At that time there was living among “Lizard’s” people a certain Maori from the Bay of Islands.  This man, a greedy and mischievous fellow, had instigated “Lizard” to cut off the Hawes.  This became known, and Waka Nene, a Bay of Islands chief, destined to become famous in New Zealand history, punished his rascally fellow-tribesman in a very gallant way.  On a visit to the Bay of Plenty he bearded the man sitting unsuspecting among his partners in the piracy, and, after fiercely upbraiding him, shot him dead.  Nor did any present venture to touch Waka Nene.

The South Island had its share of outrages.  On December 12, 1817, the brig Sophia anchored in Otago Harbour.  Kelly, her captain, was a man of strength and courage, who had gained some note by sailing round Tasmania in an open boat.  He now had use for these qualities.  The day after arrival he rowed with six men to a small native village outside the harbour heads, at a spot still called Murdering Beach.  Landing there, he began to bargain with the Maoris for a supply of potatoes.  A Lascar sailor, who was living with the savages, acted as interpreter.  The natives thronged round the seamen.  Suddenly there was a yell, and they rushed upon the whites, of whom two were killed at once.  Kelly, cutting his way through with a bill-hook he had in his hand, reached the boat and pushed out from the beach.  Looking back, he saw one of his men (his brother-in-law, Tucker) struggling with the mob.  The unhappy man had but time to cry, “Captain Kelly, for God’s sake don’t leave me!” when he was knocked down in the surf, and hacked to death.  Another seaman was reeling in the boat desperately wounded.  Kelly himself was speared through one hand.

The survivors regained their ship.  She was swarming with natives, who soon learned what had happened and became wildly excited.  Kelly drew his men aft and formed them into a solid body.  When the Maoris, headed by their chief Karaka—­Kelly spells it Corockar—­rushed at them, the seamen beat them off, using their large sealing-knives with such effect that they killed sixteen, and cleared the decks.  The remaining natives jumped overboard.  A number were swept away by the ebb-tide and drowned.  Next day the crew, now only fourteen in number, repulsed an attempt made in canoes to take the vessel by boarding, and killed Karaka.  Emboldened by this, they afterwards made an expedition to the shore and cut up or stove in all their enemies’ canoes lying on the beach.  This was on Christmas Eve.  On Boxing Day they landed and burnt the principal native village, which Kelly calls the “beautiful city of Otago of about six hundred fine houses”—­not the only bit of patent exaggeration in his story.  Then they sailed away.[1]

[Footnote 1:  Transactions New Zealand Institute, vol. xxviii.]

What prompted the attack at Murdering Beach is uncertain—­like so much that used to happen in No Man’s Land.  It is said that Tucker had been to Otago some years previously and had stolen a baked head from the Maoris.  It is hinted that an encounter had taken place on the coast not long before in which natives had been shot and a boat’s crew cut off.  As of most occurrences of the time, we can only suspect that lesser crimes which remained hidden led to the greater, which are more or less truthfully recorded.