A Soldier's Journey

Chapter 3

PART ONE

Te Awaiti Whaling Station, Ships Cove, Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand. Sept 1839

Like funeral pyres, dark columns of oily, black smoke rose in solemnity from well-fed furnaces on the foreshore of the Te Awaiti whaling station.In vain, the smoke tried to follow the unsettled wind, but the erratic gusts unfairly dispersed the pungent fumes to linger and torment - assaulting the senses of anyone near and far. Adding to the stench and the pall of death, rotting pieces of flesh, bone and oil littered the beach, which provided ample opportunity for scavengers to gorge themselves in undisguised ecstasy.

To fuel the hungry flames, and oblivious to the distasteful task of boiling whale blubber, heavily muscled whalers in stained clothing threw waste off-cuts, or scrag, into the furnaces beneath the large iron boilers. With special cutting tools called spades, other whalers removed two-foot square sections of blubber from slaughtered whales that hung nearby, and threw them into boilers, known as trypots. The blubber was boiled, allowed to cool, and the separated oil was removed, casked and readied to be shipped to Australia where it was sold by the tun.

The whalers were hard men. Many were runaway convicts or parolees known as ticket-of-leave men, some were sailors who had deserted ship and others were simply currency lads, men born in the harshness of Australia. Approximately forty European and two-hundred native M?ori adults were currently living around the Te Awaiti whaling station and most were gainfully employed in varying aspects of whaling. Unsurprisingly, disagreements were common and not limited to men alone; they were settled quickly with knuckles in lively brawls powered by cheap and potent rum. The enticements of wealth, lawlessness and women were enough to overcome the unpleasantness and bring these desperate and fearless men across the sea to this newest frontier.

The New Zealand Company-owned barque, the Tory, lay at anchor two hundred yards offshore. She had been here for almost two weeks, while the principal agent for the New Zealand Company, Colonel William Wakefield waited anxiously for the whaling season to end so that his newest employee Richard "Dickie" Barrett could join them before the Tory departed.

"This is hell and I don"t like it, Andrew Stewart! I never, ever wish to cast my eyes again on such a God-forsaken and miserable place as this for as long as I shall live!" Eleanor looked up into her husband"s eyes; her own filled with tears emphasizing her feelings. "This smell, the odour of death, it doesn"t wash off, I go to sleep tasting it. It"s in my clothes, my hair, it"s a constant reminder of how evil this place really is." She buried her face protectively into Andy"s chest.

He knew how she felt and understood her discomfort, and like her, wanted nothing more than to be rid of this foul place. He wrapped his arms around her small frame and held her close.

After a few moments of silence she pushed herself away and looked up at her him, "Andy, we have sailed to the far side of the world to find a better life and raise a family, and this is where we are brought, is this what we can expect?"

"Ellie, we"ll be leaving here soon, you know this. The colonel reassured us all that this was only a temporary layover." He lowered his head to look intently into the face of his lovely wife. "Colonel Wakefield is a good man Ellie, he"ll honour his promises, you"ll see. We must continue to trust him - we have little choice." He pulled her towards him, gave her a tender squeeze and rested his chin gently on her head as he leaned back against the rail at the bow of the Tory.

The Tory quietly departed Plymouth, England, almost four months previously, and on the express wishes of Colonel Wakefield, hurried to reach New Zealand before the English Parliament passed legislation preventing them from conducting business. Captain Edward Chaffers had been remarkable in ensuring the voyage was trouble free, they outsailed other ships they encountered and even the weather had been kind to them. Although, Ellie complained bitterly that the captain"s willingness to spread copious amounts of chloride-of-lime throughout the ship to avoid pestilence was a little unnecessary. However, they had arrived in New Zealand without consequence and had immediately made landfall at this detestable location, where they had since remained.