1810 in New Zealand

There is a drastic decline in the number of ships visiting New Zealand from the previous year. An economic depression starts in New South Wales as a result of the escalation of war in Europe and the consequent reduction in the number of convicts being transported.Salmond, Anne. Between Worlds. 1997. Penguin Books (NZ) Ltd. ISBN 0 670 87787 5.] In March news of the Boyd massacre reaches Port Jackson and a punitive expedition is sent to New Zealand and bombards the village of the incorrectly blamed chief, Te Pahi. After this the few whaling ships (possibly only 5) that later head for New Zealand usually prefer to avoid landing, especially in the Bay of Islands.

Sealing in Foveaux Strait declines as the rookeries are exhausted. With the discovery of Campbell Island at the beginning of the year, and Macquarie Island in the middle of the year, by the same sealing ship, sealers transfer their attention there. If they stop off in New Zealand it is usually in Foveaux Strait.

Incumbents

Regal and Vice Regal

*Head of State – King George III.
*Governor of New South Wales – Lachlan Macquarie, having arrived 4 days earlier, is sworn in on New Year’s Day. [http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A020162b.htm Dictionary of Australian Biography: Lachlan Macquarie] ]

Events

*1 January – Lachlan Macquarie is sworn in as Governor of New South Wales.
*2 January – The "Active" (first ship of the name), Captain John Bader, arrives at Open Bay islands off the south West Coast, and leaves a sealing gang there. The ship is never seen again. The sealing gang is not rescued until 1813.
*4 January – The sealing ship "Perseverance", Captain Hasselberg discovers Campbell Island.
*6 January – Captain Berry, of the "City of Edinburgh", drafts a letter to Governor Macquaruie, which blames the Boyd massacre on Te Pahi. He leaves this letter, and copies of a notice warning visiting ships of what has happened, with chief Tara. The "City of Edinburgh" then leaves for Valparaiso with the 4 survivors of the "Boyd".
*10 January – The sealer "Sydney Cove", Captain Charles McLaren, lands a sealing gang on Stewart Island.
*Late January – The "Cumberland", Captain William Swain, visits the Bay of Islands and is given a copy of Captain Berry’s notice.
*Mid February – The "Ann", and the "Albion", Captain Cuthbert Richardson, visit the Bay of Islands and are shown Captain Berry’s notice.
*18 February – The "Ann" and "Albion" leave the Bay of Islands.
*19 February – The "Ann" and "Albion" meet the King George, Captain Samuel Chace and inform Captain Chace of the burning of the Boyd.
*28 February – The convict ship "Ann" (second ship of the name), Captain Charles Clarke, arrives in Port Jackson with Samuel Marsden, William Hall, John King and Ruatara. Ruatara stays with Marsden for the next 18 months. The news of the Boyd massacre delays Marsden’s plans for a mission in New Zealand for some time. [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/R/Ruatara/Ruatara/en New Zealand Encyclopaedia 1966: Ruatara Biography] ] [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1R19 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Ruatara] ] [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1M16 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Samuel Marsden] ] [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/M/MarsdenSamuel/MarsdenSamuel/en New Zealand Encyclopaedia 1966: Samuel Marsden Biography] ]
*2 March – The "Brothers" leaves Port Jackson for Open Bay.
*9 March – The "King George" arrives in Port Jackson and is the first to report the loss of the Boyd..
*17 March – The "Experiment", Captain Joseph Dodds, leaves Port Jackson taking a party headed by William Leith to set up a flax-collecting settlement in the North Island. Also on board is Lieutenant-Governor Joseph Foveaux.
*26 March – 5 ships, having heard the story of the "Boyd" from a local woman, attack Te Pahi’s pa on Te Puna island. Approximately 60 Māori are killed and Te Pahi is wounded (he dies a few weeks later). The ships involved are the "Speke" (John Hingston), "Inspector" (John Walker), "Diana" (William Parker), "Atalanta" (John Morris) and "Perseveance" (Frederick Hasselberg). Later the same day, after the attack, the "Spring Grove" and "New Zealander" arrive. Phillip Tapsell is among the crew on the latter. [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1T53 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Te Pahi] ] [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/T/TapsellPhilipOrFelkalsoSpeltFalkHans/TapsellPhilipOrFelkalsoSpeltFalkHans/en New Zealand Encyclopaedia 1966: Tapsell Biography] ]
*27 March – The "Governor Bligh", Captain Chace, leaves Port Jackson with supplies for the "Experiment". When it is discovered that the Leith party has already returned to Port Jackson Captain Chace decides to return via Foveaux Strait, where it collects (around June) the sealing gang left by the "Fox" in October 1809.
*3 May – The "Brothers" collects two men it had dropped in 1809 on islands on what is now the Dunedin coast at Port Daniel (Otago Harbour), including William Tucker. Tucker is sent to look for other sealers from the "Brothers" at Stewart Island. It is probably at this time, on the shores of Foveaux Strait, that he steals the Māori preserved head that he later sold in Sydney, thus inaugurating their retail trade.
*11 July – The "Perseverance", Captain Hasselberg, discovers Macquarie Island.
*15 August – The "Unity" returns to Port Jackson from the south coast of New Zealand and describes the local Māori there as ‘particularly friendly’.
*November/December - The "Sydney Cove", Captain Charles McLaren, anchors in Otago Harbour. The theft of a red shirt and other articles by local chief Te Wahia sparks what becomes known as The Sealers War or The War of the Shirt, which lasts until 1823. One of her sealers kills Te Wahia which incenses Maori. The "Sydney Cove" flees south and one of her crew, James Caddell, is captured by Maori at the Clutha mouth. [Peter Entwisle, "Taka: a Vignette Life of William Tucker 1784-1817", Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 2005, p.70]

Undated

*Te Rauparaha begins a five-year stay with Ngāti Maru in the Hauraki Gulf. His intentions may have been to form alliances to attack his enemies in the Waikato and/or to find somewhere to resettle Ngāti Toa should Kawhia become too unsafe. [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=1T74 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography: Te Rauparaha] ]

Births

Deaths

References

ee also

*List of years in New Zealand
*Timeline of New Zealand history
*History of New Zealand
*Military history of New Zealand
*Timeline of environmental history of New Zealand
*Timeline of New Zealand's links with Antarctica

"For world events and topics in 1810 not specifically related to New Zealand see": 1810