Sealing continues at
Bass Strait and the
Antipodes Islands. At the end of the year there is a new sealing rush to the
Bounty and
Auckland Islands. Few sealers, if any, are known to have visited the
Foveaux Strait area at this time, although this may be due in part to the secrecy of the captains and owners in reporting where they operate and/or the existence of the Strait not yet being widely known. Whaling continues off the east coast of the
North Island. Ships are now visiting the
Bay of Islands on a reasonably regular basis. The first reports about the poor behaviour of ships crews are sent to the
Church Missionary Society in
London.[1]
Between 1800 and 1806, £200,000 worth of whale oil is taken from the New Zealand area by British whaling ships operating from
Sydney.[2]
25 February – The Lady Nelson leaves
Port Jackson to return
Te Pahi and his sons to the
Bay of Islands. Te Pahi has been given bricks and a frame for a European house, and other goods. During the journey Te Pahi becomes ill and is nursed by ex-convict George Bruce.[1]
18 March – The Argo,
Captain John Bader, again visits the Bay of Islands but Te Pahi is still absent.
Ruatara (and possibly the two other Māori) remain with the ship.[1] (see
1805)
20 April – The Lady Nelson stops near
North Cape where George Bruce jumps ship after being flogged a week earlier. He begins to make his way south to the Bay of Islands.[1]
27 April – The Ferret arrives in
London with Te Mahanga (Moehanga) aboard. He is the first Māori known to have visited
England. In London he is rejoined by John Savage who left the ship at
Cork. While in London Te Mahanga meets
King George III and
Queen Charlotte.[1]
Late April – The Lady Nelson arrives in the Bay of Islands returning Te Pahi and his sons. The ship's carpenter begins (and finishes?) erecting Te Pahi's house.[1][6]
12 June – The Alexander arrives at
Portsmouth with Teina and Maki aboard.[1]
13 June – The Ferret leaves London for Port Jackson with Te Mahanga aboard.[1]
17 June – The Venus, Captain Samuel Chace, is taken piratically at Port Dalrymple (
Launceston) and sails for New Zealand. There are two women,
Charlotte Badger and convict Catherine Hagerty, among those who take over the ship.[1][7]
27 June – The Alexander arrives in London. Teina and Maki come under the care of
Reverend Joseph Hardcastle of the
London Missionary Society who tries to arrange for their return to
New South Wales. However, before he can do so Teina dies and Maki is kidnapped by a
crimp, his later fate unknown.[1]
July/August – The Venus arrives at the Bay of Islands. Two men, convicts Richard Evans and John Lancashire, the two women Badger and Hagerty, and two children, Badger's young daughter and possibly the aboriginal cabin boy William Evans, are left at
Rangihoua Bay. Hegarty and Badger are the first
pākehā women to stay voluntarily in New Zealand.[8] The two men are returned to
Port Jackson by visiting ships, possibly before the end of the year. The Venus with its six remaining crew then travels down the east coast of the
North Island, kidnapping several Māori women along the way and selling them to rival tribes who eventually kill them. These women included the sister and niece of Te Morenga and a relative of
Hongi Hika’s. Their deaths are the cause of the retaliatory raids by these two chiefs in
1818.[1][7][9][10][11]
6 August – The new Governor of New South Wales,
William Bligh, arrives.[3][4]
– Te Aara (George) joins the Star on a sealing voyage to the
Antipodes Islands and is returned again to
Whangaroa.[1]
8 September – The Richard and Mary, Captain Leikins leaves Port Jackson for England with (Maa-)Tara, son of Te Pahi, aboard.[1]
September – The Argo returns to Port Jackson. Captain Bader discharges
Ruatara without pay. Ruatara meets
Samuel Marsden for the first time.[1][13]
12 October – The whaling ship Albion, Cuthbert Robertson, leaves Port Jackson. Ruatara joins the crew.[1]
December – The Ferret returns to Port Jackson from England with Te Mahanga.[1]
Undated
In the latter half of the year the
Pākehā Māori George Bruce marries Te Pahi's youngest daughter, Te Atahoe, and is tattooed as a warrior. He later (his memoirs are dictated in England about 1818) becomes one of the earliest sources of insight into Māori culture at that time.[1]
Births
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Deaths
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^The colony of
New South Wales encompasses New Zealand from 1788 to 1840. Therefore the head of state is the monarch of the United Kingdom represented by the Governor of New South Wales. However, British sovereignty was not established over New Zealand per se until 1840, at which point the Treaty of Waitangi retroactively recognised that it had been an independent territory until then. Furthermore, the
Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand signed by a number of Maori chiefs in 1835 was formally recognised by the British government at the time, indicating that British sovereignty did not yet extend to New Zealand. (
New Zealand Ministry of Culture and Heritage)