The Maxwell GenealogyForum

Title: Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s
Posted by: Michel Rowland
Date: 13 December 2004

Kia Ora whanau
Kei te mihi atu ki nga Rangatira o Ngai Tai katoa!

Thank you all for your replies, and my apologies for not replying sooner.  I will make several replies in response to various questions posted etc but first just a general run-down/update.  I will include as much info as possible, seeing as you've all been so patient ;-)

Thanks also to those who have emailed, and again my apologies for not replying to everyone sooner.

I am preparing whakapapa and historic info for all of you which I will be in touch about via your emails as soon as I'm able to, but it is taking me a while because the information I have is quite extensive, containing numerous branches of our whakapapa - many of these branches are not well known, even within Ngai Tai - in some cases stemming back thousands of years to tupuna back in Hawaiki, and also containing a lot of detailed history, tradition, legend etc.  Accessing the information is no problem but putting it all together is quite an undertaking.  Until then, keep on with your own research as the journey you undertake is certain to reap its own personal rewards, and no doubt we will all have important parts to contribute to the bigger picture by the time we are able to piece it all together.

It's no trouble for me to get information on our Ngai Tai/Tainui side as I maintain close, active connections with Ngai Tai Umupuia and have had numerous archives and materials made available to me, and I have also undertaken a lot of research over the last few years through various libraries, archives, museums etc around the country to assist with piecing back together as much as possible.

I have also been given the task of overseeing the creation of an official Ngai Tai website on behalf of Te Waka Totara Trust (Ngai Tai's officially appointed Iwi trust authority) - the design team and I will commence work on this project early in the New Year.  Again, this is a big project so please be patient.  One of the website's functions will be to help locate all the whanaunga out there who are looking to reconnect.  I've been in touch with many from the Makiwhara branch of the iwi and there are hundreds and hundreds of our cousins out there, all over the world, looking to make these connections back to Ngai Tai.  Secure membership areas of the website are being developed so that we can exchange information, make connections, build databases and archives etc.  These features will only be available to direct descendants of Ngai Tai ancestors, which will require people to register with the Iwi to verify your identity.  If you would like information on registering with Ngai Tai Umupuia please get in touch by email - m.rowland@mediatrix.co.nz - and I will have the registration forms forwarded on to you. 

Regarding the ancestors of Te Ngeungeu I will be happy to answer any questions I can, but due to the tapu nature of whakapapa I will not post the information publicly.  As for more recent decendants of Thomas & Ngeungeu's I'm not so well informed, other than my own branch of the whanau descended from our tupuna Anaru, so any info that others can pass on regarding the Maxwell/Makiwhara family tree descended from the other brothers would be much appreciated, and would also be of great benefit to various Ngai Tai whakawhanaungatanga projects I mentioned above.

It may also come as a surprise to some to hear that Ngeungeu also had 3 daughters, one to Thomas (she was in fact the eldest child) and later, two girls born to a second husband when she remarried some time after Thomas's death.  All three daughters have living descendants today, I am in touch with some of those cousins and we are also working on compiling more detailed info on these branches of the whanau.  Again, I will reserve further details for email.

As for our ancestor Thomas Maxwell, as this is a Maxwell clan website, and as our Scottish heritage does not require us to observe the protocols of tapu/noa in genealogical study, after a few more months' research, here is what I have found out so far:

Thomas Maxwell came to NZ via Australia from Aberdeen, aboard the whaling barque "Harriet" - no precise date can be confirmed by any records, but an article in the NZ Herald on 6 August 1932 suggests an arrival in 1817.  The Herald article however states that he arrived in the Maraetai district at this time, which is not true, he did not come to Maraetai until some time after he had met Ngeungeu, which happened in 1821.  It may be possible the Herald simply confused the date of his arrival in New Zealand with the date that he later travelled to Maraetai with Ngeungeu - he had to have been in NZ prior to 1821 in order to have met Ngeungeu that year, so the later date of 1837 I mentioned previously must be discounted.  1837 is possibly when he arrived in the general vicinity of Waitemata/Maraetai/Hauraki Gulf, according to 'An Alphabetical List of Discoverers, Visitors, Traders, Early Residents', R.A.A. Sherrin, Early History of New Zealand, Auckland, 1890 - although this is also debatable (see below).

To the best of my knowledge there was never any connection to either Edinburgh Castle, nor to a "Maxwell Downs" - by the looks of things this is merely "pioneer folklore" which was fairly common in the very early period of European arrivals, prior to colonisation. 

The "Harriet" initially made landfall at the Bay of Islands, and in the Ngai Tai oral history regarding the meeting of Thomas & Ngeungeu, it is said that the ship was merely reprovisioning in the area, at Kororareka (the site of present-day Russell) when they met.  If this is accurate then obviously the ship wouldn't have spent 4 years in the Bay while the crew were kicking around in Kororareka, so the date of 1817 would therefore also have to be discounted. 

Most likely to me, in light of the above, it seems that he arrived in 1821 and met Ngeungeu in the region shortly thereafter.  There are other details of the oral history to support this, which I'll reserve for private communication.

After they met, it appears they stayed on for some time up north, settling for a time in Kaikohe.  In about 1960 my great grand aunty Ngeungeu Zister (Thomas & Ngeungeu's great granddaughter) told the Howick & Pakuranga Times that Thomas had set up a shop and a post-office in Kaikohe during the 1820s, and went on to say that it was in Kaikohe that Thomas & Ngeungeu were married, by one Reverend Williams.  I have had no success tracking down any official record of their marriage (historic NZ written records in general are very sketchy prior to the 1840s - hence it is also so difficult to trace maritime records to pinpoint the arrival of "Harriet") but one source says they were married in the mid 1820s ('A History of the Human Occupation of the Whakakaiwhara Block', G.J Murdoch, Historian, ARC Environment For the ARC Regional Parks Service, September 1996).  Aunty also said that they lived with an aunty of Ngeungeu's whilst in Kaikohe. 

Most other records also seem to suggest that they did not return permanently to Ngeungeu's home in the Maraetai/Hauraki Gulf district for some time, although precisely how long is not clear. 

In the same Howick & Pakuranga Times article, Aunty went on to say that eventually some of Ngeungeu's whanau from Ngai Tai travelled to Kaikohe by waka and brought them both back to Maraetai. 

Settling thereafter in the traditional rohe of Ngai Tai under the mana of his father-in-law Tara Te Irirangi (also called Otara Te Irirangi, and Te Tara ki Moehau), Thomas became known as Tame Kohe, or Tame Makiwhara (not Taamati Makiwhara as I suggested previously - sorry, I was just guessing).  As the first permanent Pakeha settler in the district, it was first and foremost under the authority and protection of Ngeungeu's father that Thomas Maxwell was able to acquire lands at Motutapu, Umupuia and Matuku Bay (all 3 acquisitions are documented in the Old Land Claim Archive - reference number OLC 332). 

Tara Te Irirangi was widely respected in the region as the leading Rangatira of Ngai Tai and negotiated with others in the region on Thomas's behalf.  It is likely also (depending on the date) that Thomas & Ngeungeu had already had several of their children by this point, which is consistent with the oral family history stating that Tara ensured these lands were passed into Thomas's possession for the wellbeing and benefit of his mokopuna and future descendants (as far as we know, none of Tara's other 3 children besides Ngeungeu bore him any other mokopuna).

The OLC 332 records mentioned above also show that in 1840, when prosecuting his claim to land at Matuku Bay on Waiheke, Thomas stated that he had purchased the land in May of 1838.  At this time he said "I took possession of the land a few months after the purchase was made and I have resided there ever since.  I have built several houses, a store, and other buildings on the land and made some pits - for sawing timber."

Other sources, however, state that Thomas & Ngeungeu settled on Ngai Tai lands at Matuku Bay (also called Man O'War Bay) as early as 1825 - both 'Auckland City of the Seas' (Reed) and respected Ngai Tai historian Te Warena Taua (quoted by Alan la Rouche in 'The History of Howick & Pakuranga', Howick & Districts Historical Society, 1991) give 1825 as the date of their settlement on Waiheke.

Now, Thomas *must* have been in the region much earlier than 1838.  He is widely known as the first Pakeha settler to have lived in the region - all historic records are in agreement on this fact, as is the oral history of Ngai Tai.  Yet it is also well documented that the Reverend Samuel Marsden and lay catechist William Fairburn had first visited in late 1833, that Fairburn and fellow CMS missionary James Preece were regular features in the region by 1835, and that between 1835-1836 they negotiated the notoriously dubious 'Fairburn's Purchase' - although the purchase did undergo numerous legal challenges and was not finalised until 1839.  Nevertheless, at the very latest Fairburn and his family were in permanent residence at Maraetai by January 1837 which is when his Mission Station (the first in the region) was established.

It is also recorded by Waiheke Island historian Paul Monin in 'Waiheke Island: A History' (Dunmore Press, 1992) that by 1838, Thomas already had another well-established Pakeha neighbour at Herekino Beach on Whanganui Island - an American trader by the name of William Webster, who had been a permanent resident in the region since 1836, and who, according to Paul Monin, is known to have had numerous business dealings with Thomas Maxwell in the timber trade on Waiheke during the late 1830s.

For Thomas Maxwell to have become so well known as the first Pakeha settler in the region, he must have been living there for quite some time before either Webster or Fairburn's arrival, in which case 1838 is clearly incorrect.  It is also clear from Thomas's extensive dealings in native timber during the 1830s that he was very familiar with the area and had developed a sound knowledge of the environment and resources over some time.

One possible explanation is that the whanau had lived there since 1825 under the authority of Ngai Tai principals of mana whenua, but that there was no legally recognised purchase of the land at Matuku Bay in accordance with Pakeha concepts of private ownership until 1838.  But this does not explain Thomas's statements that he didn't live there permanently until a few months after he purchased the land in 1838.

Personally I believe he merely lived in and around the Ngai Tai rohe of the Waitemata/Maraetai/Hauraki Gulf region since 1825, rather than settling permanently on Waiheke at that time.  Given that he was also well-known as a "Pakeha-Maori", it's also quite likely that Thomas, Ngeungeu and the whanau moved around the region with other members of their hapu on a seasonal basis, rather than settling in any one spot permanently - the customary lifestyle of Ngai Tai at the time was to move from one small settlement within the rohe to another, in seasonal cycles of fishing, gardening, forest hunting, gathering/forraging etc.

During his time at Waiheke Thomas traded mainly in timber, however, as has been mentioned before by trade he was better known as a ship-builder.  After researching maritme records, the aforementioned "Waiheke Island: A History", and also an article in the NZ Herald & Auckland Gazette on Dec 28 1841, here's what really happened concerning the ship he disappeared on - in 1841 while still living at Matuku Bay he and helpers spent a large portion of the year building a 44 foot, 42 ton schooner which was officially known as the "Sarah Maxwell" but which was also known as the "Matuku".  On 21 December 1841 he sailed her from the Hauraki Gulf to Auckland, transferring command to a Capt. Lauder in Auckland.  They then sailed to Port Nicholson in Wellington in January 1842.  On the return trip home, travelling along the East Coast, the ship encountered a storm and was never seen again, and all aboard including Thomas were presumed drowned.

This is pretty much everything I know about our ancestor Thomas Maxwell's life in New Zealand, besides a few extra details that I will forward on by email.  I am, however, still following up a number of other documents and records that may clarify further details.

Now here's the thing - fascinating as all of this has been and pleased as I am to have the chance to make connections with other Makiwhara whanaunga descended from Thomas and his sons - I still know nothing about what I came here to find out! ;-)

When and where was he born?  Who were his parents?  His grandparents?  How do we trace back into the Maxwell clan?

If anyone out there knows of a Thomas Maxwell from Aberdeen, Scotland, who was probably born in the late 1700s, was a ship-builder by trade, and came to New Zealand via Australia on a Whaling ship called Harriet some time between 1817 & 1821, and may have also been accompanied by another Maxwell cousin - and if you can help us find out about his ancestors back in Scotland, please let us know.  The name Thomas and the names of his sons, particularly Patrick and Andrew, suggest to me that there are specifric Maxwell family branches where these names also appear, from which we are probably descended.  I've also found out that he did in fact have a close family member called Sarah Maxwell - she was his first wife.

Thanks!


Replies

Title:Date:Posted By:
Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s20 August 2004M. Rowland
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s21 August 2004M.Rowland
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s18 October 2004Joy markoni-Lyons
               Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s31 October 2004john saunders (son june barker)
                    Re:Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s26 June 2009Robbie Macaulay
               Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s14 December 2004Michel Rowland
                    Re:Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s16 June 2005maungarongo
                         Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s05 July 2007Michel
                    Re:Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s21 December 2017Harete Collier (Kingi Family)
               Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s29 March 2016Isobel Tait re Maxwell
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s16 November 2004Rhys Maxwell Clare
               Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s18 November 2004Joy Markoni-Lyons
                    Re:Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s14 December 2004Michel Rowland
                         Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s15 December 2004Joy Markoni_lyons
                    Thomas Maxwell's sons and Land court report12 February 2010Lesley McNaughton
                         Re:Thomas Maxwell's sons and Land court report02 May 2010Bill Park
                              Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell's sons and Land court report01 January 2013Genevieve
                                   Thomas Maxwell's sons and Land court report20 March 2013Bill Park
                         Re:Thomas Maxwell's sons and Land court report01 January 2013Genevieve
                         Re:Thomas Maxwell's sons 20 March 2013Jay Maxwell
                              Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell's sons 20 March 2013Jay Maxwell
                         Re:Thomas Maxwell's sons and Land court report08 August 2017Gary O'Sullivan
               Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s04 December 2004Celia Kereopa
               Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s13 December 2004Michel Rowland
                    Re:Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s13 December 2004Michel Rowland
               Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s24 November 2005tracy
                    Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s16 March 2006sally
               Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s18 March 2006Jasmine Tahana
                    Re:Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s18 March 2006Joy
               Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s19 February 2019Veronica Shaw
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s18 November 2004Sally Maxwell Roberts
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s15 November 2005Averyl Maxwell
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s13 December 2004Michel Rowland
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s13 March 2010Rebecca Joyce (nee Maxwell)
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s13 December 2004Michel Rowland
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s15 December 2004Joy Markoni-Lyons
               Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s11 July 2005mahora
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s20 March 2005Thomas Maxwell whanau NZ
               Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s17 April 2010gloria james nee brown
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s01 May 2006Kjersten
          Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s16 March 2010Trish Maxwell-Richardson
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s17 August 2005Tara Te Irirangis descendants
          Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s31 May 2006Tania Jack-Kino
               Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s05 July 2007Ngai Tai Web
               Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s28 February 2010Nat Green
                    Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s02 April 2010Huhana Rokx
                    Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s02 April 2010Huhana Rokx
                         Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s18 August 2010Nat
                    Re:04 December 2010Hera Herangi Reupene Hetaraka
                         Re:Re:23 April 2012Nat Green
                    Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s06 April 2011Tarnz
                         Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s23 April 2012Nat
                         Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s06 April 2017Samuel Hamiora kino rahipere
                         Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s06 April 2017Samuel Hamiora kino rahipere
                    Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s13 March 2012Jason Saxton
                         Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s23 April 2012Nat
                    Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s13 March 2012Jason Saxton
                    Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s23 April 2012Nat
                    Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s04 November 2015Christine
                    Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s04 November 2015Christine
                         Re:Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s24 August 2019Charlotte Ngapera
                    Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s15 November 2015Stephanie Lambert
     Ngai Tai Umupuia and Makiwhara (Maxwell) whanau Website05 July 2007Ngai Tai Web Portal
          Re:Ngai Tai Umupuia and Makiwhara (Maxwell) whanau Website24 September 2007Faenza Bryham
               Re:Re:Ngai Tai Umupuia and Makiwhara (Maxwell) whanau Website03 July 2012Major Te Wheoro Herewini
          Re:Ngai Tai Umupuia and Makiwhara (Maxwell) whanau Website29 March 2016Tim Poi
          Re:Ngai Tai Umupuia and Makiwhara (Maxwell) whanau Website14 July 2022Naomi Broadman
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s01 November 2007Lawrence Maxwell
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s11 March 2013Melissa Maxwell
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s12 January 2009Huhana Rokx
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s15 March 2010marcella cooke
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s27 November 2010Adrian Kamali'i
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s22 March 2022Nicci Lee Mowat
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s22 March 2022Nicci Lee Mowat
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s27 December 2010Hera Takapuna
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s22 September 2014Kathy Maxwell-Juan
          Re:Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s12 October 2014Joy
     Re:Thomas Maxwell ->Auckland, New Zealand, early 1800s21 September 2019candy

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