for the British Crown. It was not a moment too soon, however, for the following morning Commodore Lavaud arrived, just a few hours too late, But the new colonists knew nothing of this. The Commodore held a conference with Mr. Robinson, and it was agreed that whilst the French man-of-war remained in the harbor, the English flag should not be hoisted, and the fact of their having taken possession before the arrival of the French be kept a secret, for fear it should lead to disturbances between the English and the new comers. The secret was well kept, and though of course many rumors were current, it was not till years afterwards that the arrivals by the Comte de Paris were aware that they were living in an English, and not a French Colony. As soon as possible after the landing the land was allotted to the settlers. As before stated, the bush came down almost to the water’s edge in many places, so there was little clear land, It was therefore arranged to divide the land facing the sea into 2½ acre blocks, giving one to each emigrant, and to let them select their other 2½ acres where they liked, it being the condition of the tenure that the land should be cultivated within five years of the arrival, or revert to Captain L’Anglois. The colonists all avoided selecting land in the bush, but took up the clearings which they found here and there, which were then covered with toi toi. They lived altogether in the tents for about a month, but by that time they nearly all removed to the wharès they had built on their respective sections. The six Germans who were amongst the emigrants found that they could not get their ​sections altogether in Akaroa, so they determined to explore Captain L’Anglois’ estate further. They found a beautiful bay with plenty of clear land a little higher up the harbor, and asked permission of the Commodore to locate themselves there. Permission was granted, five acres were parcelled out for each, and the bay was christened with the name it still bears of German Bay. The Germans built a great V hut, 40ft long by 30ft wide, of timber and rushes, with proper divisions, and in this they passed a very pleasant winter. Commodore Lavaud built a magazine in Akaroa, just where the Court House now stands, and this was used for the storage of provisions and tools, and also for a hospital. Everything went peacefully along, the seeds germinated well, the vines flourished, and the colonists were content with their prospects. The French settlement was of course under French law, which was administered by Commodore Lavaud. Mr Robinson was the English Resident Magistrate, but his office was almost a sinecure.

It has been previously related that a Mr. Green resided, when the French colonists arrived, at the point near Mr. Tosswill’s, where the British flag was seen flying by the new arrivals. Mr. Green was in charge of some six or eight head of cattle belonging to Mr. W. B. Rhodes. Mr. Rhodes was well acquainted with New Zealand, and had had numerous transactions, both with the earliest settlers and the Natives. Some six months before the French arrived, he had been in Wellington, and from thence he went to Sydney, then the most settled part of Australasia, and had purchased a number of the best cattle he could procure, which he brought over in a vessel belonging to him, and placed in various localities under the charge of persons in his employ​ment. Mr Rhodes was one of those who, at a very early period, recognised the vast capabilities of these islands, and foresaw that in the time to come they would support a large population, and his foresight was deservedly rewarded later on, by the amassing of a very large fortune. These cattle were not allowed to be sold at any price, and were simply allowed to increase as fast as possible. The cows were not milked, the calves running with them, and one can imagine with what great longing for milk, beef, and butter, they were viewed by the colonists, who at that time had not a single head of their own. Mr. Green did something else besides looking after the cattle—he used to purchase any grog he could from the whaling vessels that visited the port, and, as there was no hotel, it was a standing joke with the colonists to say that they were going to have a drink of milk at Mr. Green's, when they went there in search of something which they considered far more exhilarating. In a couple of years Mr. Green left Mr. Rhodes to start an hotel, and was succeeded by Mr. Reid, and a short time after Mr. Joseph Rhodes came to superintend the place, and also another in Flea Bay, where some more cattle had been placed. He sold the first cow, which realised the enormous sum (for an ordinary milker) of £43. Such was the first start of dairy farming in Akaroa. Cows were, however, soon to become more plentiful.

In 1841, M. St. Croix de Belligny went to Wellington about matters connected with the new settlement, and to get a supply of money. Towards the end of the following year he went to Sydney, and brought back a bull and ten or twelve cows, and also one little entire horse, the first that ever set foot in Akaroa. This last excited the extreme admiration of the Maoris, and they coveted him exceedingly. This was rather a good thing for the French Association, for the third and last payment for the land ​was then due to the Natives, and the horse was made a part of it. It may here be mentioned that the payment for the land was nearly all in kind, very little money passing. The Comte de Paris brought out a large number of gaudy old faded uniforms, gold lace, cocked hats, and other trumpery rubbish, which was eagerly accepted as “utu” for the land by the unsophisticated aboriginals. One must not forget to mention, however, that in this last payment was included a small schooner, built by Mr Sinclair, for which the Association gave that gentleman two hundred acres in Pigeon Bay, in that inlet now known as Holmes’ Bay, where the property of Mr. Holmes is at present situated. M. de Belligny, like Mr. Rhodes, let his cattle go on increasing at first, but on leaving the Colony in 1845, he sold them at the lowest price he could possibly afford, which was from £20 to £25 per head, and very glad indeed were the settlers to get them. The colonists, however, had had both milk, butter, and beef before this, though they had had to pay a good price for them. The first steer calved in Akaroa by M. de Belligny’s cows was killed in 1844, some eighteen months after the cattle arrived from Sydney. Mr Waeckerlie was the butcher, and every pound of the beef brought 2s. 6d. per pound, and more would have been gladly given, for fresh beef is never so well appreciated as by those who have been years without it. The first milk and butter came from Pigeon Bay, Messrs. Hay and Sinclair came over to that place in 1841 from Wellington, and brought some cattle with them, and they found a market for all the butter they could make, at from 2s. 6d. to 3s per pound. The price was afterwards lowered to 2s., and Mr. Hay used to walk over about once a week with twenty or thirty pounds, which he always disposed of at that price.

Mr. Green was the first hotel keeper; after he ​left Mr. Rhodes he built a commodious hotel at Green’s Point, and procured a license. The building was a very substantial one, 40ft. by 30ft., and the timber for it was cut by Mr. Waeckerlie. It was only one storey high, but most conveniently arranged, and was very well patronised, more especially when a whaler came in, when there were “high jinks” indeed. The building was afterwards bought by Mr. George Tribe, and taken by him to Lyttelton, and placed on Norwich Quay, where it was burnt down in 1854 or 1855. After selling this building, Mr. Green bought a piece of land from M. Belligny. agent for the French Association, and put up another and larger hotel in the more central position now occupied by Armstrong’s Buildings, just opposite the present Government Wharf. As soon, however, as circumstances warranted it, there was a French hotel, M. de Belligny’s servant being the proprieter. The building he put up for that purpose is the house where Mr C. M. Henning at present lives, and, like Mr. Green’s, his enterprise was a most successful one.

There was of course no grain of any kind grown the first year or two, and the colonists were dependent on their supplies from outside sources. They were supplied in this manner. Once a year the French man-of-war on the station visited either Valparaiso or Sydney, and came back with what was required. On the first of these trips, in 1841, the vessel was delayed by contrary winds, and the colonists were in consequence reduced to sore straits for flour, rice, and other farinaceous food. Tea, too, was at a premium, but the latter was certainly a luxury, and many supplied its place with the outawhai or manakau. Their potatoes, too, were not yet fit for digging, so that they really were inconvenienced, though of course there was no danger of starvation, with the bush teeming with birds and the ​harbor with fish, in addition to their own stores. However, news came that a whaler was in at Port Cooper, and it was immediately determined to send round an expedition to procure the much longed for flour. M. Fleury took the command, and manned a whale boat with five or six men and started for Port Cooper. The winds were, however, peculiarly adverse, and he never got any further than the Long Lookout Point, for the sea was too heavy and threatening, and he was afraid the boat would be swamped. After making the most persevering attempts for two or three days, the party had to take their boat into the nearest bay, and walk home to Akaroa. Very weary indeed were the adventurers when they started, and the walk through the then almost unexplored country was a very rough one, so that on their arrival back they were nearly dead with fatigue. No one ever saw or heard anything after that of the whaler in Port Cooper, but a few days afterwards the man-of-war arrived, bringing abundance of the much-coveted stores to the Colony. From that time the supply of flour never ran short, for in 1843 and 1844 every one began to grow their own wheat. Little patches were sown in the clearings, and gave the most enormous returns, eighty bushels per acre being considered only an ordinary crop. One piece of five acres, on the spur between Akaroa and German Bay, gave a most enormous yield, and, from what was then considered its vast size and extraordinary prolificness, it was the admiration of the colonists Potatoes, too, did exceedingly well, and soon became very plentiful.

The same frigate did not always stop on the station. Two years after the landing, another frigate, commanded by Captain du Boissy, arrived to relieve the L’Aube. It was optional with Commodore Lavaud whether he should go Home in his own or take charge of the new arrival, but he liked Akaroa, ​and chose the latter course. Two years later, in 1844, Commodore Berard arrived in another vessel. He was the senior officer to Commodore Lavand, and so could do as he pleased, and, although Lavaud wished to remain, he sent him Home. Commodore Lavaud does not appear to have been at all well liked. He was too much of a martinet, and his decisions were in many cases extremely arbitrary. His successor was a very different man, and by his great kindness and general ability soon won the good will of the settlers. Mr. Robinson, the English Magistrate, too, left in 1842 or 1843, and was succeeded by Mr. John Watson. Mr Robinson’s house was where Wagstaff’s Hotel now stands. He bought five acres from the French Association there, and put up a dwelling-house which was used as an R.M. Court. Mr Robinson was not at all liked by the colonists, but his successor, Mr Watson, was universally esteemed both by English and French for his great impartiality in the administration of justice, and his great general kindliness.

When the settlers arrived, there were not many Maoris in the neighborhood of Akaroa It is true there were pas at Onuku, Wainui, and Tikao Bay, but these had only some fifty or sixty inhabitants altogether, and they were a most weak, harmless lot, whose leading vice appeared to be the habit of begging incessantly for everything they saw. In 1843, however, there were a good number in Port Levy, Pigeon Bay, Little River, and Kaiapoi, and it was then first reported that these were going to unite and make an attack upon the infant Colony during the absence of the frigate at Valparaiso for stores. Of course, with the man-of-war in harbor, the colonists knew they were quite safe, but they did not by any means like the idea of being attacked whilst she was absent. However, one thing was certain, the vessel must go for stores, and so the ​best possible arrangements were made for defence, in case of an attack being made. A garden had been established at French Farm by Commodore Lavaud, for the growth of vegetables for his crew, and here fifteen or sixteen of the sailors were left, under the command of a quartermaster. Some five or six more men, all that could possibly be spared from the ship, were stationed at Akaroa. Their precautions, however, were not confined to this, for it was determined to erect three block-houses as places of retreat in case the Maoris came. The sites for these block-houses were selected as follows:—Where Bruce’s Hotel now stands, near the beach just at the back of the present Town Hall, and in German Bay. They were very strongly built, the upright timbers being 8ft. by 8ft., whilst the planking was of black pine, four inches thick. They were two storeys high, the upper storey overlapping the lower, as we see in the old English houses in Chester and elsewhere, in order that those above could fire down on any Maoris who attempted to fire the building below. A ditch 4ft. wide at the bottom and 8ft. at top was also dug round the walls, the earth out of which was made into a sloping bank against the sides of the house, and the ditch was filled with water. The only admittance to these houses was by a drawbridge across the moat, and thence by a ladder to a door in the upper storey, there being no entrance at all from below. When the drawbridge was up and the ladder raised, those within were nearly perfectly safe from any attack the Maoris could have made, for the 4in. boards would stop any bullet from an ordinary gun. As a matter of course there were loopholes here and there for the defenders to fire from if the place were besieged.

These block-houses were never used but once, and that was during the absence of the ship, when the news was brought that some 250 Natives were ​coming from the North to attack them. The rumour spread rapidly, and the more cautious removed their wives and children and more precious goods into the block-houses, and slept there at night. Sentinels were also posted to give notice of the Maoris’ approach, and the men were drilled and armed with a carbine, cutlass, and two pistols each. At last the word came that from 60 to 100 strange Maoris were actually on their way from Pigeon Bay. All the people then living in German Bay went into the block-house, and when the Maoris found them so well prepared, they of course announced that they came as friends only. They passed on and went into Akaroa, meeting the leaders of the colonists near the present site of the Town Hall. They announced that they came not as foes, but as friendly visitors, and were accordingly welcomed and had some food given them, after partaking of which they entertained their hosts by giving one of their war dances in grand style, and then they went on to the Kaik at Onuku. As a whole the colonists behaved very well during their trial; but one gentleman caused much amusement. This was rather a diminutive Frenchman, whose counsels were of blood and thunder before the Maoris arrived. He argued that it was no good going in for half measures; that they must put their foot down and show the Natives what they could do. He scorned the idea of anything approaching a compromise, as degrading to a band of resolute Europeans, and said if they were only firm the savages must yield. When the Maoris really did came, however, a change came over the spirit of the heroic man, and as he gazed at the fierce tattoed faces, sinewy limbs, and great bulk of the Native warriors, his face grew whiter and whiter, and at last he was unable to bear their terrible aspect any longer, and sneaked off into the block-house, much to the amusement of his comrades. ​He was the only man that showed the white feather; but the week the Maoris stopped was a time of anxiety, and the greatest possible caution was exercised, for all feared that the least relaxation of watchfulness would be the signal for an attack. One night Mr. Green fired a shot, and produced quite a panic, every one fancying the struggle had come at last. However, after a week’s peaceful sojourn at Onuku, Wainui, and Tikao Bay, the strange Natives went away, most of them going back viâ Little River.

There was one pleasant custom observed during these early days, which was, that every family gave a feast to the rest of the colonists annually. These meetings were pleasant ones indeed; whilst the older colonists related their experiences to each other, the younger danced and made love in just the same manner as they do now-a-days. At the end of the five years the colonists all got their five acres. Many of them had never fulfilled the conditions laid down by the French Association, but that was not allowed to stand in the way, and an English Crown grant was promised and given to all who applied.

There were sometimes disputes between the French officers, and one of these culminated in a duel, which was fought in the present Lavaud street, Akaroa, in the end of 1845 or beginning of 1846. The combatants were the Commissioner and Dr. Renaut, the doctor-in-chief of the French man-of-war Le Rhin, which Commodore Berard commanded. The people on shore were of opinion that something most extra-ordinary must be going on, for the combatants, accompanied by their friends, went round the place early on the morning of the duel, discharging every little liability due to the townspeople. The duel was fought on the sandy beach opposite where Mrs. Scott’s shop at present stands. The distance (25 paces) was carefully and solemnly measured by the ​seconds in the presence of a group of officers, and the weapons, which were pistols, were carefully loaded and presented to the duellists. Lots were then drawn for the first fire, and the Commissioner won. Taking a steady aim, he fired, but the cap was defective, and did not ignite the priming. Dr. Renaut then raised his pistol and fired low. The bullet cut the trousers and grazed the right thigh of the Commissioner, but did no further damage. No doubt irritated by his narrow escape, the Commissioner called out angrily to reload, but the seconds declared that wounded honour was fully satisfied, and refused to allow the combat to proceed further. There was another circumstance which also tended to stop further hostilities. The Commodore was of course as well aware of what was going to take place as any officer in the Le Rhin, but etiquette forced him to appear unconscious. During the time the preparations for the duel were being made, he was pacing in front of the old Roman Catholic Church, at the back of the site of Mr. O’Reilly’s stables, but before they fired he stepped behind, so as not to see the duel. Directly he heard the shot, however, he hastened to the scene of the combat, and of course the mere fact of his presence prevented its being carried further. The causes leading to the duel are not known, but are believed to have arisen from a trivial disagreement.