[Traditional Māori flute music (14secs)]
[Victorian voice] There are many spirit shops,
and the whole population is addicted to drunkenness
and all kinds of vice. As Kororāreka is the
capital, a person would be inclined to form
his opinion of the New Zealanders from what
he here saw. This little village is the very
stronghold of vice; although many tribes,
in other parts, have embraced Christianity,
here the greater part remains in Heathenism.
[Narrator] In the 1830s, the town of Russell,
which was known as Kororareka until the 1840s,
was a lawless town where drinking, brawling,
and prostitution were rife. The town was called
'the hellhole of the Pacific'. Whaling ships
from around the world would stop at Kororāreka
to resupply, and for their crews to have some
rest and recreation.
By the 1830s, Kororāreka had become the biggest
whaling port in the southern hemisphere. Up
to 30 ships, many of them American or French,
were anchored there with up to 1000 men ashore.
Kororāreka was one of the first points of
contact between Europeans and Maori -- a meeting
of cultures that shocked many observers.
[Victorian voice] The town is a Gomorrah,
the scourge of the Pacific, and should be
struck down by the ravages of disease for
its depravity.
[Narrator] Whalers, seafarers and merchants
mixed with adventurers, deserters and escaped
convicts from Australia. Prostitution was
one of the town's main industries, and sexual
favours were used by Māori in the purchase
of many things, including muskets. Three-week
marriages were commonly negotiated, and many
local Māori women bore the tattoos of their
temporary lovers.
[Victorian voice] 30 to 35 whaling ships would
come in for three weeks to the Bay and 400
to 500 sailors would require as many women.
These young ladies go off to the ships, and
three weeks on board are spent much to their
satisfaction, as they get from the sailors
a musket, blankets, and gowns.
[Narrator] There were various Christian missionaries
in the area. Most were Protestant, but in
1839 some French Catholics, led by Bishop
Pompallier, established their headquarters
in Kororāreka. They built a two-storied printery
and produced thousands of copies of Catholic
books, mostly in Maori. The Catholic missionaries
left in the 1850s but Pompallier House remains
today.
After the 1840 signing of the Treaty of Waitangi,
the country's capital shifted to Auckland.
This, along with a number of new levies imposed
by the colonial government, caused resentment
amongst local Māori. Hōne Heke, the first
chief to sign the Treaty, was dismayed to
see Māori losing their land and natural resources.
In July 1844, he cut down the flagpole he
had originally gifted to the British, which
stood on a hill above the town. The flagpole
was re-erected the following year, only to
be cut down three more times. Governor Fitzroy
responded by sending troops to Kororāreka
and offering a reward for Heke's capture.
In March 1845, Hōne Heke attacked the town
with 600 men. The attackers withdrew after
one day's fighting, in which 20 of the 250
defenders were killed. A powder keg exploded
as they left Kororāreka, destroying much of
the old town. This proved to be the first
confrontation in what became the Northern
War, which ended with no clear winner after
two years of intermittent fighting.
Today, Russell is a tourist town. At the northern
end of the beachfront is the Duke of Marlborough
Hotel, New Zealand's first licensed bar. Russell's
Christ Church, built in 1836, survived the
sacking of Kororāreka in 1845, and still stands
today. A variety of cruises and tours leave
from Russell, which is the base for many of
the big-game fishing charter boats.
