Family History Stories - John Clark Lidiard

The power of Ngai Tahu now shifted to the chiefs in the south of the South Island, Te Whakataupuka and Tuhawaiki. A fort was built on Ruapuke Island in Foveaux Strait, and the tribe made preparations to defend themselves against Te Rauparaha’s imminent attack. Young women and children that had survived Te Rauparaha’s raids were sent south for protection while the men set about arming themselves. Muskets were in huge demand, and were traded between whalers and Maori.

About this time John Lidiard met his future wife, Kearaki, at Banks Peninsula. His protection meant she was safe from the prospect of a violent death at the hands of the northern warriors. Kearaki sailed south with John as he worked his way around the South Island. Almost all whaling ventures were now shore based, only the Americans still participating in deep sea whaling. The Weller brothers from Australia built a large shore station in Otago. Sadly almost as soon as it was complete, the entire station burned to the ground and had to be rebuilt.

Shortly after this Tuhawaiki, known as Bloody Jack to the Europeans, rallied his men, headed north and defeated Te Rauparaha. It was a momentous occasion for the southern Maori who had lived in constant fear of the northern chief for many years. The war was not over as long as Te Rauparaha still lived, and although he’d literally managed to slip through one man’s fingers during battle, they now knew he was far from invincible.

The whalers continued their move south as more ventures started out from Australia. One such entrepreneur was Johnny Jones. Jones took over Preservation station in southern Fiordland, established about the same time as Jacky Guard’s Cloudy Bay station. From there, Jones began setting up several smaller shore stations scattered around the southern coast and islands. This drew whalers from the north and across the Tasman and by the mid 1830’s various communities began to form. Life between southern Maori and Europeans was at times strained but mostly they lived and worked together as friends, and family. Some settlers obtained land deeds from the Maori, and others settled down with their wives in the hope of enjoying a quiet life.

About 1835, aged 46, John settled at the Bluff settlement started many years earlier by James Spencer. Spencer had been another early arrival at the Bay of Islands. His ship Cossack was wrecked at Hokianga, and he and his fellow survivors walked for five days in search of help. James Spencer worked for the mission station in return for his keep until he could get passage back to Sydney. However he became embroiled in mission station politics and was refused passage on the next available ship. Being no longer under the care of the mission Spencer was forced to sleep on the beach until he was able to stow away.

Living at Bluff, John worked at Johnny Jones’s Stirling Point station, managed by its namesake William Stirling. These were the good years for John and his friends. They taught their Maori wives to cook, clean, and sew in the European fashion and to grow gardens around the houses. The girls learned quickly and took great pride in keeping their house shipshape for their hard working husbands. The sea was teaming with whales and whaling ships, many of which called into Bluff. The number of American vessels visiting climbed rapidly, and the settlers were a colourful band of men that welcomed almost anyone into their fold. Rum flowed; as did stories of life at sea and in the old country.

"...a selection of 100 of the most important, beautifully made, quirky, humorous and sometimes poignant maps from the comprehensive Alexander Turnbull Library collection, starting with an early Spanish map of the Pacific from which NZ is absent, and including a map drawn by the 67th regiment of the Whanganui River during the NZ Wars..."