Title: Journey Under Warning Author: Elsie Locke Edition: illustrated Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1983 ISBN: 0195580966, 9780195580969 Length: 192 pages
From the inside jacket: "When fifteen-year-old Gibby Banks leaves the family farm to work as a camp boy with a survey party, he doesn't know that he is going on a 'journey under warning'. But he is puzzled by the strange behaviour of his guide, the Scotsman Will Morrison, and even before they reach Nelson where they will board ship he senses the echoes of threat surrounding their expedition into unknown country. From the talk of the surveyors, and of whalers and missionaries at Port Underwood, he pieces together the truth: the land they are to survey, the Wairau Plain, will not be yielded lightly by the Maoris who claim it. When the expedition proceeds despite the warnings of the chief Te Rauparaha, Gibby soon finds himself caught up in a dispute which becomes dangerously explosive."
Elsie Locke has written a brilliant and moving account of the events and characters during the Wairau Affray in 1843.
From Wikipedia: "The Wairau Affray[1] (called the Wairau Massacre in many older texts) on 17 June 1843 was the first serious clash of arms between British settlers and Māori in New Zealand after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the only one to take place in the South Island.[2] The incident was sparked when a magistrate and a representative of the New Zealand Company, who held a possibly fraudulent deed to land in the Wairau Valley in Marlborough in the north of the South Island, led a group of European settlers to attempt to clear Māori off the land[2] and arrest Ngāti Toa chiefs Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata. Fighting broke out and 22 British settlers were killed, nine after their surrender. Four Māori were killed, including Te Rongo, who was Te Rangihaeata's wife and Te Rauparaha's daughter."
The Wairau Plain is located at the top of the South Island in between Blenheim and Nelson. There are four maps in the book detailing the surveyors' sailing journey, Port Underwood, The Wairau Plain, and Taumarina (where the conflict happened).
The chief, Te Rauparaha is from Kapiti Island which is on the bottom East Coast of the North Island. That is where I grew up. He is from the Ngāti Toa iwi (tribe). I used to live next to Ngāti Toa Domain which was a large sports ground, park and beach reserve. In the domain, there are ruins of colonial officers' barracks and concrete bunkers looking out towards the sea.
This is a very well-written book and I recommend it for older readers. Elsie Locke has researched meticulously. She has a personal connection to the story - a character in the book, William Morrison was her great-grandfather. There are some historical notes at the back of the book that are definitely worth reading.
I recommend this book to older readers because there are a lot of details to remember. There are many characters - family members, surveyors, company workers, missionaries, Maoris, whalers, Pakeha and Maori leaders. The lead-up to the confrontation at Taumarina is not simple - younger audiences will get bogged down and lost. Despite all the details, Elsie Locke cleverly tells the story through the eyes of fifteen-year-old Gibby which holds it all together and makes it relevant for young readers. I particularly loved the Scottish family, the McGlones.
I was fascinated by the way Locke incorporated the role of missionaries. I know they play an important role in New Zealand history and this is one of the first stories I've read that has done this. I also loved the way she described historical characters and brought them to life.
One day in March, as Cotterell was walking through the town to buy some gear for his sailing cutter Godwit, he saw some carved ocean-going canoes on the beach and a crowd of Maoris nearby. To and fro in front them them strode an orator, fully tattooed, wearing a bright red blanket and white feathers in his hair. He was straight-backed and taller than all his listerners; and his style was both dignified and fiery. At every turn he shook his long carved taiaha as if it too were speaking. The crowd was fascinated. Clearly this was a visitor of great importance.
Cotterell stopped to listen but could not follow the rapid speech with its many poetic images. He looked about and found Pikewati with his straw hat standing out like a beacon.
'Who is the speaker?' he asked.
"It is Te Rangihaeata.'
I did not have any concerns about language, attitudes or descriptions of violence in this book.
If you are looking for living books about New Zealand history and geography, then make sure this one is on your list. It is excellent.
This sounds so interesting, I admit I don't know enough NZ history.
Great review, Kirsten.