The Christian missionaries of the pre-1840s have been described as the 'agents of virtue in a world of vice', although they were not immune to moral blemish themselves.
Several high-profile incidents in the period before the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, in 1840, gave the impression of poor relations between Maori and Pakeha. The British Resident from 1833, James Busby, painted a picture of 'extreme frontier chaos'.
An important feature of early contact in New Zealand was the role of intermediaries or kaiwhakarite who acted as go-betweens – people from one culture who lived with the other culture and helped bridge the gap between them.
The New South Wales government played an important role in New Zealand in the 1830s. An official British government presence in New Zealand was made in 1833 with the appointment of James Busby as British Resident.
A European population explosion first impacted on New Zealand in the closing decade of the 18th century when sealers and whalers began to arrive in their hundreds seeking to exploit local resources.
The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1835. Maori have seen the short document as British recognition of an independent Maori nation, although at the time it seems to have had little practical effect.
By the later 1830s the British government grew concerned about how land was obtained from Maori. Action was needed, it decided, to protect the interests of Maori from the worst ravages of European impact.
Protecting Maori, regulating land purchases, controlling the activities of settlers and dealing with the potential influx of migrants came together in British policy in 1839; New Zealand would be annexed.
In December 1809 the sailing ship Boyd was anchored in WhangaroaHarbour. It was attacked by a group of Maori who killed most of its crew and passengers in retaliation for the captain's mistreatment of a young local chief.
In 1830 Captain William Stewart of the brig Elizabeth entered into a commercial arrangement with Ngati Toa leader Te Rauparaha to ferry a taua (war party) of 100 warriors from their base on Kapiti Island to Banks Peninsula to undertake a surprise attack on northern Ngai Tahu.
This engraving of a Maori family in Dusky Sound is from a drawing by
William Hodges that was made during Captain James Cook's second visit
to New Zealand in 1777. The image depicts Maori as 'noble savages', a term associated with the romantic philosophy popular in this period.
The painting Meeting of the artist and Hongi at the Bay of Islands, November 1827 by Augustus Earle shows canoes, a storehouse and carved objects. Hongi Hika is seated in the centre with huia feathers in his hair.
Kororareka as painted by Augustus Earle; the colour print was published in 1838. A European man, probably Earle himself, is led down a steep path by a Maori with a mere on his wrist and a taiaha over his shoulder who gestures towards the beachside settlement of Kororareka (Russell).
This imaginative reconstruction of the capture of the ship Boyd in Whangaroa Harbour was painted some 30 years after the event by the French artist Louis Auguste Sainson.
This sketch of Te Rauparaha in 1847 is by William Bambridge. Te Rauparaha is wearing a naval uniform which he was given after his arrest and detention in Auckland in 1846.
This view of Kororareka from the sea was drawn by Captain Clayton on 10 March 1845, the morning before the assault by the forces of Hone Heke and Kawiti.
In 1830 Australian-born Elizabeth (Betty) Guard – shown here in a shadow portrait – married Jacky Guard. He was a convict who, after serving out his sentence, turned seafarer, whaler and trader.
This tortoiseshell hair comb belonged to Betty Guard, the wife of whaler Jacky Guard. She was allegedly wearing it when she was attacked by Taranaki Maori after the ship on which she and her husband were returning from Australia was blown ashore.
On 28 October 1835 James Busby called a hui (meeting) at Waitangi. Thirty-four northern chiefs, known as the Confederation of United Tribes, signed 'A Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand' and called upon King William IV of Britain to become their 'father and protector'. They also thanked the King for acknowledging their flag.
The Pakeha–Maori Barnet Burns was described as 'a New Zealand Chief' in this advertisement for three lectures he delivered at the Mechanics' Institution in Lincoln, England in 1842.
The missionaries divided the wave of Europeans who came to New Zealand in the first half of the 19th century into two groups: missionaries were the agents of virtue, and almost everyone else qualified as the agents of vice. The impact of both groups was perhaps strongest in Kororareka in the Bay of Islands.
