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Tales of Banks Peninsula

No. 44.–Whaling On Banks Peninsula

page 266

No. 44.–Whaling On Banks Peninsula.

The first white men to visit the South Island were the traders, who dealt in what is now considered a nefarious trade—that of Maori heads. They also bought flax from the Maoris and curious, giving the Natives clothes and trinkets in exchange. It was not till the thirties that the whalers appear to have made any fixed cruises down to the South Island. The first whaling station in the South Island was that in Preservation Inlet, the date of which could not be ascertained. The only thing known about it is that it was much older than the whaling station in Otago Harbour, which was started on March 17, 1836. Stations were started almost immediately after at Waikouaiti, Taieri and Timaru, We known that George Hempleman started the whaling station at Piraki in February, 1836, so it can be said that the Piraki station was the second earliest in the South Island. The most remarkable thing about the Piraki Fishery is the record of Hempleman's doings from 1835, when he set out from Sydney in the brig Bee up to 1844, when the narrative ends abruptly. The whalers who visited the Peninsula from 1835 onwards were of all nationalities—Americans, French, Dutch and English. A number of them were employed by Sydney firms as Messrs Weller Bros., Messrs Cooper and Levy, Messrs Long, Richards and Wright, and others. Many of the whalers combined trading with whaling, and sold stores, clothes, farming utensils, etc., to the early setttlers. In fact, the whalers were a God send to the pioneers of the forties. On the whole they were very fair in their dealings, and the traffic, which waa always carried on in kind, proved very beneficial to the early settlers. In many cases, when the pioneers were reduced to using the dried manuka leaves or seeds of the biddy-biddy for tea, and were tired of pigeon pie, the whaler's arrival with grocery stores was welcomed with zest. Besides the necessaries of lives, many of the boats carried a stock of household ornaments, the Americans, in particular, usually having a large assortment of clocks. page 267It must be understood that a large number of whalers visited Akaroa port simply to lie up for a time, or to have a few weeks jollification, and, as Captain James Bruce, of the Bruce Hotel, knew these men wanted some relaxation after weeks of privation, he provided for them accord ingly, as is told in a previous article. We purpose here simply to give an account of the lives of the various men who owned whaling stations on the Peninsula, and as far as possible we will give them in chronological order,

George Hempleman.

The details of Hempleman's life are given in full else where, so only a short account is necessary, George Hempleman was born at Altona, the chief city of Schleswig Holstein, in 1799, He came to Banks Peninsula in 1835 in command of the brig Bee to start shore whaling. His wife, who accompanied him, died at Piraki, leaving one daughter. He married a second time Misa Whelch, but had no children by the second marriage. He left Piraki for German Bay, where he spent the remainder of his life. A full account of his life is given in article No. 3, entitled "Hempleman's Purchase of Akaroa." He died on February 13, 1880, at Akaroa, while eating a peach in the garden of his friend, M. de Malmanche.

Joseph Price.

Among the most prominent of the early whalers on the Peninsula was the late Mr Joseph Price. Born at Newcastle on Tyne, England, in 1810, Mr. Price went to sea when only thirteen years of age in a trading vessel plying between England and France Six years later he came to the colonies, and was engaged in trading along the coast of New South Wales. Price came to New Zealand about 1831, and lived with the Maoris at Kaiapoi, having been left behind by his ship's boat, which had been sent ashore for provisions. He was always very reticent about his early life, but it is understood that he slept one night page 268in the famous Kaiapoi pah, Coya Pou, before it was destroyed by Te Rauparaha. He was connected with the shores whaling ot Ikoraki on the south side of the Peniasula up to the year 1852. He bought the try pots and other gear from Mr. Hempleman in 1839 40, and employed Jimmy Robinson Clough as his headsman at the whaling. Later he worked the two stations at Ikoraki and Oaghore in partnership with Paddy Woods, who acted as manager. He, in the meantime, set pit sawyers to work on the splendid timber ia the Little River bush, The Ikoraki fishery was carried on up to 1876, long after it was given up by Mr Price. He sold out the Ikoraki property, now part of Kinloch, to, Mr. Hugh Buchanan, and took up his residence on the estate, now known as Price's Valley, where he carried on dairying. His great difficulty was to get his produce away. He took it across Lake Ellesmere to Gebbie's Valley in a whaleboat, sledged it over the hill to Teddington, and then conveyed it by boat to Lyttelton. The lake at that time was controlled by the Maoris, who would only let it out once in three years, as they liked getting large quantities of eels. Occasionally, when the lake was very high, a strong north west wind caused it to burst its banks and empty into the sea. He had a family of twelve—six sons and six daughters—and lived up to 1901, reaching the age of 91. One curious thing about the late Mr. Price is the fact that, though he lived so near the scene of his whaling exploits, he never visited Ikoraki once after leaving it for Price's Valley,

Philip Ryan.

The whaling station which appears to have followed the Ikoraki one is the one at Oashore, started in 1839 by Philip Ryan and two mates. These men were whalers who bad been working at Timaru, and were fitted out by Messrs Weller Bros., of Sydney, with all requisites for shore whaling. A full account of his life is given in a previous article taken by Mr. H C Jacobson from the old man's own lips, and it is useless to have a repetition. The account was obtained in 1893, when Mr. Ryan was 91 page 269years old, and, we believe, he lived for some years longer—in fact up to 1900, attaining the grand old age of 98.

Paddy Woods.

Paddy Woods bought the Oashore whaling station from Philip Ryan in 1841 or 1842. e worked his station with that of Ikoraki, owned by Joseph Price. He gave up whaling in 1844 and came to Akaroa, where he had an hotel where Garwood's Buildings still stand. He had a irascible temper, as his name indicates, and was for ever quarrelling with his genial neighbour, Captain James Bruce, of the Bruce Hotel. He had one son and daughter, the daughter being Mrs. Michael Hart. When the Callfornian diggings broke out Paddy Woods went over to America, never to return. His wife and family lived on for many years in Lyttelton.

Island Bay Fishery.

Island Bay was the scene of whale fishing early in the forties. The first to start there were Messrs W. Green, of Green's Point, of whose life a short account is given a few pages back, and Charlie Brown, Hall and Malcolm McKinnon, who also bad an interest in this station. It has been impossible to obtain many particulars of this fishery, but the deaths of Charlie Brown and Hall are recorded. Charlie Brown left the fishery, and went away in a whaling vessel, which was never heard of any more. Hall left Akaroa one day in a whaleboat, with a quantity of provisions for the bay, and nothing was heard of the boat or its occupants. Mr. George Rhodes bought out the Island Bay fishery, and employed Sam Williams, commonly known as Yankee Sam, to whale for him. How long Me. Rhodes had the station is not known, but he sold out to Mr. James Wright, who bought the try pots from Yankee Sam. Yankee Sam left the whaling, like many others, to go to the Melbourne gold diggings.

page 270

Mr. James Wright.

Mr. and Mrs. James Wright left England in the Martha Ridgway, and landed in Wellington in 1840. In 1842 they came down to the Peninsula, where Mr. Wright whaled for Paddy Woods at Oashore. Mr. Wright left Paddy Woods in 1844 and came to Akaroa. He then bought out Mr. George Rhodes's whale fishery at Island Bay, and carried on whaling as long as there were any whales about the coast. Mr. Wright had bought the land forming the estate called Wakamoa, and as whaling declined turned his attention to farming. He carried on dairying on a large scale in the early days, and as mentioned in a later article in this work, written by Mr. H. C. Jacobson from information obtained by Mr. James Wright himself, it was marvellous how the cheese was carried down those rugged hillsides. It is said that at one time Mr. Wright had one of the finest herds of milking Shorthorn cattle in Canterbury. Later, he replaced the cattle with sheep. Mr Luke Wright, one of his sons, now lives in the old homestead. Mr. James Wright died at the age of 78 after a strenuous and successful life, leaving nine sons and three daughters. Mr. Wright, was an ex-member of the Life Guards, and had many stories to tell of hig regiment. He was commonly styled the "Baron of Wakamoa," and was very proud of having such tall sons. He boasted that he and his nine sons stretched along the ground measured out a chain—and they certainly were all very tall. Mrs Wright still lives (December, 1913) having attained the age of 94. She is hale and in complete comraand of all her faculties. The Wright family has increased in numbers, and there are five generations over at Wainui.

Whaling Relics.

For years past the old try pots used by the whalers were left at Island Bay, Piraki, Oashore and Ikoraki, and at Piraki especially plenty of whalebone was to be seen scattered on the beach to remind one of the wild free days page 271when adventurous men braved the dangers of the seas in their search for whales. The roughness of the waves on the southern coast of the Peninsula is not to be con sidered lightly, as the Pacific Ocean beats with full force on that battered shore. No one who has never witnessed them would believe that waves of such a siza could roll in along the Forty Mile Beach. The force of the sea is shown clearly by the way in which Lakes Forsyth and Ellesmere are dammed at their outlets. Also, when the sea is running high, the roar of its impact on the Forty Mile Beach can be heard clearly for many miles. It is remarkable then that more were not drowned in the old whaling days. The life was a very hard one, as provisions were of the most primitive kind, and added to other troubles there was in the early days a dread of the Maoris descending upon the stations. One noticeable fact about the whalers was the great age attained by the majority of them. The life, though hard, was a healthy one, and while at work the men had no chance to drink much spirits. Much more interest has been taken of iate in these whaling days, and the try pots have been moved from their resting places to various points of interest. The Christchurch Museum obtained one of the try pots from Island Bay, while Mr. L. J. Vangioni has a try-pot taken from the scene of Hempleman's fishery, which he has mounted on his section by the Peninsula Technical School. Mr. L Wright presented the Akaroa Borough Council with a try pot from the Island Bay fishery, and this is now placed on the reserve opposite Mr. T. E. Taylor's private residence. It is interesting to have these relics, and the Akaroa Borough Council intends to have a tablet placed on the try pot given by Mr. L. Wright with a few particulars to show the uninitiated for what object the ugly looking cauldron is placed on the borough reserve.