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Tales of Banks Peninsula

Origin of Names

page 375

Origin of Names.

The origin of the names of various bays and settlements is always of interest, and now that almost all the old hands have gone who helped to give the localities their names it would not be out of the way to give a list of the various places with as much information as possible about the origin of their names.

Inside Akaroa Harbour.

Akaroa is a corruption of Whangaroa, or Wangaloa. It was commonly called Wangaloa until 1840. After that date it became anglicized, and gradually settled down into its present form.

German Bay was so called because, when the Comte de Paris arrived with a number of French and German immigrants, nearly all the Germans chose this bay for their residence

Robinson's Bay took its name from Mr C. B. Robinson, the first English magistrate in Akaroa, who bought the first section there.

Duvauchelle's Bay was so called after the two brothers Duvauchelle, who held a couple of sections there under the Nanto Bordelaise Company, though they never lived there

Barry's Bay (Kaituna)—This bay was so called after William Barry, who was a shepherd for Messrs Greenwood Bros., of Purau, and later for the Rhodss [sic]. He was on the Peninsula in the early forties at Purau. It does not seem clear why this bay should have been called after him Mr Rowley was the first man to acquire any land there, and he bought a fifty acre section there in 1850 from the New Zealand Lend Company. The bay was called Kaituna by the Maoris, who bad a regular track over from Little River, and used to pay periodical visits to get flounders there. Mr V. V. Maeefield, who was living in this bay in 1860, said the Maoris at that time still used the old track, and came on fishing expeditions.

page 376

French Farm received its name from the fact that when Commodore Lavaud in charge of the French frigate L'Aube first came to the Peninsula be made a garden there for the crew, and stationed 15 or 16 of the sailors there under a quarter master to look after the garden.

Red House Bay is the name given to the Bay beyond Green's Point in Akaroa where the monument was erected to commemorate the taking possession in 1840. The bay got its name from a red building which was there for many years, and was destroyed by fire.

Takapuneke also means Red House or Pa, and was the name given to the bay in which the chief Te Mai Hara Nui lived This bay is close to Wainui, and where the great Ngai Tahu chief waa captured and taken on board the brig Elizabeth and carried up to Kapiti, the stronghold of Ruaparaha The name was given to the pah because the roof was thatched with red flax.

Brough's and Lucas Bays were so called after the early settlers, Brough Bros, and William Lucas. The latter is best remembered by his generous endowment to St, Peter's Church, Akaroa.

Dan Rogers is the name given to the magnificent cavern and cliffs towering above the harbour near the north head of Akaroa Harbour. It is frequently said that Dan Rogers was a pirate here in the early days, and the cliff got its name from the fact that the wicked pirate jumped off there into the sea. This story is quite incorrect, and the name of the cliff should strictly speaking be called Mrs Dan Rogers. It appears that Dan Rogers was the owner of an hotel in Sydney much patronized by whalers, and he also had a wife of very uncertain temper. When her feelings became too much for her Mrs. Rogers was in the habit of striding up and down in front of the house with a certain skirt much displayed. The thirstiest whalers coming to Dan Rogers' for a drink beat a retreat at the sight of Mrs. Rogers in her fighting kirtle. When the whalers made Akaroa Harbour in their sailing craft there was one wind—the north-east—against which they could not beat up the harbour, and when the wind was prevalent page 377there was a white frill round the cliff which reminded the sailors of Mrs. Dan Rogers' skirt. The spray on this cliff being a warning sign that no entry could be made into the harbour, the cliff was commonly designated Mrs. Dan Rogers. Billy Simpson gave the above account of the origin of the name to Mr. W. D. Wilkins. On different occasions he varied the story slightly by saying that when the waves were dashing up along these cliffs, the sailormen were chary about giving up their spree and going out; of the harbour, as the weather would be dirty. The old whaler was always firm about the cliff being called after Mrs. Dan Rogers, and that is the story accepted by old settlers.

Green's Point, where the monument is erected to commemorate the hoisting of the Union Jack on August 11, 1840, receives its name from William Green, the owner of an accommodation house, which stood where Mrs Buckland's residence now is. This Green was also in charge of Mr. W. B. Rhodes's cattle, the first cattle landed here, and frequent mention is made of him in the foregoing pages of this work.

Children's Bay is so called as a translation of the French name given on the early charts, "Ruisseau des enfants." It is the small bay immediately below Mr V. V. Masefield's residence in Akaroa.

French Bay is the name given to the small bight about which the Akaroa borough is formed. It is so called from the settlement of the French in the early days.

Lushington's, the point between Akaroa and German Bay, received its name from the mode of life in the saw-milling days, Every Saturday afternoon boats would come into Akaroa with as big a load of timber as could be got from the mills round the harbour, and the spree at the hotels would last well into Sunday. The men usually carried back a supply of grog in the empty boats, but they never got past this point with it. Lushington's is the only point thereabouts where water is obtainable, and the boats used to be pulled in there, and the lushing, or drinking, was carried on till all the grog was gone, From this fact page 378the bay received the name of LusLington.

Outside the Harbour.

Scenery Nook.—A visit to Akaroa is not complete unless a tourist visits Scenery Nook, a point some two miles outside the south head of the harbour. This is so called, because it looks like a stage with the wings and scenery on each side The Nook is most interesting for the colour of the red sandstone rocks, and its geological formation.

Whale Rock is the name given to a rock beyond the point called Simpson's Lookout. The story has it that a French whaler, who was watching keenly for fish, rushed out in his boat and harpooned the rock, thinking it a whale.

Robin Hood Bay also got its name from the fact that at the end of the thirties, or the early forties, a vessel of that name was wrecked there. This wild coast has been the scene of many wrecks.

Tumbledown Bay received its name from an incident in the old whaling days. Billy Simpson, of the Piraki whaling station, was sent to obtain a case of spirits from a neighbouring station. When he was carrying the case home, he had a rest at the head of this bay, and as it was a very hot day and he felt tired he decided to sample the spirits. It is presumed that he sampled the case rather extensively, because when he resumed his journey he had a bad spill, and the case of spirits rolled down the cliffs. History does not relate what the thirsty souls at Piraki said when he arrived [unclear: home] without the spirits, but the bay was ever afterwards dubbed Tumbledown Bay.

Murray's Mistake is so called from the captain of a craft putting in there by mistake many years ago, thinking he was going to the Oashore whale fishery and losing his craft.

Oashore (Go-ashore) is simply a corruption of the original Maori name Oahoa

Damon's Bay, on the north side of Akaroa Harbour, page 379was so called from Captain Damon, who put in there, thinking he was going into Akaroa Harbour. He was interested in the whale fisheries in the old days, and was a man of eccentric habits.

Flea Bay is said by Messrs Rhodes Bros., the owners, to be a mistake for Flee Bay, and that the latter name was given to it by the original owner, also Messrs Rhodes Bros. with an idea of its remoteness.

Stoney Bay was obviously so called from the prevalence of rocks. There are two bays of this name on the Peninsula.

Long Bay is the name given to the two bays round near Piraki, and one beyond Stoney Bay East None of the bays are particularly long

Fisherman's Bay was so called on account of the fact that the bay has two channels—one to the south and one to the north. It affords shelter from any wind, and was always much patronised by fishermen in the early days.

Paua Bay received its name from the fact that so much paua shell abounds there. It is the only bay outside the harbour where paua is to be found.

Gough's was called from an old whaling hand, almost a pakeha Maori. Gough and his mate Hodge were inseparable, but poor Hodge lost the number of his mess in the Waimakariri by imbibing too freely. Poullum had a pah in Gough's. He bought an open boat from Roland Davis, named the Rory O'Moore, of about four tons. It was the capsizing of this boat, when entering Gough's. and the drowning of the whole crew that caused the Natives to leave Gough's. It is to be noted that this fatal boat is said on page. 326, dealing with Gough's Bay, to have been purchased from Howland, of Okain's Whoever the builder of the boat was, the story of the capsize and loss of all hands is correct.

Crown Island was so called because the rock which forms the island resembles a crown in shape.

Hickory is an abbreviation of the Maori name Waikerikikeri.

Le Bon's Bay—There are several stories as to the page 380origin of the name as told on page 272 of this work. Besides these two theories we append another account taken from the reminiscences of an old settler published in the "Akaroa Mail," of June 19, 1894. 'Le Bon's was so named from the master of a French whaler. There used to be a yarn of a vessel putting in there with scurvy, and they buried three or four of the men up to the neck to cure them. The balance of the boat's crew went shooting, and upon their return to take their mates aboard what was their horror to find that in their absence wild pigs bad eaten these poor fellows, who were quite helpless, having only their heads above the ground. The bay was used more than any other by the shore whalers to gel; totara bark to cover both their whares and trying out sheds.,' There ia still another theory that the bay was given its name by the early French whalers, who styled it Le Bon (the Good) Bay. Mr E. E. Lelievre says his father, who, as previously recounted, was whaling with L'Anglois in 1838 always declared that the bay should be Le Bon Bay and not Le Bon's.

Laverick's Bay is called after a Frenchman named Charlie Laveroux, or Anglice Charlie Partridge. He, with Howland, who afterwards settled in Okain's Bay, came by boat to the bay to go wild pig hunting. Directly after they had got ashore a bad storm came up, and they could not launch their boat for upwards of a week. There were no pigs at all in the bay, so that the two adventurers had to live on fern root. They had a dispute aa to whether the bay should be called Howland's Bay or Laveroux Bay. In the end Charlie Laveroux had the honour of having the bay named after him, as he had been captain of a brig, while Howland had never been anything but a sailor man. The word Laveroux has been corrupted to Laverick's.

Duck's Foot Bay was so named by Mr J. T. Knight, the present owner of Laverick's, from a duck with a peculiar shaped foot, which he saw when there with a party many years ago.

Okain's Bay, as mentioned on page 278, was called after page 381O'Kain, the Irish naturalist. Captain Hamilton happened to be reading one of O'Kain's books as he passed the bay, and he gave it that name.

Little Akaloa is a corruption of Little Whangaloa, and is more correct than Little Akaroa.

Decanter Bay is so called after a peculiar rock at its entrance on the south side which resembles a decanter. A portion of the rock fell several years ago, and ita resem blance to a decanter is not so marked now.

McIntosh Bay is named after Sandy McIntosh, the first owner of land there. He is frequently mentioned in this work.

Pigeon Bay was so called on account of the great number of pigeons there in the early days.

Port Levy and Port Cooper (Lyttelton), were named after Messrs Cooper and Levy, of Sydney, who had whaling vessels fishing along the New Zealand coast. This same firm bought Riccarton at one time, and Mr W B. Rhodes was once a partner of the firm, which was styled Cooper, Levy, and Rhodes.