36. Stephen Defends His Decision On reading his mothers letter, Stephen was very much upset and was at a loss to know just how to reply. As his mother had taken the matter so seriously, he felt called upon to state his side of the case, as he could never dare ignore so severe a stricture from the one he held so dear, without trying to allay the awful state of mind that his mother had been worked up to through an act of his. He therefore penned the following lines: Dear Mother, Your letter I have duly received and I have read it very carefully, not once, but many times, hoping to find a gleam of hope for a reconciliation, but it was all in vain, as your statements were positive throughout and I feel guilty of being responsible for your feelings and for the sentiments you have expressed, and after all, they are the true sentiments of a mother whose son has made, what from her viewpoint, appeared to be a fatal step in life. However, as you have stated that that was the last letter I could hope to receive from you, this reply may be the last you will permit me to write to you, so I will ask you to bear with me while I set out fully to explain my attitude. I think I owe an explanation to my mother, the halo of whose love and affection has to a very large extent been my guiding star through life. You will, therefore, pardon me mother, if my epistle is lengthy, as I want you to thoroughly understand the circumstances that surrounded the drama that has caused the pang to which you refer, so that you may then in your calmer moments soften the hatred that exists within your heart for my actions, which I am sure you do not yet understand. I am now very anxious to tell you the whole story so that you may be cognizant of the facts and if then you still persist in your hostilities I will at least feel consoled to know that I had played my part. Now, first of all, mother, you designate my wife as a negress: that is entirely wrong. The New Zealand natives are bronze in colour much after the colour of all people domiciled in the Northern temperature zones, South Europe and the Asiatic countries; similar to the Italians, Turks, Arabs, Bolivians and so on; the difference being that the Maoris are more musical and consequently more sentimental and loving than any of those people mentioned above. My wife is the only daughter of one of the leading Chiefs of this country and naturally she is looked upon here as of distinguished blue blood descent. When the assembled Chiefs made the offer of her hand, they made reference to the great departure this was from their traditional custom, that of the royal blue bloods marrying only blue bloods and not commoners. They did not intend this to be regarded as a precedent, but on the other hand, they sought our appreciation of the sacrifice of the tradition that they held most sacred and said that it was a recompense to fathers philanthropy to the natives since he arrived in New Zealand. They felt it was the best reward they could offer in recognition of his generosity. Now, mother, I have this to say: my wife is a handsome and noble woman, with a most lovable nature, and I am growing to admire her more and more as time moves on. In my heart there was room for none other than you, but now that love is equally divided between my wife and my mother, and I can find room for both; and even if you cast me aside, I shall always remember the loving care and attention you devoted to me during my juvenile days and your vigilance concerning my after life with the passion of a loving mother, that, I can never forget. I am sorry, however, that you regard the Maoris as a race of negroes similar to the Aboriginals of Australia; there is no comparison between the two peoples. Remember those humane sentiments expressed by father concerning the Australian Blacks and I hope you have not forgotten the great stand he took when the Blacks were rounded up in Tasmania and slaughtered; how he pleaded with the authorities for a more humane method of dealing with them, and I think he was largely responsible for their segregation on the island where later they were allowed to live in peace, unmolested. He has taken a similar stand here and I think it is one that in after years will be much appreciated as it is a laudible act on the part of humanity to create a brotherhood of man, regardless of colour or creed. I will now close with fondest love and affection From your ever loving son Stephen 37. Entering The Gum Trade Mr Wrathall was now dividing his attention to both his sons welfare and he was spending his time equally at Taipa and Oruru. He had instructed the bush hands to collect the kauri gum that was being shed on the trees as they were fallen, and on one tree alone, they gathered about half a ton. This gum was being stored in a shed built for the purpose; Mr Wrathall thought there may be a market for it later, so he had it all gathered and stored. The natives were aware of great quantities being present on the ranges at the back of Taipa, so Mr Wrathall got them to gather it up and allowed them something for their trouble. By this means, he soon had a store of about sixty tons, which he bagged and shipped to Australia, where it was consigned to London on a home going boat, for the purpose of testing the market. This was the first shipment of kauri gum sent from New Zealand. There was no market for it at the time, but from the result of experiments, it was found that it produced a very fine varnish. For the best white, Wrathall eventually got ten pounds a ton net, with an order for a further shipment of a similar amount. In the meantime, the natives had found that it was present in the ground, as well as on the surface, so they got the required amount to fulfill the order and Wrathall gave them goods in exchange, keeping a reasonable margin for his capital outlay. A wider market was then obtained in the Old Land and the price gradually advanced until it became a payable proposition to handle and was the means of providing a constant livelihood for the native population around Taipa for many years, and absolutely stabilized Wrathalls commercial calling and though he, in the course of his storekeeping career, handled hundreds of tons of kauri gum, he made but very little out of it, beyond the profits attached to his store retailing business. He holds the unique honour, however, of being the first to send a trial shipment of kauri gum to England for the purpose of finding a market for it as a product of New Zealand. Gumdigging has been a recognized calling for thousands of New Zealands population ever since, and since its recognition as a commercial commodity, many millions of pounds worth has been exported from these shores. 38. Mangonui Grows Great excitement surrounded the event when Stephens first born arrived, a girl, christened Anne. She was the first European child born in New Zealand; this was in 1820. Eighteen months later, in the year 1822, a boy was born. This son, christened Harry, was the first boy of British parentage to be born in New Zealand. Every year since Mr Wrathalls arrival, the whaling operations had increased and the year just closed saw twenty-six whaling vessels in the Mangonui Harbour as the same time. On almost every occasion on which these vessels were anchored in the harbour, two or three of the sailors escaped and took to the bush, only to be hunted down and caught by the natives who were given a bounty for each capture. Some of these runaway sailors were fortunate enough to escape being caught and when their vessel had put out to sea, they gave themselves up and gradually became absorbed in the population of Europeans and Natives. Wrathall was of great assistance to them as he usually provided them with employment on his farm, bush or gumfield, and so gave them a chance to start in life. The escapees were principally Portuguese and the upper end of Oruru, adjoining Wrathalls ranch, and up to the Peria Valley became an established Portuguese settlement where their descendants have become successful farmers. 39. Mary Ann Wrathall Dies About six months after receiving Stephens letter, Mrs Wrathall took seriously ill and she sent for Mr Wrathall to return to Australia. This he did, and though he got the most eminent physician to attend her and also the best of nursing, she passed peacefully away with her family around her bedside. All were present except Stephen and John. The death of his wife was a great blow to Mr. Wrathall, who remained in Australia for a considerable time before returning to New Zealand. He became very unsettled after her death, and spent a lot of his time between the two countries. Life seemed to hold out no hopes for him now that he was alone in the world. His great hopes, had been to settle all his sons comfortably and then go back and end his days in comfort with his wife, but now the future held but little for him to live for. However, he managed to live his troubles down and then concentrated on New Zealand. 40. Wrathall Gives Advice On Religion Immigrants were now commencing to come to New Zealand and the white man was now to be seen in Mangonui, Whangaroa and Russell, the three principal harbours of the North. At Whangaroa, a Wesleyan mission station had been established, while the Church Of England missionaries had established themselves at Russell. At this time, an endeavour was being made by the Europeans to become released from New South Wales, as New Zealand was under the New South Wales Mandate, and the agitation was for New Zealand to be declared a self governed colony. Mr Wrathall, incidentally, took a very active part in the agitation. Meetings were held at Taipa and Pawai, with three leading Chiefs, making a special trip to there for the purpose of finding out what was meant by these meetings of the Europeans concerning this self governing question that seemed to be causing such excitement amongst the White people. Mr Wrathall went into details with Pawai and the Chiefs concerning the mandate as at present existing, and the advantages that would accrue from the government of New Zealand by the people of New Zealand. When the whole position had been explained to them, the Chiefs were more satisfied, and they then brought up the question of these two sets of missionaries having come with different doctrines, and they wanted some advice as to which was the better of the two, as both were canvassing for followers. Mr Wrathall said, Now you are treading on sacred ground and I must display a certain amount of reluctance to make a choice. The two missionaries are the Church Of England and the Wesleyans. Both are recognized in the Home Land and both are absolutely sincere in the causes they are each advocating. I want you to remember, that there are a great many different religions in the world, but they all have the one great goal, so as there is no departure from the goal, it is really immaterial which one you elect to become a disciple of. In my domestic home affairs, Mrs Wrathall and I were members of different churches. I am a member of the Church Of England, while my wife was a Wesleyan. Neither changed to the others church, but it has in no way affected our lives and I think it would be a cruel attitude indeed, for either one to try to influence the other to change over for that great sentimental reason, that children invariably follow the faith of their mother. That is a custom prevailing throughout the civilized world, so I would merely make this suggestion; listen to the both doctrines then judge for yourselves; select the views of the one whose teachings are in accord with your own ecclesiastical thought; be earnest in your efforts to choose, but whatever you do, become a follower of either one or the other, as both are recognized throughout the British Empire. With this, the Chiefs returned perfectly satisfied that they had received good information and good advice for which they thanked Mr Wrathall.