to
the Maori system of fortification. The safe anchorage which the Bay
afforded early drew to it the whaling ships of Europe, especially as the
harbour was accessible from the ocean in all weathers. The Ngapuhi
eagerly welcomed these new comers, and prepared to take full advantage
of whatever benefits the outside world might offer.

Among the various _hapus_ of this tribe stands out pre-eminent that
which owed allegiance to the chief Te Pahi. This warrior had fortified
an island close to Te Puna on the north side of the bay. In readiness to
receive new ideas, and in the power to assimilate them, he and his
kinsmen, Ruatara and Hongi, were striking examples of the height to
which the Maori race could attain. Hardly had the century dawned which
was to bring New Zealand within the circle of the Christian world, when
word came to Te Pahi of the wonders to be seen at Norfolk Island, and of
the friendly nature of its governor, Captain King. To test for himself
the truth of these tidings, the chief, with his four sons, set forth
(about 1803) across the sea to the great convict station. The friendly
governor had left the island, but Te Pahi followed him on to New South
Wales, little thinking of the mighty consequences which would result
from his journey. Everyone at Port Jackson was struck with the handsome
presence and dignified manners of the New Zealander. He was received by
the governor into his house at Parramatta; he went regularly to church,
where he behaved "with great decorum;" and loved nothing so much as to
talk to the chaplain about the white man's God. His enquiries met with
ready sympathy, for the chaplain was no other than the Reverend Samuel
Marsden.

This remarkable man had hitherto found little to encourage him in his
labours, but his light shone all the more brightly from its contrast
with the surrounding darkness. Selected while still a student at
Cambridge, by no less a person than the philanthropist Wilberforce, for
this difficult position, Marsden had brought to his work a heart full of
evangelical fervour, a strong Yorkshire brain, and "the clearest head in
Australia." During the eleven years which had passed since his arrival,
he had been fighting a courageous fight against vice in high places and
in low, but nothing had daunted his spirit nor soured his temper. His
large heart had a place for all classes and for all races. When he met
Te Pahi his sympathies were at once excited. Like Gregory in the