Today in History

1772 Marion du Fresne arrives in Bay of Islands

The following month the French explorer and 24 of his crew were killed in an act of utu by local Ngare Raumati. In the reprisals that followed, the French killed up to 250 Maori.

Marion du Fresne shared the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau's beliefs about the 'noble savage'. But his fate convinced many in France that New Zealand was inhabited by dangerous natives and that colonisation was unwise.

He was the second French explorer to visit New Zealand, following Jean François Marie de Surville in 1769. The length of his visit enabled his surviving crew to provide many insights into Maori society. Some communication with Maori had been made possible by the use of an extensive Tahitian vocabulary that they had brought with them.

The exact reasons for the killing of Marion du Fresne and his men may never be known. Ngare Raumati were over-run by Nga Puhi a few years later and no clear account of the killings survived. A likely explanation is that the French had transgressed in some way, possibly on the fateful day, but more probably on a number of earlier occasions. It is also likely that after a visit of five weeks, and with no clear signs of departure, serious economic and cultural strains began to emerge. Ngare Raumati may have feared a permanent French settlement being established.