Dicky Barrett (trader)
Encyclopedia
Richard "Dicky" Barrett (1807–1847) was one of the first white traders to be based in New Zealand
. He lent his translation skills to help negotiate the first land purchases from Maori in New Plymouth
and Wellington
and became a key figure in the establishment of the settlement of New Plymouth. He was described by Edward Jerningham Wakefield, son of New Zealand Company
founder Edward Gibbon Wakefield
, as short, stout and "perfectly round all over" and fond of relating "wild adventures and hairbreadth 'scapes".
or Bermondsey
, England He spent six years as a sailor and arrived in Taranaki from Sydney as a mate on the trading vessel Adventure in March, 1828. He and captain John Agar "Jacky" Love established a trading post
at Ngamotu (site of modern-day New Plymouth), trading musket
s and trinkets for flax
, maize, wheat and vegetables grown by local Te Atiawa Māori. The trading post attracted increasing numbers of passing ships.
Barrett picked up a rudimentary understanding of the Māori language
, was given the name of Tiki Parete and married Rawinia, the daughter of a local chief.
In 1832 Barrett and his former crewmates joined local Maori in the Otaka pā
at Ngamotu to aid their defence in the face of an attack by heavily-armed Waikato
Māori, firing on the invaders with three cannon, using nails, iron scraps and stones for ammunition. The siege lasted more than three weeks before the Waikato withdrew, leaving a battle scene strewn with bodies, many of which had been cannibalised. In June Barrett and his white companions migrated south with as many as 3000 Atiawa Māori.
In late 1833 or early 1834 Barrett and Love established a whaling station at Queen Charlotte Sound
.
to help negotiate the purchase of land there. The party remained there for about 10 days, ultimately securing the signatures of 16 Maori on a deed (written in English) for the purchase of an estimated 64,000ha in the Wellington area. The Waitangi Tribunal
noted in its 2003 report on the Port Nicholson land purchases that Barrett – who it describes as having "marked incompetence as an interpreter" – was unable to translate the deed into Maori and "quite incapable of conveying its meaning ... to the assembled Maori".
Barrett was later described by a contemporary as speaking "whaler Maori, a jargon that bears much the same relation to the real language of the Maori as the pigeon
English of the Chinese does to our mother tongue".
In November 1839 Barrett arrived in Taranaki on the Tory to negotiate the purchase of land from his wife's iwi
, remaining there while Wakefield continued north to Kaipara
. On February 15, 1840 he translated Deeds of Sale and obtained 72 signatures to formalise the purchase of a vast area of Taranaki, extending from Mokau
to Cape Egmont
and inland to the upper reaches of the Whanganui River
. Payment was made with guns, blankets and other chattels.
J. Houston, writing in Maori Life in Old Taranaki (1965), observed: "Many of the true owners were absent, while others had not returned from slavery to the Waikatos in the north. Thus the 72 chiefs of Ngamotu cheerfully sold lands in which they themselves had no interest, as well as lands wherein they held only a part interest along with several others."
The Maori were not aided in their understanding of the deal by Barrett's translation skills. In the Land Commission hearings at Wellington in 1843, when asked to translate a lengthy land sale deed into Maori to demonstrate his abilities, he "turned a 1600-word document, written in English, into 115 meaningless Maori ones".
In 1841 he returned to New Plymouth with Frederic Alonzo Carrington, a surveyor commissioned by the New Zealand Company, who began surveying the planned town. He
married Rawinia the same year, describing himself on the marriage certificate as "a whaling master of full age".
Barrett remained in New Plymouth as the settlement grew, establishing a commercially unsuccessful whaling station and serving as an unofficial harbour master, helping immigrants ashore as ships arrived. He also became a gardener and farmer. He drove the first cattle and sheep to Taranaki from Wellington and introduced a wide variety of new crops and vegetables. He missed the landing of the first settlers, who arrived on the William Bryan in March 1841, because he was about 10km inland, searching for peach trees he had earlier planted.
When the Land Claims Commission held hearings in New Plymouth into disputed land purchases in 1844, it awarded the New Zealand Company 24,000ha of "legitimately purchased" land, including 72ha for Barrett and his family.
and was ostracised after being blamed by Atiawa Māori and settlers alike – as well as Governor Robert FitzRoy
– for contributing to tension over settlement of Māori land with his initial negotiations. The tension later spilled over into war
.
Barrett died in 1847, possibly as the result of a heart attack.. Claims that he suffered fatal injuries while killing a whale off the coast of New Plymouth, reported by the Taranaki Herald in 1941, are not supported by any contemporary evidence. He was buried at Wahitapu Cemetery off lower Bayly Rd, New Plymouth. A headstone shows he is buried with his wife and eight-year-old daughter.
His legacy remains in New Plymouth with Barrett Lagoon, Barrett Reef, Barrett Domain, Barrett Road and Barrett Street, location of the former Barrett Street Hospital. Barrett Reef
, in Wellington Harbour
, was also named after him.
For more information, see New Plymouth
.
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. He lent his translation skills to help negotiate the first land purchases from Maori in New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
and Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and became a key figure in the establishment of the settlement of New Plymouth. He was described by Edward Jerningham Wakefield, son of New Zealand Company
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
founder Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield
Edward Gibbon Wakefield was a British politician, the driving force behind much of the early colonisation of South Australia, and later New Zealand....
, as short, stout and "perfectly round all over" and fond of relating "wild adventures and hairbreadth 'scapes".
Sailor, trader and whaler
Barrett was born and raised in the slums of either DurhamDurham
Durham is a city in north east England. It is within the County Durham local government district, and is the county town of the larger ceremonial county...
or Bermondsey
Bermondsey
Bermondsey is an area in London on the south bank of the river Thames, and is part of the London Borough of Southwark. To the west lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe, and to the south, Walworth and Peckham.-Toponomy:...
, England He spent six years as a sailor and arrived in Taranaki from Sydney as a mate on the trading vessel Adventure in March, 1828. He and captain John Agar "Jacky" Love established a trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
at Ngamotu (site of modern-day New Plymouth), trading musket
Musket
A musket is a muzzle-loaded, smooth bore long gun, fired from the shoulder. Muskets were designed for use by infantry. A soldier armed with a musket had the designation musketman or musketeer....
s and trinkets for flax
New Zealand flax
New Zealand flax describes common New Zealand perennial plants Phormium tenax and Phormium cookianum, known by the Māori names harakeke and wharariki respectively...
, maize, wheat and vegetables grown by local Te Atiawa Māori. The trading post attracted increasing numbers of passing ships.
Barrett picked up a rudimentary understanding of the Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
, was given the name of Tiki Parete and married Rawinia, the daughter of a local chief.
In 1832 Barrett and his former crewmates joined local Maori in the Otaka pā
Pa
-Places:* Pâ, a town in Burkina Faso* Pâ Department, a department in Burkina Faso* PA postcode area, in Scotland* Province of Palermo, Italy* Palo Alto, California* Panama, ISO country code** .pa, the country code top level domain for Panama...
at Ngamotu to aid their defence in the face of an attack by heavily-armed Waikato
Waikato
The Waikato Region is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato, Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the northern King Country, much of the Taupo District, and parts of Rotorua District...
Māori, firing on the invaders with three cannon, using nails, iron scraps and stones for ammunition. The siege lasted more than three weeks before the Waikato withdrew, leaving a battle scene strewn with bodies, many of which had been cannibalised. In June Barrett and his white companions migrated south with as many as 3000 Atiawa Māori.
In late 1833 or early 1834 Barrett and Love established a whaling station at Queen Charlotte Sound
Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand
Queen Charlotte Sound is the easternmost of the main sounds of the Marlborough Sounds, in New Zealand's South Island. It is, like the other sounds, a drowned river valley , and like the majority of its neighbours it runs southwest to northeast before joining Cook Strait.The town of Picton, the...
.
Negotiator
In September 1839 Barrett sailed from Queen Charlotte Sound to Port Nicholson aboard the Tory with representatives of the New Zealand CompanyNew Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
to help negotiate the purchase of land there. The party remained there for about 10 days, ultimately securing the signatures of 16 Maori on a deed (written in English) for the purchase of an estimated 64,000ha in the Wellington area. The Waitangi Tribunal
Waitangi Tribunal
The Waitangi Tribunal is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975...
noted in its 2003 report on the Port Nicholson land purchases that Barrett – who it describes as having "marked incompetence as an interpreter" – was unable to translate the deed into Maori and "quite incapable of conveying its meaning ... to the assembled Maori".
Barrett was later described by a contemporary as speaking "whaler Maori, a jargon that bears much the same relation to the real language of the Maori as the pigeon
Pidgin
A pidgin , or pidgin language, is a simplified language that develops as a means of communication between two or more groups that do not have a language in common. It is most commonly employed in situations such as trade, or where both groups speak languages different from the language of the...
English of the Chinese does to our mother tongue".
In November 1839 Barrett arrived in Taranaki on the Tory to negotiate the purchase of land from his wife's iwi
Iwi
In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...
, remaining there while Wakefield continued north to Kaipara
Kaipara Harbour
Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Rodney District...
. On February 15, 1840 he translated Deeds of Sale and obtained 72 signatures to formalise the purchase of a vast area of Taranaki, extending from Mokau
Mokau
Mokau is a small town on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island, located at the mouth of the Mokau River on the North Taranaki Bight. Mokau lies just north of the boundary between the Taranaki Region and the Waikato Region...
to Cape Egmont
Cape Egmont
Cape Egmont is the westernmost point of Taranaki, on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located close to the volcanic cone of Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont....
and inland to the upper reaches of the Whanganui River
Whanganui River
The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand.Known for many years as the Wanganui River, the river's name reverted to Whanganui in 1991, according with the wishes of local iwi. Part of the reason was also to avoid confusion with the Wanganui River in the South Island...
. Payment was made with guns, blankets and other chattels.
J. Houston, writing in Maori Life in Old Taranaki (1965), observed: "Many of the true owners were absent, while others had not returned from slavery to the Waikatos in the north. Thus the 72 chiefs of Ngamotu cheerfully sold lands in which they themselves had no interest, as well as lands wherein they held only a part interest along with several others."
The Maori were not aided in their understanding of the deal by Barrett's translation skills. In the Land Commission hearings at Wellington in 1843, when asked to translate a lengthy land sale deed into Maori to demonstrate his abilities, he "turned a 1600-word document, written in English, into 115 meaningless Maori ones".
Mediator and settler
Barrett moved to Wellington to open a hotel and in early 1840 was appointed Agent for the Natives by Wakefield, who said the role "will make him the medium between the settlers and their dark neighbours in all disputes and in the allotment of the native reserves in lieu of the land now occupied and cultivated by them.". The position was rewarded with a ₤100 a year salary and Barrett received glowing praise from Wakefield for his loyalty and success as well as his interpreting skills.In 1841 he returned to New Plymouth with Frederic Alonzo Carrington, a surveyor commissioned by the New Zealand Company, who began surveying the planned town. He
married Rawinia the same year, describing himself on the marriage certificate as "a whaling master of full age".
Barrett remained in New Plymouth as the settlement grew, establishing a commercially unsuccessful whaling station and serving as an unofficial harbour master, helping immigrants ashore as ships arrived. He also became a gardener and farmer. He drove the first cattle and sheep to Taranaki from Wellington and introduced a wide variety of new crops and vegetables. He missed the landing of the first settlers, who arrived on the William Bryan in March 1841, because he was about 10km inland, searching for peach trees he had earlier planted.
When the Land Claims Commission held hearings in New Plymouth into disputed land purchases in 1844, it awarded the New Zealand Company 24,000ha of "legitimately purchased" land, including 72ha for Barrett and his family.
Fall from favour
From 1842 Barrett became a persona non grataPersona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...
and was ostracised after being blamed by Atiawa Māori and settlers alike – as well as Governor Robert FitzRoy
Robert FitzRoy
Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN achieved lasting fame as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, and as a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate weather forecasting a reality...
– for contributing to tension over settlement of Māori land with his initial negotiations. The tension later spilled over into war
First Taranaki War
The First Taranaki War was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from March 1860 to March 1861....
.
Barrett died in 1847, possibly as the result of a heart attack.. Claims that he suffered fatal injuries while killing a whale off the coast of New Plymouth, reported by the Taranaki Herald in 1941, are not supported by any contemporary evidence. He was buried at Wahitapu Cemetery off lower Bayly Rd, New Plymouth. A headstone shows he is buried with his wife and eight-year-old daughter.
His legacy remains in New Plymouth with Barrett Lagoon, Barrett Reef, Barrett Domain, Barrett Road and Barrett Street, location of the former Barrett Street Hospital. Barrett Reef
Barrett Reef
The cluster of rocks that is Barrett Reef is one of the most treacherous reefs in New Zealand.It lies on the western side of the entrance of Wellington Harbour, on the approaches to the city of Wellington, at coordinates . The reef is named after Richard Barrett , a whaler and trader. Its Maori...
, in Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour
Wellington Harbour is the large natural harbour at the southern tip of New Zealand's North Island. New Zealand's capital, Wellington, is on the western side of Wellington Harbour. The harbour was officially named Port Nicholson until it assumed its current name in the 1980s.In Māori the harbour is...
, was also named after him.
For more information, see New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
.