Family History Stories - John Clark Lidiard

After Sydney, Vansittart called at the Bay of Islands where she fell in with Cumberland. If life as a Jack Tar in the navy had been hazardous, it was little better on whaleships. The whales always suffered the worst fate, but men were often tangled in ropes and dragged to their death. Out for the kill, whalers gave chase in small whaleboats sometimes rowing for miles in pursuit of a whale. Boatcrews became disoriented as they lost sight of their ship and drifted off into an endless expanse of unforgiving ocean with no hope of survival. When a whale was killed it was towed back to the whaleship and stripped of its blubber which was boiled down into oil and kept in barrels. No sooner had the process finished when another whale was spotted and the process would start again.

Vansittart made several calls to the Bay of Islands during this voyage and while there in May 1821 John and his shipmate Luke Wade left the ship after falling out with chief mate William Whippy. As the only Europeans living at Kororareka, the men were under the jurisdiction of Ngati Manu chief Pomare.

Pomare was considered by the mission as one of the most important men in the Bay and second only to Hongi Hika in instilling fear in the hearts of the enemies he chose to wage war against. Pomare was also considered somewhat of an expert in the art of preserving his victim's heads which were sought after as items of trade by visiting whalers.

Chief Pomare quickly understood the benefit of having European residents among his tribe and was keen to increase the number of ships that anchored in his area. Potatoes were cultivated specifically for trade and muskets and gunpowder were highly prized. In order to maintain and fix muskets, and so as not to be duped by traders offering faulty guns, European residents were enlisted to act as go-betweens. Men who lived among Maori came to be known as Pakeha-Maori, leaving behind their own culture to either embrace Maoridom or be dragged into it. Some men were kept as slaves, some escaped as soon as they could find a ship that would take them, and others displaying courage and a genuine interest in Maoridom rose to the status of chief.

Earle, Augustus 1793-1838 :Slaves preparing food. London, lithographed and published by R. Martin & Co [1838].
Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Two years after leaving their ship at the Bay of Islands, Luke Wade was enlisted as a servant for the Wesleyan Mission station established in Whangaroa. John continued to live at Kororareka, most likely in a small wooden hut just off the beach and probably with a woman closely linked to his chief protector.

By the late 1820's the easy relationship between the whalers and the missionaries had disingrated due mainly to musket trading. The mission went to great lengths to avoid trading in weapons which at times saw them facing starvation. They were also morally repulsed by the polygamous relationships the residing seamen indulged in with Maori women. The sailors at the mercy of the chiefs for survival, lived by their laws and customs. Some took part in skirmishes or fought in inter-tribal wars, and many witnessed frequent acts of cannibalism. Living as a Pakeha Maori was a difficult life and most lasted only a matter of months. John however was still living at Kororareka six years later when an incident occured that saw the mission and whalers act in a rare display of unity.

"Maori tattooing in the 20th Century is the moving story of a Maori art form that underwent a brief resurgence and then died. To research this book, historian Michael King travelled thousands of kilometres through the hinterland of New Zealand to find and speak with those who were tattooed, or with people who had first hand knowledge of the custom."