Auckland to Albertland

The wind had veered round from East to South as the Brookes brothers left Auckland in the afternoon, the breeze fairly light. Rounding North Head, the Maori crew brought the mainsail over so the breeze would catch both sails. The boat had no ballast so rolled badly as the previous gale had left a heavy swell. Hovey asked the skipper to steer as close as possible to Tyburnia in the Rangitoto Channel. She had just arrived from London and was quarantined due to smallpox on board. As they sailed past, Hovey shouted: “Is Mr Barton about?” The reply came back “he is below” so Hovey shouted again: “Tell him Mr Brookes has just passed and hopes to see him and his family later in Albertland.”

Further out past Rangitoto Channel the swell was so heavy the booms sometimes touched water on both sides. They anchored at dusk in a small bay at Little Omaha. The Maoris left the brothers on board saying they would come and get them in the morning. Hovey told his brother that they would be ‘in for a night of it’ because of the heavy swell from the open sea. About midnight he felt sea-sick for the first time in his life. He thought that perhaps if he had something to eat he would feel better. All the brothers could find was cold boiled bacon and bread. Though his brother thought that would be no good, Hovey ate a fair meal and felt better. He climbed into his bunk and slept til morning.

Soon after daylight a Maori arrived in a small dinghy. He threw his boat painter on board to make fast; it was four or five yards of a ship’s hawser, about one-and-a-half to two inches thick. Hovey thought it was a cargo by itself. He asked: “Are you going to take us one at a time to the beach?” The reply was: “Good boat, hold three.” He was a fairly tall solid man – he asked Hovey’s brother to get in the bow. She was well down when Hovey’s turn came in the bow so he got in as carefully as he could, thinking it would be a miracle if they made it to shore. When they were settled the Maori threw the painter in the boat – she began to drift, he jumped in and, until he balanced himself, water trickled in at each side. He got her steady and put the oars in the rowlocks, but while turning her head to the beach one of the oars broke in the middle. The water began to come over the sides again; the Maori said: “Tihou, Tihou” and with remarkable skill paddled the boat with the one oar till he picked up the broken blade and then used the two oars, got her head on and slowly pulled her to the beach. From there the brothers had to walk several miles up the beach to Te Arai. It was a very hot sunny day and Hovey got a terrible headache. They came across a solitary whare and the old Maori gentleman who lived there very kindly boiled the billy and gave them a meal of shellfish and kumera. They stayed the night in the whare which was fair sized and very clean. The old man loaned them a blanket then, in the morning, gave them tea and fish for breakfast. The brothers then crossed the sand hills to Te Arai. After a cup of tea at West and Farrant’s store they started on the twenty-mile walk to their settlement, arriving home in the evening, very tired.