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From Tasman To Marsden.

1806

1806.

On board the Lady Nelson, when she arrived at the Bay of Islands with Te Pahi about the end of March, was a convict named George Bruce. Unfortunately he was an illiterate and extremely ignorant man, and, although he left a story of his life in a manuscript dictated by him to a companion in Chelsea Hospital during his later years, its statements are challenged at every step by the Reports on Bruce given by the Authorities in Sydney. In weighing these conflicting statements in order to ascertain the facts, the “official" version must always be accepted as against such a combination of illiteracy, ignorance, and general bad character, as the author of Bruce's narrative stands for. This man, before the Lady Nelson left the Bay, deserted and went to live with the Natives.

During the months of May and July the various vessels which had been spoken by the Argo, with the exception of the Betsy, called in at Sydney. In addition to these, another—the Vulture, Captain Folger—came in from the New Zealand coast.

Later on in the year a vessel called the Atlantic visited Sydney. She had, on the list of her crew, some New Zealanders, picked up probably on the New Zealand coast, and, on the night of 25th November, during a severe thunderstorm in the Harbour, one of them was killed by lightning which struck a boat belonging to the ship.