William Wakefield - New Zealand

New Zealand

In early 1839 the New Zealand Company in London was hurriedly organizing its first expedition, because they were anxious to get it underway before the government stopped them. They already had a ship, the Tory. At the suggestion of his brother, Edward Gibbon, they appointed Wakefield as the commander of the expedition. The Tory sailed from London on 4 May 1839 with Wakefield as sole and unqualified leader of the expedition. However, he also had a very full and complete set of instructions about their activities in New Zealand. The instructions came under three headings: the purchase of land for the New Zealand Company, the acquisition of knowledge about New Zealand, and preparation for the formation of settlements. Wakefield was expected to treat the Māori with utmost fairness, to make certain they were fully aware of the nature of the transactions they were entering into. He had to make certain they knew what the Company intended in the long term, the number of settlers to be expected, and the extent of the proposed settlements. He was not to complete any purchase until he was certain that all the vendors were happy with the deal. Furthermore he was instructed to be generous with the goods offered for the purchase.

Reading Wakefield's subsequent accounts of the deals he made with the Māori and also other accounts (such as that written by his nephew, Edward Jerningham Wakefield, who accompanied him on the expedition as acting secretary), every effort was made to fulfil these conditions. This is an important point.

It has become an established historical "fact" that many Māori were cheated of their land. Some of the later purchases of the New Zealand Company may have been questionable. But for first purchase made of the area that is now Wellington and the Hutt Valley, every effort was made to be scrupulously fair and open. Afterwards both sides seemed to be very happy with the deal and lived together amicably, side by side, for many months.

Wakefield's first sight of New Zealand was not encouraging: successive ranges of formidable mountains. They took on supplies of wood and water at Ship Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound and met their first Māori, who were very interested in trading. One of the offers Wakefield firmly rejected was that of their wives and daughters for the comfort of the sailors. Later on, the missionaries tried to claim that some of the goods Wakefield gave the Māori were not payment for land but payment for the use of Māori women. When the nature of the missionaries' accusation became clear, it was laughed out of court, as Wakefield had established a very strong reputation for probity and correctness.

After five weeks in the Marlborough Sounds in the South Island, the Tory sailed over to Te Whanganui a Tara ("The Big Harbour of Tara") and Port Nicholson. Here he began serious negotiations for the purchase of land. The negotiations involved two tribes or iwi, Ngati Toa and Te Atiawa; it involved sixteen chiefs, and after five days a deal was made that apparently pleased everyone. It was subsequently endorsed by the paramount chief of the area, Te Rauparaha. Strong objections were raised by Te Rauparaha's nephew, Te Rangihaeata, although he reluctantly signed the deed eventually even while doubting its validity.

The purchase completed, Wakefield and the Tory set out to explore a bit more of New Zealand sailing up the west coast. They were impressed with the potential of the Taranaki area for further settlement. They then sailed up to the Hokianga, made contact with the traders, and looked at buying land in that district. However, the expedition was curtailed when the Tory ran aground in Hokianga Harbour. The ship was saved but it needed extensive repairs. Anxious to return to Port Nicholson and his appointed rendezvous with the survey ship, Cuba, Wakefield crossed the island to Kororareka, where he chartered another ship to take him south.