The "BOYD" Massacre

The BOYD was an English vessel of 500 to 600 tons
owned by George Brown and under the command of a
Captain John Thompson. Sailing from London on 10th
March 1809 with convicts bound for New South Wales,
the ship arrived at Port Jackson (Sydney) the
following August and then, under charter to Samuel
Lord of that port, set sail for New Zealand.
Although the ship already had a profitable cargo,
the intention was to take on spars for the Cape of
Good Hope, Whangaroa being selected as the port of
call.
  Included in the 70 or so persons on board the
BOYD were a number of Maoris, among them being a
young Maori chief, Tara (otherwise known as George),
who came from Whangaroa. Tara had travelled
overseas and served as a seaman more than once on
European vessels. He spoke English well.
J.L. Nicholas, who accompanied Samuel Marsden on
his visit to the area in 1814, descibes Tara thus:
"The face of the man bespoke him capable of
commiting so atrocious an act. His features were not
unsightly, but they appeared to veil a dark and
subtle malignity of intention and the lurking
treachery of a depraved heart was perfectly legible
in every one of them...". Tara is also said to have
been fond of alcohol which had rather drastic
effects upon his character.
  Apparently Tara and his fellow countrymen arrived
at Whangaroa displeased with the treatment they had
received. Whether he had been sick and was accused
of malingering or whether he was suspected of
stealing is a matter of conjecture. But Tara was
flogged and apparently divested of his possessions.
This grave indignity was aggravated when his claims
that he was a chief were ridiculed.
  There are differing versions of the story of the
BOYD - what is certain is the fate of the ship and
its crew two or three days after their arrival at
Whangaroa. On that day when Thompson and a party
went ashore in search of spars, there were set upon
and killed and eaten by the Maoris who returned to
the ship to slaughter all but four of its
complement.
  One account of the tragedy is given by Alexander
Berry, supercargo of the CITY OF EDINBURGH and
leader of the first party to reach Whangaroa after
the massacre. According to Berry, the captain had
only four men with him, all unarmed apart from his
fowling piece. Before being overpowered Thompson
had but time to fire one shot, which killed a child.
Meanwhile other Maoris pulled alongside the barque,
took its men off guard and butchered the crew.
  Later, Captain S.R. Chace of the KING GEORGE
obtained a different account from a Tahitian living
with the Maoris. According to his story, the captain
and a larger party than that mentioned by Berry, all
armed with muskets, were decoyed ashore in search of
spars. No effort was made to molest them until their
boats had been left high enough by the tide to
prevent an escape. The Maoris then reviled the
sailors and eventually slaughtered them, returning
to the BOYD after dark in the victims' clothing to
complete the massacre. Chace reported that the chief
Tippahee, or Te Pahi, arrived next morning and
attempted to save one or two survivors - he had to
be forcibly held back while they were murdered.
Berry's story, however, had been unfavourable to
Tippahee, with the result that seven armed whale
boats raided the chief's village in revenge and
slaughtered many of his people. Tippahee
subsequently died of wounds received on that
occasion.
  When Berry reached the scene of the tragedy in the
following December, he found the wreck of the
ill-fated vessel in shoal water at the top of the
harbour, near the present Kaeo. Her cables had been
cut and she had been towed until she had grounded.
The ship was burnt to the water's edge and in the
wreck of the hold could be seen the remains of her
cargo of coals, salted seal skins, and planks. On top
lay the ship's guns, iron work, standards, and such
equipment which had fallen in when the decks
collapsed. According to Chace, the fire was the
result of an accident - Tara's father Pepio, had
ignited some gunpowder when trying a flint, thereby
killing himself and four others and setting fire to
the ship.
  The CITY OF EDINBURGH party rescued four survivors
- an apprentice named Davies, and a woman with two
children. Davies, who was later to be lost at sea, had
taken refuge in the hold and when he emerged some days
later was spared by the Maoris - now well sated with
blood presumably, although one report says that the
deformity of a club foot might have saved him. The
woman, Mrs Morley, had placed herself under the
protection of one of the chiefs, but even so she would
have been in grave danger from the exited people had
not the Maori women come to her rescue. Mrs Morley
died at sea on the way home. Her baby and the other
child, the little girl Broughton, were eventually
returned to Australia. The BOYD's longboat was
subsequently sent back to Australia and was
refurbished as a colonial vessel, but its service was
short - it was lost in 1812 near the Hunter River.

[Source: Encyclopedia of NZ, 1966]