John Boultbee
Encyclopedia
John Boultbee was born at Bunny, Nottinghamshire
, England
. He was the ninth and youngest son of Sarah Elizabeth Lane and her husband, Joseph Boultbee, minor Nottinghamshire gentry. A wanderer from boyhood, he was always impatient for new horizons.
By 1816 John Boultbee was bound for Brazil
. He was in Barbados
in 1818, intending to be a planter, but left after four months, sickened by the cruelties of slavery. He emigrated to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania
) with his brother Edwin in 1823, and dreamed of reaching that 'second Elysium', Tahiti
. The reality was the hard life of a sealer. so after two years and considerable privations in Bass Strait
, in March 1826 he sailed for southern New Zealand
. By March 1828 he was back in Port Jackson (Sydney
), toiling at ship ballasting and fish-curing. He went to the new Swan River
settlement in Western Australia
in 1829, and then in January 1833 joined a whaler bound for Timor
. After visits to the Philippines
and Singapore
, he arrived at Ceylon (Sri Lanka
) in May 1834, remaining there until his death, probably in 1854. He compiled his 'Journal of a rambler', an account of his life from 1817 to 1834, in Ceylon about 1835.
His New Zealand travels began in Port Jackson in March 1826 when he joined a sealing party employed by Daniel Cooper and Solomon Levey, and embarked on the brig Elizabeth. On 5 April the ship anchored in George Sound, and boat crews and provisions were landed. Boultbee was assigned to a boat carrying six weeks' victuals, three muskets, a dog and clothing, which headed 'about 100 miles to the Northward'. Reaching 'wild romantic looking' Milford Sound
the first day, they found game aplenty including weka
, kākāpō
and kiwi
. They visited Cascade Point, and at Open Bay (Jackson Bay
) saw a broken spear and flax sandals which were the first signs of Māori presence.
The party landed on the Open Bay Islands, where they found a few provisions and messages from previous visitors in a hut used by earlier sealers. Vegetables grown by the former gang made a welcome change from salt fare. Sealing went on apace: the first haul was made from a rock chimney, and more seals were obtained on an island off the mouth of the Paringa River. A constant watch was kept against surprise attack. Boultbee related that Māori refugees from Banks Peninsula
, were plundering and killing boat crews around the southern coast. An attack came at what is now Arnott Point. Boultbee laid about him with an oar while others loaded and fired guns, and the dog bit as the boat was launched for a get-away. There were casualties on both sides.
Boultbee' recounted wet, miserable nights, good crayfishing, reunion with two other boat crews at Milford Sound, and an exciting run before a gale to Dusky Sound
. A blazing fire, flapjacks, pork and a singsong restored everyone's spirits. When an accidental musket
-shot narrowly missed Boultbee, he comforted himself with a reflection on 'the timely interposition of Providence which thus preserved me.' A narrow escape from a runaway log was another manifestation of 'Divine Mercy'. He noted that he was much changed from 'the delicate youth' he had been, and was now 'as rough a piece of goods as ever weathered the wide world'. The rest of the crew, watching his busy pen as he wrote his journal, regarded him as 'a regular scholard', an incongruous, educated presence in a mostly illiterate company. His descriptions of the picturesque sounds are strikingly evocative.
Some months were spent in Dusky Sound before the Elizabeth returned with provisions and clothing, on its way to Foveaux Strait
. Boultbee's boat followed the Elizabeth after a few days, reaching Pahia
, the westernmost Māori settlement on the southern coastline, where the crew were welcomed by Jacky Price and his consort, Hinewhitia. Boultbee joined whole-heartedly in the communal life. There were trips across the strait to The Neck
on Stewart Island/Rakiura
and to Ruapuke Island
. Bluff
, Omaui
, Wakapatu, Te Waewae, Codfish Island
, are all vividly described in terms of the occupants' lives, their customs and language. Boultbee's ear for language was acute, and he compiled an extensive vocabulary of Māori expressions. His portraits of the chiefs Te Whakataupuka of Ruapuke and the dying Te Wera of Bluff
, among others, are a valuable addition to our knowledge. If wanderlust had not kept him on the move, he might have accepted Te Whakataupuka's invitation to remain on Ruapuke.
Boultbee joined a sealing gang from the Samuel, and stowed away on the ship at Paterson Inlet, landing penniless in Port Jackson on 8 March 1828. His journal was compiled 'more for the amusement of my relations and friends, than with a view to that of the Public', but his first-hand account of the sealing industry on New Zealand's southern coasts is a rare and vital record of a trade cloaked in the secrecy of competition.
Bunny, Nottinghamshire
Bunny is a village and civil parish in the Rushcliffe borough of Nottinghamshire, England. The parish has a population of around 600. It is on the A60 south of Nottingham, south of Bradmore and north of Costock.-History:...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He was the ninth and youngest son of Sarah Elizabeth Lane and her husband, Joseph Boultbee, minor Nottinghamshire gentry. A wanderer from boyhood, he was always impatient for new horizons.
By 1816 John Boultbee was bound for Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. He was in Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
in 1818, intending to be a planter, but left after four months, sickened by the cruelties of slavery. He emigrated to Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
) with his brother Edwin in 1823, and dreamed of reaching that 'second Elysium', Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. The reality was the hard life of a sealer. so after two years and considerable privations in Bass Strait
Bass Strait
Bass Strait is a sea strait separating Tasmania from the south of the Australian mainland, specifically the state of Victoria.-Extent:The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Bass Strait as follows:...
, in March 1826 he sailed for southern New Zealand
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...
. By March 1828 he was back in Port Jackson (Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
), toiling at ship ballasting and fish-curing. He went to the new Swan River
Swan River (Western Australia)
The Swan River estuary flows through the city of Perth, in the south west of Western Australia. Its lower reaches are relatively wide and deep, with few constrictions, while the upper reaches are usually quite narrow and shallow....
settlement in Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
in 1829, and then in January 1833 joined a whaler bound for Timor
Timor
Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, north of the Timor Sea. It is divided between the independent state of East Timor, and West Timor, belonging to the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara. The island's surface is 30,777 square kilometres...
. After visits to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, he arrived at Ceylon (Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
) in May 1834, remaining there until his death, probably in 1854. He compiled his 'Journal of a rambler', an account of his life from 1817 to 1834, in Ceylon about 1835.
His New Zealand travels began in Port Jackson in March 1826 when he joined a sealing party employed by Daniel Cooper and Solomon Levey, and embarked on the brig Elizabeth. On 5 April the ship anchored in George Sound, and boat crews and provisions were landed. Boultbee was assigned to a boat carrying six weeks' victuals, three muskets, a dog and clothing, which headed 'about 100 miles to the Northward'. Reaching 'wild romantic looking' Milford Sound
Milford Sound
Milford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site...
the first day, they found game aplenty including weka
Weka
The Weka or woodhen is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is endemic to New Zealand, where four subspecies are recognized. Weka are sturdy brown birds, about the size of a chicken. As omnivores, they feed mainly on invertebrates and fruit...
, kākāpō
Kakapo
The Kakapo , Strigops habroptila , also called owl parrot, is a species of large, flightless nocturnal parrot endemic to New Zealand...
and kiwi
Kiwi
Kiwi are flightless birds endemic to New Zealand, in the genus Apteryx and family Apterygidae.At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to their body size of any species of bird in the world...
. They visited Cascade Point, and at Open Bay (Jackson Bay
Jackson Bay
Jackson Bay is a gently curving bay 24 kilometers wide, located on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It faces the Tasman Sea to the north, and is backed by the Southern Alps...
) saw a broken spear and flax sandals which were the first signs of Māori presence.
The party landed on the Open Bay Islands, where they found a few provisions and messages from previous visitors in a hut used by earlier sealers. Vegetables grown by the former gang made a welcome change from salt fare. Sealing went on apace: the first haul was made from a rock chimney, and more seals were obtained on an island off the mouth of the Paringa River. A constant watch was kept against surprise attack. Boultbee related that Māori refugees from Banks Peninsula
Banks Peninsula
Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves...
, were plundering and killing boat crews around the southern coast. An attack came at what is now Arnott Point. Boultbee laid about him with an oar while others loaded and fired guns, and the dog bit as the boat was launched for a get-away. There were casualties on both sides.
Boultbee' recounted wet, miserable nights, good crayfishing, reunion with two other boat crews at Milford Sound, and an exciting run before a gale to Dusky Sound
Dusky Sound
Dusky Sound is a fiord on the south west corner of New Zealand, in Fiordland National Park.-Geography:One of the most complex of the many fjords on this coast, it is also one of the largest, 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wide at its widest point...
. A blazing fire, flapjacks, pork and a singsong restored everyone's spirits. When an accidental 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....
-shot narrowly missed Boultbee, he comforted himself with a reflection on 'the timely interposition of Providence which thus preserved me.' A narrow escape from a runaway log was another manifestation of 'Divine Mercy'. He noted that he was much changed from 'the delicate youth' he had been, and was now 'as rough a piece of goods as ever weathered the wide world'. The rest of the crew, watching his busy pen as he wrote his journal, regarded him as 'a regular scholard', an incongruous, educated presence in a mostly illiterate company. His descriptions of the picturesque sounds are strikingly evocative.
Some months were spent in Dusky Sound before the Elizabeth returned with provisions and clothing, on its way to Foveaux Strait
Foveaux Strait
Foveaux Strait separates Stewart Island/Rakiura, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. Three large bays, Te Waewae Bay, Oreti Beach and Toetoes Bay, sweep along the strait's northern coast, which also hosts Bluff township and harbour. Across the strait lie the Solander...
. Boultbee's boat followed the Elizabeth after a few days, reaching Pahia
Pahia
Pahia is a small rural locality in coastal Southland, New Zealand, not to be confused with the North Island tourist resort of Paihia. Surrounding areas include Ruahine, Wakapatu, Round Hill, Colac Bay and Orepuki. The main road, Orepuki-Riverton Hwy , runs through it...
, the westernmost Māori settlement on the southern coastline, where the crew were welcomed by Jacky Price and his consort, Hinewhitia. Boultbee joined whole-heartedly in the communal life. There were trips across the strait to The Neck
The Neck
The Neck may refer to:* The Neck, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada* The Neck, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States...
on Stewart Island/Rakiura
Stewart Island/Rakiura
Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third-largest island of New Zealand. It lies south of the South Island, across Foveaux Strait. Its permanent population is slightly over 400 people, most of whom live in the settlement of Oban.- History and naming :...
and to Ruapuke Island
Ruapuke Island
Ruapuke Island is one of the southernmost islands in New Zealand's main chain of islands. It lies to the southeast of Bluff and northeast of Oban on Stewart Island/Rakiura. The island covers an area of about . It guards the eastern end of Foveaux Strait...
. Bluff
Bluff, New Zealand
Bluff is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southern-most town in New Zealand and, despite Slope Point being further to the south, is colloquially used to refer to the southern extremity of the country...
, Omaui
Omaui
Omaui is a small coastal village in Southland Region, New Zealand. It is located approximately 20 km southwest of Invercargill near a small estuary opposite Sandy Point between Invercargill and Bluff.- History :...
, Wakapatu, Te Waewae, Codfish Island
Codfish Island
Codfish Island or Whenua Hou is a small island located to the west of Stewart Island/Rakiura in southern New Zealand. It reaches a height of close to the south coast. Following the eradication of possums and weka, it is a predator-free bird sanctuary and the focus of Kakapo recovery efforts...
, are all vividly described in terms of the occupants' lives, their customs and language. Boultbee's ear for language was acute, and he compiled an extensive vocabulary of Māori expressions. His portraits of the chiefs Te Whakataupuka of Ruapuke and the dying Te Wera of Bluff
Bluff, New Zealand
Bluff is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southern-most town in New Zealand and, despite Slope Point being further to the south, is colloquially used to refer to the southern extremity of the country...
, among others, are a valuable addition to our knowledge. If wanderlust had not kept him on the move, he might have accepted Te Whakataupuka's invitation to remain on Ruapuke.
Boultbee joined a sealing gang from the Samuel, and stowed away on the ship at Paterson Inlet, landing penniless in Port Jackson on 8 March 1828. His journal was compiled 'more for the amusement of my relations and friends, than with a view to that of the Public', but his first-hand account of the sealing industry on New Zealand's southern coasts is a rare and vital record of a trade cloaked in the secrecy of competition.