The British Government's expression of regret this week for the killing of about eight Maori by Captain James Cook 250 years ago has stirred memories of a little known massacre of an entire village in South Westland by sealers in the 1820s. The British high commission said in a statement that Captain Cook had written in his dairy of 1769 of his regret over the deaths on the east coast, near present day Gisborne. In South Westland, Bruce Bay-based Ngati Mahaki harbour a similar story of attack, when Australian sealers clashed with local Maori while plundering seal colonies in the Paringa and Haast areas. West Coast Maori historian Paul Madgwick says at least 35 people were wiped out in two attacks by the Australians. Relations began amicably when the sealers first arrived, landing at a pa at the mouth of the Paringa River, where they stockpiled seal pup carcases for skinning.

Source: Otago Daily Times October 03, 2019 15:33 UTC