European utuRumours of the incident reached the Bay of Islands, and three weeks later the City of Edinburgh and other vessels to investigate. A MÄori chief from the Bay of Islands who accompanied the European force negotiated the return of Ann Morley, her baby and Thom Davis. The taking of hostages secured the release of Betsey Broughton after a short delay.
Asked why they had attacked the ship, some of those involved said that the captain was a ‘bad man’. The whalers present blamed Te Pahi for the incident, even though the real perpetrators declared his innocence. Te Pahi’s pÄ, Te Puna, was destroyed by the European sailors, with considerable loss of MÄori life.
This action resulted in civil war breaking out in the region, and in a final cruel irony, Te Pahi died of wounds received in battle in 1810. When Samuel Marsden arrived in 1814 to establish his Church Missionary Society mission, tensions still simmered. He invited chiefs from Whangaroa and the Bay of Islands aboard his ship, the Active, gave them gifts and asked them to ensure peace between their people.
‘Each chief saluted the other,’ Marsden wrote, ‘and then went around to each one pressing their noses together.’ They also assured him that they would never harm another European.
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