4S4 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. XV. 
level ground at the back of Te Aro pa, for a purse 
of fifteen guineas : and the name of " Calmuck 
** Tartar," ridden by Mr. Henry Petre, deserves to be 
recorded as the winner of the first race in New Zea- 
land. 
A sailing-match followed; ten riflemen next con- 
tended for a prize of five pounds and entrances ; and 
the minor sports of jumping in sacks, climbing a 
greasy pole, and wheeling barrows blindfolded, finished 
the fun of the day in a right merry manner. 
A " Popular" ball, joined by most of the male aris- 
tocrats, was given in the evening at one of the large 
wooden stores erecting on Te Aro beach. 
The natives had not been forgotten. An ample 
feast of rice and sugar, which is a dainty dish with 
them, had been provided ; and a prize in money was 
held out as an inducement to a canoe-race. I was very 
sorry to hear that the newly-arrived Wesleyan mis- 
sionary forbade the attendance of those over whom he 
exercised influence, and that this part of the festivity 
was thus crushed in the bud. I need hardly comment 
on the painful feelings excited in the minds of the re- 
flecting settlers, and indeed of all classes, by this inju- 
dicious attempt on the part of their religious pastor to 
denounce the partaking by our simple friends of an an- 
nual rejoicing over our arrival among them. He first 
taught them to look upon our gifts with suspicion, and 
upon our invitation to them to be joyful with us as 
forbidden and of no good. 
On the 24th, Mr. F. A. Carrington, who had been 
despatched by Colonel Wakefield in the Brougham to 
seek a site for the New Plymouth colony, returned, 
after a partial examination of Blind Bay and a visit to 
the Sugar-loaf Islands. He had decided on choosing 
