Tour of Kororareka or Russell - the "Hell Hole of the Pacific"

These first couple of shots are from 'Flagstaff Hill' above the town. You can see the jetty where the ferry comes in, and the "bastion of cafés, gift shops and B&Bs" in the two blocks coming away from the foreshore.

Russell is actually on the mainland, on the end of a long, thin peninsula - it will add an extra hour and a half to the drive from Auckland, so many people take the 12-minute ferry ride across from Paihia.  

When European and American ships began visiting New Zealand in the early 1800s the indigenous Maori quickly recognised there were great advantages in trading with these strangers, who they called tauiwi.

The Bay of Islands offered a safe anchorage and had a high Māori population. To attract ships, Māori began to supply food and timber. What Māori wanted were respect, plus firearms, alcohol, and other goods of European manufacture ... ... ...

Kororareka developed as a result of this trade but soon earned a very bad reputation, a community without laws and full of prostitution, and became known as the "Hell Hole of the Pacific", despite the translation of its name (Kororareka) being "How sweet is the penguin" {another Maori story} European law had no influence and Māori law was seldom enforced within the town's area.

 

 Our guide for the short 50-minute tour around the main points of interest was Jenny - now she used to climb trees when she was a girl, but now they've removed the lower branches so that the kids can't climb them any more - "Health & Safety" - it seems to get everywhere!

After the Treaty of Waitangi (on the opposite shore just above Paihia - details & photos in another posting) was signed in February 1840 at Waitangi, across the bay, relations between the two races soon began to deteriorate again. Hone Heke, a local Māori chief, began to resent the flagstaff flying the Union Jack above the bay, and was also angry at the fact that the capital of New Zealand had been moved from Okiato (Old Russell) to Auckland in 1841, much reducing the local trade with the foreigners. He had also been told by ships from other nations that the flag represented slavery for the Māori, adding to the contrasting meanings the two races saw in the treaty wording. To add insult to injury, the flagstaff had originally been presented to the British by the Māori. 

Hone Heke chopped down the flagstaff three times (it was always re-erected by the British) before 1845, and in that year, in the early moves of what would be called the 'Flagstaff War' or the 'Northland Land War', he succeeded in diverting the forces defending Russell, to land at the hill and chop it down for a fourth time on 11 March 1845. The British did not re-erect the flagstaff again, fearing to provoke further conflict.

After peace was restored, the Māori eventually raised a new flagstaff at the location as an offering of friendship.

 Views from the top of Flagstaff Hill.

 Large sundial with a floor mosaic map of the Bay of Islands - you can spot the various place names in the different photos ...

Scale model of Captain Cook's ship in the Russell Museum

This is the 'Baker' residence (thee are a few of them in the graveyard) handed down through generations, and this time quite untidily kept.

Just one Policeman looking after a large geographical area, including all the islands and their inhabitants - he gets to live in the house below ... ... ...

The Duke of Marlborough is a favourite local haunt.

The Ferry back to Paihia is waiting for us ...

Waitangi in the distance, where the treaty was signed {Individual Blog entry ahead}