By Rhonda Bartle

From small beginnings...

It's not known for certain, but it's thought Dicky Barrett was born in 1807, in either Durham or Bermondsey, both places of dirt and poverty, slums and alleyways. 

An amiable, respected, simple fellow, he had already been a seaman for six years when he sailed from England for Sydney in 1828, at the age of twenty-one.  He signed on as first mate on the small Australian ship Adventure captained by his good friend John Agar Love, whom he called Jacky. What an interesting pair they must have made - Love tall and fair-haired and Barrett quite the opposite, brown-haired and squat.  Little did they know they were destined to stick together through many history-making years.

At the time, there was great demand in Europe for good processed flax to make naval rope, cordage and sails.  Love and Barrett set out from Sydney on their first trading voyage to New Zealand, where they hoped to trade muskets for flax, as well as pigs and potatoes to ship to England. 

Some of the crew whose names survive were Billy Bundy, John Wright, James Bosworth, William Keenan, Daniel Sheridan, George Ashdown, William Keenan and Scipio Lee, an African-American cook.

Meeting on the water

In March 1828, the Adventure came down the west coast until the long curve of Ngamotu lay to the left.  In Maori, Ngamotu means 'the islands' and was a fitting title for a beach with the Sugar Loaves and Paritutu Rock in the distance.

Te Puni carried himself with immense dignity, and his hair shone white as an egg above his completely tattooed face.  He looked about fifty-three, perhaps fifteen years older than his cousin Te Wharepouri, who wore his dark hair on top of his head, tied in a knot.

Barrett's first interpreting job

Barrett had been sailing the South Seas for many years, mixing with Maori in Sydney.  He could speak a smattering of Maori, or pidgin Maori, where the language is broken down and simplified, so he was given the job of interpreter.

'You must take your ship to Nga-motu,' Te Wharepouri told him, 'Where there is plenty of muka (flax) and numerous pigs.'

Flax and Pigs for Muskets

The coastline suffered wild seas and there was no natural port, so even as late as 1820 Maori at Ngamotu had not seen a Pakeha. One of the first Europeans to land in the area was possibly John Kent when he arrived on HMS Elizabeth Henrietta in 1823, on a trip to collect plant specimens. But sometime in the last few years, another European ship had visited and now they knew that white men brought iron tools, woollen blankets and muskets. Many of Te Atiawa enemies already carried guns. Te Wharepouri and Te Puni had decided they should go into business with the white men and set up a partnership.

Barrett and Love agreed.  It would be much easier to pick up flax at Ngamotu, or Moturoa as it was sometimes called, than travel New Zealand looking for it. They sheltered the ship in the shadow of the Sugar Loaves and dropped anchor.

Trade Begins at Ngamotu

Soon a relationship between Te Atiawa and the Pakeha began, based on mutual desire. Barrett and Love wanted flax and other goods and Te Atiawa wanted muskets, so a way had to be found to achieve this. Trade with the white people was a new concept to Maori.  In their world the mana of a chief depended on what he did with his riches and he was expected to share them around.

Europeans were different; they liked to gather money and possessions to themselves. But each party agreed to compromise and co-operate and together they developed a workable 'middle ground'. Barrett respected Te Atiawa customs and Te Atiawa took some things from European culture and left the rest. 

A large trading post was built at Ngamotu, named Patarutu and staffed with ten traders.

Disaster in the Bay

One night in May, soon after the Adventure arrived back at Ngamotu, an anchor rope broke during a terrible gale and the ship washed up on the beach. 

The schooner was completely wrecked, leaving captain and crew stranded.  Back they went to Sydney to find another ship, this time on the brig Elizabeth whose captain had heard of their plight and offered to pick them up.  But they kept the news of good flax

trading a secret.  Instead they told people they'd been on a sealing voyage.

Te Ati Awa Way of Life

Barrett and Love eased their way into Maori society for economic gain.  They became Pakeha-Maori, took Maori wives and were given Maori names.  Dicky Barrett became Tiki Parete while John Love became simply Hakirau.

Barrett's wife Wakaiwa, or Rawinia as she was known, was a tall, handsome, high-born woman who towered over her husband.  She was daughter of Eruera Te Puke ki Mahurangi, a leading Ngati Te Whiti chief and Kura Mai Te Ra, daughter of Te Ati Awa paramount chief, Tautara. 

Rawinia was also related to many other important Te Atiawa chiefs, including Te Wharepouri and Te Puni.  For Barrett to be given Rawinia as a wife, showed his status and success and how respected he'd become.  When the couple had children, they wore European clothes, spoke two languages and had Maori names as well as English.

Land and Marriage

For Maori, marriage meant a joining of groups, rather than individuals. But the Maori way of life was not always easy for the newcomers to understand.  When a Pakeha married a Maori woman, they lived with her people and were given land to use in two ways: Either the wife brought it with her as a dowry or wedding present, or land was given to the husband by the chief.  Though a husband couldn't actually own it, his children could.  Barrett was allocated land close to Patarutu.  Though it was really only loaned to him, he mistakenly came to believe he owned it.

And while a Pakeha might be welcomed into tribal life, he remained an outsider.  Even marriage to a tribe member did not mean he belonged to it, though his children did.  He had to observe all tribal law, but that was a good thing, as it usually meant he was protected along with everyone else.

A Busy Trading Post

Back in Port Jackson, Love found other ships to replace the wrecked Adventure and carry large cargoes of muka over the sea. The Admiral Gifford made two trips, and Currency Lass carried goods on consignment.  Soon different ships followed them into Ngamotu, as Patarutu became well known as a busy trading post.

Te Ati Awa had to step up their farming methods to grow enough produce for trade, and Barrett introduced melons, maize, cabbages, pumpkins and wheat especially for the export market. Peach trees came from Sydney.

Usually Maori grew only enough to use themselves, but now, if they wanted more muskets they had to harvest more flax.  Though the yield increased, it was often hard to sustain. Several times a year workers left their fields to go into battle with warring tribes. The increase in pigs meant fencing seemed continuous.

Under the threat of war

It hadn't taken Barrett and his men long to realise why muskets were so important to the tribe. Everyone at Ngamotu lived under the threat of war from the northern tribes and had done for four long years, ever since Motunui, where a battle had taken place that had shattered all hope of peace.

In the early 1820's north of Urenui, at a place called Motunui, Te Atiawa and their allies had fought a bloody battle with an army of mixed Tainui tribes. Tainui had carried guns for nearly twenty-years and had used them to terrorise all the tribes around them, particularly Ngati Toa who lived inland at Kawhia and who were old Te Atiawa friends. Though Ngati Toa had stood their ground using only traditional weapons, chief Te Rauparaha knew Tainui hapu (Waikato and Ngati Maniapoto) badly wanted their land. One day they would take it from them and they'd be slaughtered in the process.

Te Rauparaha takes flight

Te Rauparaha decided to save his people by leading them south to Kapiti and let Tainui take the land.  It should have been that easy, but Tainui continued the fight and chased them all the way to Motunui.  Because it was their land, Te Atiawa joined in, and together they won a surprising victory. 

Eventually Ngati Toa carried on their way, but Te Ati Awa knew the meaning of utu (revenge). In December 1831 the word went out.  The great Tainui chief, Te Wherowhero, with his assembled a hoard of Waikato and Te Maniopoto warriors were coming!