Dear Bill & clan,
You may remember the correspondence on James Caddell in January. My
friends have come up with the following which may be of some small
interest:
We have received a reply from Eden Seccombe regarding James Cadell. She
has
been in touch with the National Library of New Zealand and has forwarded
a
couple of articles that throw further light on this character. Unless we
can find a James Cadell that came to Australia/New Zealand 20 or more
years
before our Cadells (Thomas, James John, etc.) and we can prove that he
is
the same person as James Caddell (unlikely) then the strong probability
is
that he is not one of ours, which may be a pity as he seems to have been
a
colourful character (perhaps the ultimate 'greenie' - kill the sealers
who
are killing the seals). Copies of the articles follow:
The articles:
STANDARD NEWSPAPER 28 MARCH 1952
ANNIVERSARIES
First Known Case of a Pakeha Turning Maori
March 28 - Sealing along the southern coast of the South Island was a
profitable venture in the early years of last century but the great
drawback to the industry was the disposition of the Maoris. They hunted
the
sealers even more industrially than the sealers hunted the seals and the
trade began to languish.Eventually the New South Wales Government
dispatched the cutter Snapper to investigate and on her return to Sydney
on
March 28 1823, it was reported that the answer was a pakeha-Maori. What
was
more Captain Edwardson had him on board to prove it. James Caddell or
James
the Maori, was the first known case of a pakeha turning Maori and this
is
the way of it. The Sydney Cove returned to Sydney in 1811 and reported
the
loss of a boat's crew who had been captured and eaten by the Maoris. In
actual fact the only one saved was a boy James Caddell, who through a
stroke of luck in touching a chief's mat was kept in the tribe. He
became
resigned to his fate, adopted the manners and customs of the Maori's and
even forgot his own language. He grew to manhood, married a chief's
daughter and became a fighting chief. Hunting down sealing gangs was his
speciality until he was himself captured and taken with his wife to
Sydney.
Instead of being arraigned on sundry charges of murder and cannabilism
he
was given the freedom of Sydney and was convinced that killing sailors
was
a bad thing. It is probable that some arrangement was arrived at for on
his
return to New Zealand the mortality rate among the sealers dropped
considerably.
EXTRACT from Letters held by the National Library of New Zealand
"Caddel seems to be the most likely tattooed white man. Polack N.Z.
travels
and adventures, 1831-37 p. 52-53 mentioned Caddel and says 'After
remaining
some years with these people (in the vicinity of South Cape) he married
the
daughter of the principal chief and was himself raised to that dignity
and
tattooed in the face.' Polack also says that after Caddel had gone to
Sydney on the 'Snapper' in 1823 he 'afterwards returned with renewed
pleasure to the precarious life of savage hordes.' Whether he went back
to
South Cape or not Polack does not say, but the only other mention of a
tattooed white about that time is 'Murihiku' which quotes 'The
Australian"
December 5th 1828, about a tattooed man named Rutherford who was found
in
London picking pockets. Certainly we can find no specific mention of a
tattooed white in Akaroa in 1830's."
PS Don't ask me wahat Pakeha means!
Ian