Frontier of chaos? - Maori-Pakeha contact pre-1840

In the opening decades of the 19th century Maori contact with Europeans, while increasing, was still rare. By the early 1830s there were perhaps only a couple of hundred permanent European residents in New Zealand. The burning of the Boyd (1809), the Elizabeth incident (1830), the Harriet affair (1834) and the 'hell-hole' that was Kororareka led James Busby, the official British Resident from 1833, to conclude that New Zealand was an example of 'extreme frontier chaos'.

Contemporary accounts highlight the seemingly contradictory nature of contact in this period. Some Europeans emphasised what they saw as Maori savagery and treachery. Others, including missionaries, highlighted the vulnerability of Maori and argued that official intervention would stabilise the situation and establish normal relations.

In the end, were these incidents of violence examples of Maori savagery or vulnerability? Were they newsworthy because they were the exception rather than the rule?