86 
The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. [April 
. ,. • ibiw jf ' gj 
<A MYSTERY OF FIORDLAND: A VANISHED MAORI 
TRIBE. 
■ V 7' ■ .. ■ 
By H. Beattie. " *l. 
" ■. <j ' ■ ' ■ 
^One of the most fruitful sources of discussion and conjecture an?#ngi,the 
remnant of Otago and Southland Maoris now surviving is the identity gnd 
fate of the natives known to have inhabited Fiordland down to a period 
-Well within the recollection of men still living. Traces of these elusive 
people have been found as late as 1874, but from that date onward they 
seem to have vanished from human ken. 
In the case of ancient inhabitants of the South Island who were van¬ 
quished in warfare, and who betook themselves to mountainous or densely 
wooded country for safety and preservation, Maori traditions, after the 
lapse of centuries, speak of them as maeroero (wild men of the woods) or 
patupaiarehe (fairies), but in the case under review the fugitive residents 
of western Otago are spoken of as human beings like unto the Maoris who 
are describing them. The inference from this fact is that these people 
entered the wilderness at a comparatively recent date. The certainty that 
such a people really did exist (if they do not actually persist to this day) 
is not based on Maori testimony alone—although that is trustworthy if 
one ‘goes to reliable sources—but also on the observations of various 
Europeans 
■ ■ ... >.} ’ r'\ - 
The Evidence of Europeans. 
In March, 1773, Captain Cook saw natives, whom ho called “Indians,’' 
in Dusky Sound, and he named Indian.,Island there in consequence. 
In November, 1791, Vancouver visited Dusky Sound, but found no 
trace of inhabitants except one or two round-shaped huts. 
In 1823 John Dawson, master of the “ Samuel,” left the following 
inscription at Preservation Inlet on a stone slab : “ Beware of the natives— 
plentey at Preservation. John Dawson, master.” This historic slab is 
now in the Southland Museum, at Invercargill. 
In 1842 Captain Howell’s men found traces of fugitive Maoris in Bligh 
Sound, and Canon Stack has recorded the circumstances in his book dealing 
with the South Island Maoris. 
In 1849-50 Captain Stokes, of H.M.S. “ Acheron,” reported the existence 
of a wild tribe at Bligh Sound, and he named a river there “ Wild Natives 
River,” a name still on the map. 
In 1852 Mr. W. B. D. Mantell, reporting on the Murihiku Block, says, 
“Blythe Bay is the seaside haunt of the once powerful Hawea tribes.” 
“ Blythe Bay ” is now known as Bligh Sound. 
In 1861, it is stated, the Otago Provincial Council issued a notice 
warning prospectors to be on their guard against wild natives in the more 
remote parts of Otago. 
Writing in the “ seventies ” of last century, a European says, “The 
natives on the West Coast north of Milford Sound say they have often seen 
the smoke of the fugitives’ fires, and sometimes they find recent camping- 
places ; and many years ago a woman was captured by them while she was 
gathering shell-fish on the beach ; but owing to her escape in the night little 
information was obtained as to the habits of her people. Natives have 
been seen by crews of passing vessels fishing on the rocks in localities never 
