Family tree research can involve coming across strange and confusing news articles that have no context until you do some research behind the thought processes of people. Several years ago I came across a cousin on the 6th of October 1881, who was reported in the local newspaper as heading off by train to fight the ‘dark skins of the plains’.[1] At the time I wondered if young William Milverton was on his way to Africa to fight somewhere like The Battle of Sedan. The problem was he was around 10 years too late for that war. The other articles were letters to the editors from William and from others with clues that he was referring to New Zealand and the Maori. William must have travelled to the Taranaki region and then returned towards the end of October.
On the 20th of September an article had been
published in the New Zealand Times about a speech by Te Whiti at Parihaka.[2]
Te Whiti O Rongomai was a Maori spiritual leader and the founder of the
village of Parihaka in the Taranaki region. William Milverton claims to
have read the entire speech and used words like
treason. At the time I never knew the context behind the letters until I
came
across something on the internet about remembering Parihaka on the fifth
of
November 1881. I realised after looking at the news articles again that
William
had been writing about the events at Parihaka and would have known about
the
ongoing protests and Armed
Constabulary build-up to counter the protestors. One of the letters
to the editors mentions the Palmerston North Volunteers and that is the biggest
clue. The conflict would have had to been in New Zealand and several days ago
that information appeared on Facebook. I remembered the letters and while I couldn’t
remember the dates, I found they were all from October. William must have
returned to Palmerston North as he had written to the editor on the 26th
of October 1881. The letter explains that he thinks there is another war coming
with Te Whiti and he wanted the military to crush the village. William being a 20-year-old
man proposed himself as a leader to lead single men to battle the coming threat,
as married men had thoughts only of home. He went on to say that New Zealand
needed another Von Tempsky referring to Gustavus Von Tempsky who died in battle
with the Maori in 1868. He was a Forest Ranger during the New Zealand Wars and
also a journalist.[3]
There were other letters to the editor blasting William for his views on the 29th
of October especially when the person gives their name as ‘Another’ Reason.[4]
William does try to make a stinging response to the writer called ‘Reason’. And
explains why he wrote the correspondence in the first place.[5]
The people of Parihaka were using peaceful forms of protest
against the government forces that were in the area. In 1879, to oppose the
government surveyors the Maori protestors would plough up the land in the Taranaki
area around Hawera. This action would lead to arrests and were non-violent upon
arrest.[6]
There were similar occurrences in 1880 as roads were being created through the
Parihaka area and cut across fences that were repaired by the Maori, which
would have frustrated the surveyors and others involved.[7]
I have not come across any information to say if William was involved with the
invasion of Parihaka on the fifth of November in 1881. I do find it to be an
interesting connection in the history of New Zealand from a family historian
point of view. Danny Keenan in his book does mention Volunteers coming from as
far as The Thames area of New Zealand, but none from Palmerston North.
William
Milverton would later become a prominent member of
Palmerston North and councillor for the Palmerston North Borough council
in New
Zealand. I have not found any similar letters from William in the
future,
although there could be and I have not come across them. It would be
interesting to see if he was part of the Militia or Volunteers in New
Zealand and so far I have not come across any information about his
involvement with the two groups. I have provided links with further
information.
Sources
Gustavus Von
Tempsky
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/gustavus-von-tempsky,
accessed 7/11/2019.
Te Whiti
O Rongamai
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/people/erueti-te-whiti-o-rongomai-iii,
accessed 7/11/2019.
Unknown, ‘News and
Notes’, Manawatu Times, 8 October 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT18811008.2.6,
accessed 7/11/2019.
Unknown, ‘Native Affairs
– The Parihaka Meeting’, New Zealand Times, 20 September 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18810920.2.18,
accessed 7/11/2019.
William Milverton, ‘The
Native Difficulty’, Manawatu Times, 26 October 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT18811026.2.11,
accessed 7/11/2019.
Another Reason, ‘The
Native Difficulty’, Manawatu Times, 29 October 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT18811029.2.12,
accessed 7/11/2019.
William
Milverton, ‘Mr Milverton in reply’, Manawatu Times, 29 October 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT18811029.2.11,
accessed 7/11/2019.
Keenan, Danny The
Whiti O Rongomai and the Resistance of Parihaka, Huia, Wellington, 2015.
[1] Unknown,
‘News and Notes’, Manawatu Times, 8 October 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT18811008.2.6,
accessed 7/11/2019.
[2] Danny
Keenan, The Whiti O Rongomai and the Resistance of Parihaka, Wellington,
2015, pp. 146 – 147; Unknown, ‘Native Affairs – The Parihaka Meeting’, New
Zealand Times, 20 September 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18810920.2.18,
accessed 7/11/2019.
[3] William
Milverton, ‘The Native Difficulty’, Manawatu Times, 26 October 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT18811026.2.11,
accessed 7/11/2019.
[4] Another
Reason, ‘The Native Difficulty’, Manawatu Times, 29 October 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT18811029.2.12,
accessed 7/11/2019.
[5] William Milverton, ‘Mr Milverton in
reply’, Manawatu Times, 29 October 1881, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/MT18811029.2.11,
accessed 7/11/2019.
[6] Keenan,
The Whiti pp. 124 – 125.
[7] Keenan,
The Whiti pp. 137 – 138.
